article · Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Insights
This research examines how relational leadership influences creativity among hotel workers, focusing on the mediating role of knowledge sharing and the duration of working relationships between supervisors and subordinates. Drawing on survey responses from 355 staff members at authorised hotels across Cape Coast and Elmina in Ghana, the analysis demonstrates that relational leadership positively links to employee creativity. Although knowledge-sharing behaviour does not directly increase employee creativity on its own, it serves as a significant mediator between relational leadership and creative output. Furthermore, the capacity of relational leaders to foster knowledge sharing does not depend on how long a leader and follower have worked together. The findings encourage hotel supervisors to build positive relationships with their teams, openly share valuable operational information, and respect employee views during decision-making processes.
Fostering workplace innovation is critical for service quality in the hospitality sector. These findings demonstrate that supervisory styles directly influence creative problem-solving by encouraging staff to exchange knowledge. The evidence indicates that managers can drive these improvements through inclusive communication and mutual respect, regardless of whether staff members are newly hired or long-tenured, offering a practical template for workforce management.
The findings provide applied operational guidance for human resource practitioners and management teams within the hospitality industry. Hotel operators can immediately apply these insights to refine supervisory training, internal communication protocols, and staff development programmes. Because the work is an applied empirical study of hotel staff practices rather than a technology product, its value lies in immediate workplace implementation rather than formal technology transfer or licensing.
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Purpose The study investigated the effects of relational leadership on hotel employees' creativity, using knowledge-sharing behaviour and leader–follower dyadic tenure as intervening variables. Design/methodology/approach A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data from 355 employees of authorized hotels from the conurbation of Cape Coast and Elmina in Ghana. To evaluate the study's research hypotheses, the authors used WarpPLS and PLS-SEM. Findings The findings demonstrated that while knowledge-sharing behaviour did not directly affect employee creativity, it did have a significant mediating effect on the link between relational leadership and the creativity of employees. The study also revealed that the ability of relational leaders to drive knowledge-sharing behaviour was not contingent on leader–follower dyadic tenure. Practical implications The results of this study have practical relevance for human resource practitioners in the hospitality industry. Given that relational leadership has a positive relationship with employee creativity, the authors recommend that hotel supervisors relate well with employees by sharing valuable information and respecting their opinions in decision-making. Originality/value Studies on the role of relational leadership and employee creativity are scanty. This study develops a model to explain how relational leadership could influence employee creativity by incorporating knowledge-sharing behaviour and leader–follower dyadic tenure.
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DOI: 10.1108/jhti-06-2022-0218
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