AGILE LEADERSHIP IN A VUCA WORLD: MEDIATING AND MODERATING PATHWAYS TO INNOVATIVE WORK BEHAVIOR AND TURNOVER INTENTIONS

Abstract

The modern organizational environments that are characterized by volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity (VUCA) require a different leadership style than the hierarchical one that can allow maintaining employee well-being and encourage innovation (Bennett & Lemoine, 2014). This study will examine the relationship between Agile Leadership and Turnover Intention as well as innovative Work Behavior (IWB) based on the Job Demands Resources (JD-R) theory (Demerouti et al., 2001), the Conservation of Resources (COR) theory (Hobfoll, 1989) and the Social Exchange Theory (SET) (Blau, 1964). Particularly, the study will focus on mediating the role of Job Satisfaction and moderating the role of Job Embeddedness within the framework of higher education institutions in Pakistan.

The quantitative cross-sectional design was used, with 180 employees of higher education institutions as the sample and the analysis performed through Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) with 5,000 bootstrap samples using SmartPLS 4. The measurement model was found to have sufficient reliability (Cronbach α of between .792 and .960; composite reliability of between .864 and .965) and convergent validity (AVE of between .581 and.696). Confirmation of discriminant validity was done using the HTMT criterion and all the values were less than the conservative value threshold of 0.85.

The obtained results of the structural model indicate that Agile Leadership is positively and significantly related to Job Satisfaction (β =.357, p <.001), whereas Emotional Demands are negatively related to Job Satisfaction (β = -.325, p <.001). Job Satisfaction, in its turn, is a positive predictor of Innovative Work Behavior (β= 218, p =.003) and a negative predictor of Turnover Intention (β = -.234, p =.002). Job Embeddedness shows that it has a significant negative direct impact on Turnover Intention (β = -.313, p = 001) and non-significant impact on Innovative Work Behavior (β =.141, p = 081). The mediation analysis proves that Job Satisfaction plays a significant mediating role in the relationships between Agile Leadership and both IWB (β =.078, p =.019) and Turnover Intention ( β = -.084, p =.007). Nonetheless, the effect of the job embeddedness x job satisfaction on Turnover Intention was not significant ( β = -.034, p =.540) indicating that job embeddedness does not mediate the relationship between job satisfaction and turnover intention in this case.

The results are relevant to the JD-R theory because they prove that Agile Leadership is a crucial job resource in emotionally demanding contexts of higher education and help to understand the conditions of boundaries within which Job Embeddedness is effective. The moderation effect is found to be non-significant that contradicts existing beliefs of embeddedness as a cross-cutting buffer.  It emphasizes the importance of intrinsic job satisfaction over structural attachment in retention choices in more specifically education sector’s context of developing economies.