What is transformational leadership and what role does it play in safe and effective care? Based on leadership readings in the past couple of units, what aspects of leadership are vital to providing a safe and effective healthcare environment for patients?
International Journal of
Environmental Research
and Public Health
Article
An Inclusive Leadership Framework to Foster Employee
Creativity in the Healthcare Sector: The Role of Psychological
Safety and Polychronicity
Qinghua Fu 1 , Jacob Cherian 2 , Naveed Ahmad 3,4, * , Miklas Scholz 5,6,7,8, * , Sarminah Samad 9
and Ubaldo Comite 10
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Citation: Fu, Q.; Cherian, J.;
8
9
Ahmad, N.; Scholz, M.; Samad, S.;
Comite, U. An Inclusive Leadership
10
Framework to Foster Employee
Creativity in the Healthcare Sector:
The Role of Psychological Safety and
*
Department of Business Administration, Moutai Institute, Renhuai 564507, China;
2016101050084@whu.edu.cn
College of Business, Abu Dhabi University, Abu Dhabi P.O. Box 59911, United Arab Emirates;
jacob.cherian@adu.ac.ae
Faculty of Management Studies, University of Central Punjab, Lahore 54000, Pakistan
Faculty of Management, Virtual University of Pakistan, Lahore 54000, Pakistan
Division of Water Resources Engineering, Department of Building and Environmental Technology,
Faculty of Engineering, Lund University, P.O. Box 118, 221 00 Lund, Sweden
Department of Civil Engineering Science, School of Civil Engineering and the Built Environment,
University of Johannesburg, Kingsway Campus, P.O. Box 524, Aukland Park,
Johannesburg 2006, South Africa
Department of Town Planning, Engineering Networks and Systems, South Ural State University (National
Research University), 76 Lenin Prospekt, 454080 Chelyabinsk, Russia
Institute of Environmental Engineering, Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences, ul.
Norwida 25, 50-375 Wrocław, Poland
Department of Business Administration, College of Business and Administration, Princess Nourah Bint
Abdulrahman University, Riyadh 11671, Saudi Arabia; sarminasamad@gmail.com
Department of Business Sciences, University Giustino Fortunato, 82100 Benevento, Italy;
u.comite@unifortunato.eu
Correspondence: naveeddgk2010@gmail.com or naveed.ahmad@vu.edu.pk (N.A.);
miklas.scholz@tvrl.lth.se (M.S.)
Polychronicity. Int. J. Environ. Res.
Public Health 2022, 19, 4519. https://
doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19084519
Academic Editors: Anna
Lewandowska, Justyna
Berniak-Woźny and Paul B.
Tchounwou
Received: 16 February 2022
Accepted: 7 April 2022
Published: 8 April 2022
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral
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Copyright: © 2022 by the authors.
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
This article is an open access article
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Attribution (CC BY) license (https://
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/
Abstract: Creativity at the level of employees is of utmost importance for every sector of an economy,
with no exception to a healthcare system. The reason why employee creativity is important lies
in the fact that employees have profound knowledge of their job and thus can serve as a source
of meaningful innovation in an organization. Research shows that employee creativity is largely
dependent on leadership. Corporate leaders significantly influence subordinates’ behavior. However,
with the economic development, globalization, and changing business environment, a traditional
authoritative leadership style can no longer be effective in understanding employees’ psychological
needs to foster their creative behavior. In this regard, the role of inclusive leadership as an effective
organizational management strategy was recently discussed in literature at different levels. It was
also stated that an inclusive leader could foster employee creativity. However, such relationships
in healthcare systems of developing economies have largely remained under-explored previously.
We explored employee creativity in a healthcare context of a developing economy in an inclusive
leadership framework to bridge such knowledge gaps. We also investigated the mediating roles
of psychological safety and polychronicity in the above-stated relationship. We collected the data
from hospital employees through a questionnaire (paper–pencil method). A hypothetical model
was developed, which was tested through structural equation modeling in AMOS. Based upon
the statistical outcomes, we found that an inclusive leadership style in a hospital can significantly
foster employee creativity, whereas psychological safety and polychronicity mediate this relationship.
This study offers different theoretical and practical insights, especially to a healthcare system. An
important finding was that an inclusive leader can motivate the followers to be more creative. This
finding is significant for a hospital because creative employees provide a hospital with a solid
competitive base.
4.0/).
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19, 4519. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19084519
https://www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19, 4519
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Keywords: leadership; creativity; psychological safety; healthcare system; polychronicity
1. Introduction
In today’s corporate environment, which is very competitive and challenging, creativity plays an important role in the success of an organization [1]. Creativity in the
context of a workplace keeps an organization moving forward successfully. Innovation as
an outcome of employee creativity is of high value for an organization as such innovation
is meaningful because employees have a better knowledge of their workplace and job of
how to perform their work in creative ways. Despite the fact that massive development
in the global healthcare system has been evident during recent years, both national and
global health systems are identified as “resource deficient” [2]. In this respect, healthcare
systems around the globe are continuously trying to optimize their resources through
process-driven advancements, standardized procedures, and innovations in order to reduce costs while improving the quality of services. Whether operating in public or private
spheres, hospitals prioritize serving their patients in creative ways. To this end, from an
efficiency and effectiveness perspective, employees of a healthcare organization can serve
as a “valued source of creativity” [3] who can lead their organization towards success.
Similar to most businesses, hospitals also face a dynamic market environment characterized by constant change and erratic challenges [4]. To elucidate further, the healthcare
sector faces a constant pressure situation that demands creative service delivery solutions
to outperform the rivals on one hand and get an attractive place in the minds of clients
(the patients) on the other hand. The above discussion clearly indicates the significance of
seeking innovation, incrementally or radically, as an outcome of creativity on the part of
employees. A review of related literature uncovers that most of the prior literature investigated the outcomes of employee creativity. For example, it was realized that employee
creativity could boost the performance of an organization [5,6] or place an organization in
a better competitive position [7]. From an economic perspective, the above studies were
important. Nevertheless, we take a different position to advance the debate on employee
creativity. That is, to answer what drives employee creativity in an organization? Though
the early work identified some factors of employee creativity, for example, job autonomy [8],
psychological capital [9], perceived organizational support [10], organizational culture [11],
and leadership [12] may influence employee creativity. However, the inconsistent results
indicate that a consensus has not yet been reached. Furthermore, employee creativity in
healthcare did not receive due attention previously. Hence, there is a dire need to find out the
factors that drive employee creativity in the healthcare segment. Therefore, one of the critical
aims to carry out this study is to find out the factors that influence employee creativity.
Research shows that different factors influence individual behavior. It was mentioned
that various organizational factors affect employee behavior in an organizational context.
In this regard, it was realized that an effective leadership style, as an organizational factor,
can drive employees’ behavior in a workplace [13]. The role of inclusive leadership to foster
employee creativity was recently discussed at different levels [14,15]. The greater focus of
an inclusive leader on openness is something that places this leadership style at the heart
of employee creativity [16]. Although the role of inclusive leadership is well discussed
in literature from a perspective of employee creativity, surprisingly, the healthcare sector
remained an understudied area. Given that employee creativity is a matter of prime concern
to this sector, investigating the role of inclusive leadership to enhance employee creativity
is worthwhile. Therefore, this study also aims to investigate the relationship between
inclusive leadership and employee creativity in a healthcare context. In this regard, we
propose the following hypothesis.
Hyphothesis 1. An inclusive leader gives rise to employee creativity in an organization.
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19, 4519
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Another factor driving employee creativity in an organizational context is psychological safety (P.S) [17,18]. Although the concept of P.S existed in organizational science for a
long time, empirical research in this domain has been flourishing recently [19]. Indeed, P.S
is an employee’s belief that he/she will not be punished or humiliated by others in a workplace for sharing different ideas, questions, or concerns [20]. Extending this discussion, we
refer to a two-year report published by Google on discovering the most influential factors
for a great team. The findings of this document were interesting as the most significant
factor of a great team was not the individuals with the highest IQs or people with vast
experience in a field. Rather, it was found that it is employees’ perceptions that they work
in a psychologically safe organizational environment. Another interesting finding of the
survey was the team that made mistakes was more successful. The underlying reason for
this result was to create an environment in which employees feel psychologically safe to
take risks, which is critical to fostering creativity and innovation. It has been found that the
support from a leader in an organizational context can stimulate subordinates’ motivation
to get engaged to show their creative potential [21]. An effective leader develops a work
environment characterized by a high-quality leader–member exchange of relationships [22],
empowers employees to think differently and builds trust [23]. This latter point (trust)
is well discussed in the literature to shape employees’ behavior, especially their creative
behavior [24–26], highlighting that P.S has a clear role here. As an outcome of leadership
support, this perception of working in a safe environment puts employees at ease to engage in creativity without fear [27]. Thus, an effective leadership style promotes P.S in
an organization [28]. Though the literature argues about the positive link between P.S
and employee creativity, its mediating role in the inclusive leadership framework was not
realized, especially in healthcare. Hence, investigating the mediating role of P.S between
inclusive leadership and employee creativity is another objective of this study. The above
discussion may be summarized by proposing the following hypotheses.
Hyphothesis 2. Inclusive leadership style can have a direct impact on psychological safety perceptions of employees.
Hyphothesis 3. Psychological safety mediates between inclusive leadership and employee creativity.
Literature also highlights different personal factors to spur employee creativity in
an organizational context [29,30]. In this vein, a personal factor that recently entered
into the lexicon of individual creativity is polychronicity, an individual’s preference for
multi-tasking [31]. However, the mediating role of polychronicity for employees’ behavior
formation, especially their creative behavior, was not realized. We feel that polychronicity
is related to one’s preference for multi-tasking, which can further support an employee
to be engaged in creative tasks. Literature shows polychronicity is largely influenced by
culture [32,33] and the milieu in which employees interact with their workplace environment. It was also mentioned that the polychronicity of employees is influenced by different
organizational factors, including leadership [34,35]. In a healthcare context, few studies
investigated the direct impact of polychronicity on employee creativity [36]. Nevertheless, its mediating effect on the relationship of inclusive behavior and employee creativity
was not discussed. Thus, the last objective of this study is to test the mediating role of
polychronicity between inclusive leadership and employee creativity. In this respect, we
propose the following hypotheses.
Hyphothesis 4. Employees’ polychronicity can be linked positively with their creativity.
Hyphothesis 5. Employees’ polychronicity mediates between inclusive leadership and employee
creativity.
The target segment of this study was the healthcare sector of Pakistan, which is a
developing nation. To represent the healthcare sector, we select hospital organizations that
operate in the country with a mix of private and public. Considering the competitiveness
in this sector [37] and changing preferences of patients, a hospital must differentiate itself
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19, x
4 of 13
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19, 4519
4 of 13
itself meaningfully from. From this perspective, employee creativity could be a way forward for a hospital.
every hospital’s
standard
operating
are the
meaningfully
from. Furthermore,
From this perspective,
employee
creativity
couldprocedures
be a way forward
same
and are governed
by aevery
regulator
[38]. Because
these
procedures
to handle
a patient
for
a hospital.
Furthermore,
hospital’s
standard
operating
procedures
are the
same
and
are governeditby
a regulator
[38].
Because
procedures
to handle
patient are
are standardized,
implies
that not
much
roomthese
is available
for a hospital
to adifferentiate
standardized,
implies
that
not much
room is available
for a hospital
itself from theitrest
of the
crowd.
Furthermore,
the physical
outlay oftoadifferentiate
hospital anditself
the
from
the rest are
of the
crowd.can
Furthermore,
the physical
a hospital
the way
way services
delivered
also be imitated
easily byoutlay
a rival.ofThus,
findingand
a meaningservices
are delivered
cansector
also be
easily
by a for
rival.
Thus, finding
a meaningful
ful differentiation
in this
is aimitated
matter of
concern
a hospital.
The above
situation
differentiation
in the
thisimportance
sector is a of
matter
of concern
for in
a hospital.
above situation
clearly highlights
employee
creativity
this sector,The
as innovation
as an
clearly
highlights
the creativity
importance
of employee
sector, asin
innovation
as
outcome
of employee
is hard
to imitatecreativity
because itin
is this
idiosyncratic
detail. Thus,
an
outcome
of employee
creativity
is hard
because it isposition.
idiosyncratic
in detail.
creative
employees
can place
a hospital
intoa imitate
better competitive
To boost
emThus,
employees
can place
a hospital
in a better
competitive
position.
To boost
ployeecreative
creativity
in this sector,
the role
of leadership
is important
to create
a workplace
employee
creativity
in
this
sector,
the
role
of
leadership
is
important
to
create
a
workplace
environment in which employees are motivated to show their creative potential. Howenvironment
which employees
arewith
motivated
to show
their
creative
potential. However,
ever, the role in
of inclusive
leadership
this aspect,
as an
effective
management
strategy,
the
role
of
inclusive
leadership
with
this
aspect,
as
an
effective
management
strategy, was
was not investigated earlier in this sector.
not investigated
earlier
in this
sector.
The theoretical
roots
of this
study are based on social exchange theory (SET) which
The theoretical
roots of[39].
this study
are based
onChoi
socialetexchange
theory
which
was developed
by Homans
The early
work of
al. [40] and
Qi et(SET)
al. [15]
also
was
developed
by
Homans
[39].
The
early
work
of
Choi
et
al.
[40]
and
Qi
et
al.
[15]
also
employed this theory to explain how the process of social exchange between an inclusive
employed
theory urges
to explain
how
the process
of social
exchange
between
an inclusive
leader andthis
a follower
him to
engage
in different
extra-role
behaviors,
including
creleader
and
a
follower
urges
him
to
engage
in
different
extra-role
behaviors,
including
ative behavior. An inclusive leader not only encourages openness in a workplace,
he/she
creative
behavior.
An inclusive
leaderofnot
only encourages
openness
in a workplace,with
he/she
also promotes
a workplace
culture
fairness,
trust, respect,
and collaborations
the
also
promotes
a
workplace
culture
of
fairness,
trust,
respect,
and
collaborations
with
the
followers. At the same time, such leaders also help their employees in situations that do
followers.
At thea same
time,
suchof
leaders
also help
their
employees
in situations
thatand
do
not come under
formal
contract
employees.
When
employees
receive
supporting
not come under a formal contract of employees. When employees receive supporting and
caring conduct from their inclusive leader, they are urged to provide extra support to their
caring conduct from their inclusive leader, they are urged to provide extra support to their
leader in the process of social exchange. Consequently, they engage in different extra-role
leader in the process of social exchange. Consequently, they engage in different extra-role
behaviors, one of which is their creative potential. The theoretical framework of this study
behaviors, one of which is their creative potential. The theoretical framework of this study
is given in Figure 1.
is given in Figure 1.
Figure
Hypothetical Framework.
Framework.
Figure 1.
1. Hypothetical
2. Methodology
2. Methodology
2.1. Participants and Procedure
2.1. Participants and Procedure
The healthcare sector of Pakistan was considered for the hypothetical framework of
The healthcare
sectorhealthcare
of Pakistan
was considered
for the hypothetical
framework
of
this study.
The country’s
system
is a mix of different
players, including
public,
this study.
The country’s
healthcareparastatal,
system isetc.
a mix
of different
players,
including
public,
private,
charity-based
contributors,
There
are four major
modes
of healthcare
private, in
charity-based
contributors,
parastatal,
etc.and
There
are fourhealthcare
major modes
of
delivery
Pakistan: preventive,
curative,
promotive,
rehabilitative
services.
healthcare delivery
in percent
Pakistan:
preventive,
promotive,
andbyrehabilitative
Approximately
eighty
of the
country’scurative,
population
is attended
the private
healthcare
Approximately
eighty
percent ofof
theeach
country’s
population
is attended
sector
[41].services.
Currently,
the provincial
government
province
is constitutionally
responsible for regulating the healthcare system and structure in a province except the
territory administered by the Federal government. The Ministry of National Regulation
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19, 4519
5 of 13
and Services is a body that sets the policy guidelines of the healthcare system in the
country. Nevertheless, the operationalization of the guidelines provided by the Ministry
of National Regulation and Services lies with the provincial governments. Large cities of
Pakistan, especially Lahore and Karachi, are identified as the two dominant cities where
many hospitals exist (both public and private). Moreover, these two cities comprise a
multi-million population whose health delivery is reliant on these hospitals. Furthermore,
with the rising competitive norms in the healthcare industry, especially in private hospitals,
a hospital needs to base its competitive position on a stable foundation, for which creative
employees are critical.
Given that Lahore and Karachi constitute a large umbrella of hospitals, we selected
these two cities for the purpose of data collection. In this respect, different hospitals
were contacted to facilitate the data collection process in the larger interest of industry
and academia. We then approached hospitals with a positive response to start the data
collection activity. A total of six hospitals were included in the finalized sample (three from
each city).
We, prior to producing the final version of the data collection instrument (a selfadministered questionnaire), requested the field experts to assess the statements of our
questionnaire for their suitability and appropriateness. The significance of this step is
endorsed by various researchers previously [42,43]. This expert opinion led us to produce
the finalized version of our instrument, which was then presented to each informant [44–46].
The employees serving in these hospitals were invited to partake in the current survey on a
voluntary basis. Indeed, employees from different departments and fields were included in
the current survey. To observe the ethical guidelines, we followed the Helsinki Declaration’s
protocols [47,48]. In this regard, the anonymity of each informant was assured, and each
informant was served with informed consent to partake in this survey. Furthermore, the
quitting from this survey was also allowed if an informant was uncomfortable disclosing
the information at any stage in filling the responses on the questionnaire.
2.2. Instrument
An adapted questionnaire was considered to collect the data from informants on a
seven-point Likert scale. We employed a paper–pencil survey methodology to receive the
responses. Generally, the questionnaire included two major sections. The demographic
information was collected in the first section, whereas the variable-related information
was the subject of the second part. A three-wave data collection procedure was applied
in this vein. A time interval of three weeks was maintained for each wave. To elucidate
further, in the first wave, the demographic information of the informants was obtained.
The information for P.S and employees’ perceptions of inclusive leadership (InL) was also
obtained in this phase. Employees with managerial ranks or leadership positions were
approached in the second wave to share their perception about a subordinate’s creative
behavior. Lastly, the data for polychronicity were collected in the third wave. The early
researchers in the field also found this multi-wave data collection strategy as an effective
strategy to deal with informants’ fatigue and to avoid the issue of common method variance
(CMV), which is a largely reported issue in a survey in which all information was collected
from a single source [49].
2.3. Measures
To measure the variables of this study, we adapted the already existing scales from
different published sources. For example, nine items to measure InL were adapted from
Carmeli et al. [50]. A sampled item from this scale was “Our leader/manager is open
to discuss the desired goals and new ways to achieve them”. A reliability value (α) of
0.922 was obtained for this scale. In the same vein, we adapted five items of P.S from the
study of Edmondson [51]. A significant α = 0.855 was observed in this case. A sample item
was “No one in this hospital would deliberately act in a way that undermines my efforts”.
The scale of employee creativity was adapted from the stud of Coelho and Augusto [52],
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19, 4519
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which included five items. One item of this scale was “This person experiments with new
approaches in performing his/her job”. The overall α = 0.868 showed a significant value.
Lastly, the scale of polychronicity was adapted from Lindquist and
Kaufman-Scarborough [53], which included five items with α = 0.869. One particular
item was “I prefer to do two or more activities at the same time”. For more details on
the items of this survey, Appendix A can be seen. Initially, we distributed 600 surveys
to the employees of the selected hospitals who responded with 61% (n = 366). For more
descriptive detail, Table 1 can be seen. The data were collected between September to
November 2021.
Table 1. Demographic detail of sample.
Demographic
Gender
Male
Female
Age group (Year)
18–22
23–27
28–32
33–37
38–42
Above
Experience (Years)
1–3
4–6
7–9
Above
Education
12 years
14 years
Masters
Total
Frequency
%
223
143
60.93
39.07
52
59
79
71
49
56
14.21
16.12
21.58
19.40
13.39
15.30
69
131
107
59
18.85
35.79
29.23
16.12
57
194
115
366
15.57
53.01
31.42
100
2.4. Non-Response Bias and Common Latent Factor Test
To assess, if the issue of nonresponse bias exists, we compared the informants who
provided full information with the informants who did not provide the full information.
It was realized that no significant observable discrepancy has existed, implying that a
non-response bias was not a matter of concern. Similarly, though the data were collected
from multiple sources in different intervals, we still performed a common latent factor
(CLF) test to verify the non-existence of CMV. For this purpose, we drew a measured
model in AMOS, which was then compared with another alternate measured model (this
model includes a CLF). It was observed that neither a CLF model explained a sheer amount of
total variance (more than 50%), nor any significant difference between the standardized factor
loadings (>0.2) between the two models existed. These results were enough to confirm that a
CMV was not a critical issue in this work which requires any measures to address this issue.
3. Results
3.1. Establishing Validity and Reliability
To establish the validity and reliability of the variables in this work, we first of all
checked the standardized factor loadings (λ) of each item (InL = 9, employee creativity = 5,
P.S = 5, polychronicity = 5). Usually, a λ-value > 0.5 is considered good; however, values
beyond 0.7 are desirable. Table 2 shows the results of factor loadings along with other
values. It can be seen that all λ-values were positive and significant. This implies that all
the items showed a good λ-value. We then used these λ-values to calculate each variable’s
average-variance-extracted (A.V.E) value. Generally, an A.V.E value > 0.5 for a variable
indicates a good convergent validity. It was realized that the A.V.Es for all variables were
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19, 4519
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positive and beyond the standard value of 0.5 (A.V.E for InL = 0.597, E.C = 0.559, P.S = 0.607,
and PoL = 0.592). These results clearly indicate that the convergent validity was established
in every case, and all the items of one variable were converging on it. Thus, the case of
convergent validity was well supported by the statistical findings of the current dataset.
Moving forward in the process of construct evaluation, we also assessed the candidature of
each variable to prove its composite reliability (C.R). To this aspect, we again considered
λ-values to calculate C.R value of each variable. A C.R value not less than 0.7 is normally
considered a significant value. In the current case (Table 2), all C.R values were above 0.7,
which implies that these values were significant (C.R for InL = 0.930, E.C = 0.864, P.S = 0.865,
and PoL = 0.878).
Table 2. Construct evaluation.
Λ
λ2
S.E
T. Values
E-Variance
InL
InL-1
InL-2
InL-3
InL-4
InL-5
InL-6
InL-7
InL-8
InL-9
0.699
0.711
0.720
0.762
0.818
0.822
0.746
0.738
0.913
0.489
0.506
0.518
0.581
0.669
0.676
0.557
0.545
0.834
0.049
0.047
0.044
0.038
0.036
0.033
0.051
0.039
0.033
14.27
15.13
16.36
20.05
22.72
24.91
14.63
18.92
27.67
0.511
0.494
0.482
0.419
0.331
0.324
0.443
0.455
0.166
0.718
0.829
0.758
0.716
0.712
0.516
0.687
0.575
0.513
0.507
0.052
0.047
0.042
0.040
0.038
13.81
17.64
18.05
17.90
18.74
0.484
0.313
0.425
0.487
0.493
E.C
E.C-1
E.C-2
E.C-3
E.C-4
E.C-5
P.S
P.S-1
P.S-2
P.S-3
P.S-4
P.S-5
0.868
0.719
0.706
0.730
0.716
0.753
0.517
0.498
0.533
0.513
0.062
0.058
0.049
0.036
0.038
14.00
12.40
14.41
20.28
18.84
0.717
0.744
0.829
0.813
0.736
0.514
0.554
0.687
0.661
0.542
0.055
0.048
0.034
0.039
0.046
13.04
15.50
24.38
20.85
16.00
C.R
0.597
0.930
0.559
0.864
0.607
0.865
0.592
0.878
0.247
0.483
0.502
0.467
0.487
PoL
PoL-1
PoL-2
PoL-3
PoL-4
PoL-5
AVE
0.486
0.446
0.313
0.339
0.460
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022,
19, x λ = Item loadings, C.R = composite reliability, ∑λ2 = sum of square of item loadings,
8 of 13
Notes:
E-Variance = error variance, InL = inclusive leadership, E.C = employee creativity, P.S = psychological safety,
and PoL = polychronicity.
3.2.Correlations
Correlationsand
andDivergent
DivergentValidity
Validity
3.2.
Thevalidation
validationofofvariables
variablesthrough
throughA.V.E
A.V.Eand
andC.R
C.Rvalues
valuesled
ledusustotomove
moveforward
forwardinin
The
theprocess
processofofdata
dataanalysis.
analysis.Therefore,
Therefore,we
weperformed
performeda acorrelation
correlationanalysis
analysisininorder
ordertotosee
see
the
thevalue
valueand
anddirection
directionofofcorrelation
correlationbetween
betweendifferent
differentpairs
pairsofofvariables.
variables.Table
Table3 3shows
shows
the
the
theresults
resultsofofcorrelations.
correlations.According
Accordingtotothese
theseresults,
results,a apositive
positiveand
andsignificant
significantcorrelation
correlation
was
wasobserved
observedbetween
betweendifferent
differentpairs.
pairs.To
Toexplain
explainfurther,
further,ititcan
canbebeseen
seenthat
thatthe
thepair
pairofof
InL
E.C showed
showedaapositive
positiveand
andsignificant
significant
correlation
value
InLand
andemployee
employee creativity
creativity ꟷE.C
correlation
value
(r =
(r0.489,
= 0.489,
< 0.01).
positive
association
indicates
that these
variables
co-vary
in a
p < p0.01).
ThisThis
positive
association
indicates
that these
variables
co-vary
in a positive
positive
direction
withother.
each other.
A similar
casebe
can
be seen
all other
(Table
3). All
direction
with each
A similar
case can
seen
in allinother
pairspairs
(Table
3). All
this
implies that correlations were all significant in every case. Likewise, we also tested the
divergent validity of all of our studied variables. In doing so, we first calculated the square
root of A.V.E (sqA.V.E) of each variable which was then compared with the correlational
values. A positive case of divergent validity occurs when the sqA.V.E value of a variable
is superior to the correlational values in comparison. Put simply, one could see that the
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19, 4519
8 of 13
this implies that correlations were all significant in every case. Likewise, we also tested the
divergent validity of all of our studied variables. In doing so, we first calculated the square
root of A.V.E (sqA.V.E) of each variable which was then compared with the correlational
values. A positive case of divergent validity occurs when the sqA.V.E value of a variable
is superior to the correlational values in comparison. Put simply, one could see that the
sqA.V.E of InL was 0.773 which was superior to the correlational values (InL ⇔ E.C = 0.489;
InL ⇔ P.S = 0.416; and InL ⇔ PoL = 0.278). Similarly, a divergent validity was confirmed
for all other variables. Lastly, different measurement models were developed in AMOS
compared with the hypothesized model (4-factor). It was revealed that the hypothesized
model was the most significant compared to the alternate models. These results are
presented in Table 4.
Table 3. Correlations and discriminant validity.
Construct
InL
E.C
P.S
PoL
Mean
SD
InL
E.C
P.S
PoL
0.773
0.489 **
0.748
0.416 **
0.338 **
0.779
0.278 **
0.396 **
0.319 **
0.769 **
5.02
4.77
4.39
4.98
0.54
0.72
0.76
0.59
Notes: SD = standard deviation, ** = significant values of correlation, and bold diagonal = discriminant validity values.
Table 4. Model fit comparison, alternate vs. hypothesized models.
Model
χ2 /df
∆χ2 /df
NFI
CFI
RMSEA
4-factor
3-factor
2-factor
1-factor
1.982
3.408
3.592
5.082
_
1.426
0.184
1.490
0.942
0.876
0.839
0.598
0.949
0.882
0.863
0.604
0.043
0.050
0.057
0.083
3.3. Hypotheses Validation
In the last phase of the data analysis, we tested the hypothetical relationships by
employing the structural equation modeling technique (SEM) for which we used AMOS
software. As an advanced level technique to analyze the complex models, the data scientists
have largely considered this technique, especially to analyze complex models (a model
which involves multiple mediations, moderations or both). As a second-generation data
analysis tool, SEM provides data analysis with a flexible environment with several advanced
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19, x features which were not available in traditional regression analysis. To proceed
8 of 13
with SEM, we drew a structural model twice. Firstly, the structural model was drawn
to observe the direct effects without any inclusion of mediator(s) in this model. This
was carried out to see the results of H1, H2, and H4. Table 5 shows the output of this
3.2. Correlations
and Divergent
ValidityThese results explicitly state that H1, H2, and H4
structural
model (direct
effect model).
The validation
variables
through
A.V.E and
C.Rwas
values
led us to amove
forward
were statistically
valid.ofFor
example,
the purpose
of H1
to establish
positive
link in
the process
of data
analysis. and
Therefore,
we performed
analysis
in order the
to see
between
inclusive
leadership
employee
creativity. aIncorrelation
this regard,
we evaluated
the value
and 3direction
of correlation
between
different
pairs ofcorrelation
variables. between
Table 3 shows
results
of Tables
and 5. The
result of Table
3 showed
a positive
an
inclusive
leader
and employee
creativity
(InL ⇔
E.C =a0.489).
the regression
the results
of correlations.
According
to these
results,
positiveLikewise,
and significant
correlation
weight
in Table 5between
indicatesdifferent
a positive
change
in employee
creativity
a change
in of
was observed
pairs.
To explain
further,
it can bedue
seentothat
the pair
inclusive
valueꟷE.C
β1 =showed
0.476; CR
= 15.305;and
p
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