Fostering Team Innovation in a Cross-Cultural Context: The Role of Inclusive Leadership

This research explores the influence of inclusive leadership on team innovation in a cross-cultural context, emphasizing the mediating roles of commitment to the leader and meaningful work. Framed by the Path-Goal Theory and Cultural Intelligence Theory, we developed a cross-cultural research design to survey participants from Eastern and Western cultures. Our results highlight the effect of mediators on the effectiveness of inclusive leadership for team innovation. In Eastern cultures, commitment to the leader is crucial for the effectiveness of inclusive leadership for team innovation, while in Western cultures, meaningful work serves as an important mediator. The results highlight the culturally contingent nature of inclusive leadership, challenging assumptions of its universal applicability and contributing to calls for a more nuanced and critical understanding of leadership-inclusion dynamics. By enhancing Path-Goal Theory through contextualization, this study provides theoretical advancements and actionable insights for adapting inclusive leadership practices in multinational corporations. These adaptations ensure culturally sensitive approaches to optimizing team innovation, aligning with the need for a critical perspective on leadership and inclusion.