Organizational Innovativeness in Bureaucratic Settings: The Role of Culture, Leadership, and Political Climate

ABSTRACT Despite innovation being a key trait for addressing public sector challenges, research on public sector innovation is disparate and lacks theoretical grounding. Grounded in innovation and organizational development literature, this article tests a cultural‐leadership model of organizational innovativeness using panel data (2011, 2014, and 2017) from the Canadian Public Service Employee Survey, comprising 422,073 respondents. The results showcase that cultural values of stability and supportiveness are the strongest enablers of innovativeness, whereas performance‐oriented values have weaker effects. Transformational leadership significantly promotes innovativeness and mitigates the negative influence of organizational inertia. Political climate exerts only marginal effects, suggesting that internal organizational factors outweigh external political pressures. These findings advance theory supporting an instrumental perspective of public organizations and establishing the central role of leadership in fostering innovation‐conducive cultural traits. Policy implications include prioritizing supportive organizational climates, leadership development, and inclusive innovation strategies over reliance on political or market‐driven reforms.