Laissez fair leadership role in organizational innovation: The mediating effect of organization structure

Abstract

This research represents an empirical investigation of the impact theorized by a laissez fair leadership approach on organizational innovation through studying its effect on administrative and technical innovation. Also, this study probes the role played by organizational structure within this context through further examination to address the mixed results reported in the literature, while contributing to understanding the interplay of these variables within the health services sector. For the purpose of this research, the authors drew on a random sampling technique to gather data from Jordanian hospitals. Data used for this research represents 270 employees working in the Jordanian health sector. Structure equation modelling technique was employed to test the hypothesized relationships. The results indicate positive effect of laissez fair leadership on technical and administrative innovation, similar to organizational structure positive impact. Also, the research results were found to support the notion that organizational structure mediate the relationship between laissez fair leadership and innovation. Finally, implications of this research for practitioners and researchers are formulated.

Keywords

• laissez fair leadership
• administrative innovation
• technical innovation
• organizational structure
• jordanian health sector