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In the realm of the aviation industry, innovative work behavior takes on a pivotal role
in molding the trajectory and performance of this sector. As the industry maneuvers
through the complexities of an ever-changing global landscape, the prowess of
innovation emerges as a propelling force that drives enduring success Nonetheless, in
the context of Kenyan aviation, the level of innovation has not reached parity with
that of its international counterparts, resulting in the observation that Kenya's aviation
sector lags behind. Therefore, the main objective of the study is to determine effect of
high-involvement human resource management practices (HI-HRM), transformational
leadership (TL) on employee innovative work behaviour (IWB) in Kenyan aviation
industry. The study will specifically establish the effect of training on employee
innovative behaviour, the effect of job autonomy on employee innovative behaviour,
effect of reward practice on employee innovative behaviour and analyse the
moderating effect of transformation leadership on relationship between HI-HRM
practices and employee innovative behaviour in Kenyan aviation industry. The study
was anchored on Social Exchange Theory (SET) and Transformational Leadership
Theory. This study will use explanatory research design. The study population
consisted of 3155 employees from the top five airlines in Kenya, namely Kenya
Airways, Safari Link, African Express Airways, Airkenya Express, and Mombasa Air
Safari. Stratified and random sampling was used to select 354 employees. For this
study, a structured questionnaire served as the data collection instrument to gather
data for analyzing the study objectives. To ensure the reliability of the data gathered
and the subsequent findings, the Cronbach's Alpha coefficient was used. SPSS
statistical analysis program Version 25 was used to generate descriptive statistics,
such as frequency, percentages, mean, and standard deviation of the study variables.
Multiple linear regression and hierarchical regression analysis was used test direct and
moderated hypothesis respectively. The finding revealed that training (β= 0.526,
p=.000<.05), job autonomy (β= 0.218, p=.000<.05) and reward system (β = 0.129.
p=.000<.05) had positive and significant effect on innovative behaviour in Kenyan
aviation industry. Further findings revealed that TL was found to have a moderating
effect on the relationship between training and IWB (β= 0.45, p=.000<.05, R 2 Δ =
0.046) suggesting the importance of TL in facilitating IWB. However, TL did not
moderate the relationship between job autonomy and IWB (β= 0.04, p= >.05, R 2 Δ =
0.00) and reward system and IWB (β= 0.5, p=.>.05, R2Δ = 0.00). Thus, it is
recommended that Kenyan aviation industry organizations focus on enhancing their
training programs, promoting job autonomy while cultivating transformational
leadership qualities among leaders, and continuously monitoring and adjusting human
resource practices to support and stimulate employee innovative behavior. Future
research should delve deeper into the specific components of transformational
leadership and explore the role of other leadership styles in the context of HI-HRM
practices and innovation. |
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