Paternalistic leadership, employee creativity, and retention: The role of psychological empowerment

Drawing upon the cognitive evaluation theory, this study examined the relationship among the three dimensions of paternalistic leadership, namely, authoritarianism, benevolence, and morality on both employee creativity and intention to stay. Data from 344 subordinates and 132 leaders/supervisors were collected from 32 SMEs in the manufacturing industry of Ghana. The findings of the study revealed that while authoritarian leadership has a negative relationship with creativity, benevolent leadership impacts positively on both creativity and intention to stay. No significant relationship was recorded between moral leadership and creativity, as well as authoritarian leadership and intention to stay. Moreover, psychological empowerment was found to mediate the relationship among benevolent leadership, creativity, and intention to stay, as well as between moral leadership and intention to stay. The study provides a fresh practical and theoretical perspective on the underlying mechanism pertaining to the relationship among paternalistic leadership, creativity, and intention to stay.