Examining the Effect of Inclusive Leadership on Team Outcomes

Orekoya, Ibrahim and Dada, Lola and Soetanto, Danny (2024) Examining the Effect of Inclusive Leadership on Team Outcomes. PhD thesis, Lancaster University.

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Abstract

This thesis examines the effect of inclusive leadership on team outcomes. Inclusive leadership depicts positive leadership behaviours aimed at developing high-quality mutual relationships with team members and encouraging diverse contributions to achieve work tasks. Empirical research on inclusive leadership and mechanisms focused on the team level are hitherto limited and require more consideration. Therefore there is a need to examine the distinctiveness of inclusive leadership which will be done through three related research papers, to provide a deeper understanding of the team level outcomes of inclusive leadership. The first research paper is a systematic literature review that synthesises extant and relevant literature on inclusive leadership and team innovation, and establishes potential future research directions. The second paper explores how inclusive leadership influences knowledge sharing and examines how promotion focus mediates this relationship. The third paper examines how inclusive leadership influences team climate, and investigates how team power distance and trust in leadership moderate the aforementioned relationship. The empirical research employs a quantitative methodology, and a final sample of 549 employees nested in 130 teams was obtained from multiple organisations in the service and manufacturing sectors in Nigeria. Data was analysed using partial least square structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). Drawing on social exchange and regulatory focus theories, this study reveals that inclusive leadership positively impacts on knowledge sharing. Additionally, the study demonstrates that promotion focus mediates the relationship between inclusive leadership and knowledge sharing. Further, based on social exchange theory, findings from this study confirm that inclusive leadership positively influences the team climate, and affirms that team power distance and trust in leadership positively moderates the relationship between inclusive leadership and team climate. Taking into consideration the research findings, this research has several theoretical and practical implications. Finally, the limitations of the research and directions for future research are provided.