Managerial humility and innovative work behavior: the parallel roles of felt responsibility and work meaningfulness

Purpose This study aims to explore the mechanisms through which perceived managerial humility fosters innovative work behavior (IWB) among employees. Although humble leadership has been associated with positive outcomes, its motivational pathways to employee innovation remain underexplored. Drawing on self-determination theory (SDT), the study examines two parallel mediators – felt responsibility for constructive change and work meaningfulness – that explain how managerial humility drives innovation. Design/methodology/approach A two-wave time-lagged survey was conducted among 520 full-time employees across diverse industries in India. Managerial humility, felt responsibility and work meaningfulness were measured at Time 1; IWB was assessed at Time 2 (three months later). Structural equation modeling (SEM) with 10,000 bootstrap sampling was used to test a parallel mediation model using SPSS AMOS. Findings Managerial humility significantly influences IWB. Both felt responsibility and work meaningfulness act as independent parallel mediators, transmitting the effect of managerial humility to IWB. The model showed a good fit, and bootstrapped indirect effects for both mediators were statistically significant. Research limitations/implications This study contributes to the leadership and innovation literature by identifying dual psychological mechanisms through which managerial humility influences IWB. It extends SDT by demonstrating how humility satisfies employees’ needs for autonomy and purpose, enabling innovation. Practical implications Organizations should foster humility-oriented leadership development programs. By enhancing employees’ responsibility and meaningfulness at work, humble managers can effectively cultivate innovation at the employee level. Originality/value This is one of the first studies to empirically establish parallel mediation paths linking managerial humility to IWB, offering fresh insights into the motivational foundations of employee innovation.