Unlocking the influence of empowering leadership on digital transformation through innovative work behavior: evidence from the Indian IT sector

Purpose Digital transformation witnessed from the viewpoint of the new institutional theory is the outcome of several digital breakthroughs that bring together new actors, organizational structures, practices and values intending to challenge, replace or enhance current business models and procedures. In line with this framework, this study seeks to empirically investigate the influence of empowering leadership on a firm’s digital transformation efforts. Additionally, it explores the mediating role of employees’ innovative work behavior within the context of digital transformation and empowering leadership. Design/methodology/approach To achieve the proposed objectives, structural equation modelling (SEM) was performed using Smart PLS, on a sample of 221 employees working in the Indian IT sector. SPSS was utilized to gain insights into the descriptive statistics of the sample. Findings The findings disclosed empowering leadership as a critical facilitator of digital transformation by overcoming the issue of employee resistance to change through their unique traits. Furthermore, innovative work behavior is found to be a significant mediator within the aforementioned relationship. Research limitations/implications The contribution of the study lies in its empirical examination of novel relationships, notably the direct link between empowering leadership and digital transformation, as well as the indirect association through innovative work behavior. These relationships have not been thoroughly explored in the literature so far, making this study a valuable addition. The research also offers several key insights about the drivers of DT for industry experts that can be practically implemented. Originality/value The novelty of the study lies in exploring empowering leadership as the driver/facilitator of digital transformation, which has not been done before despite the increasing relevance of its traits in the digital era. Moreover, the study provides clarity about the critical role of innovative employees in promoting digitalization in the organization.