From vision to action: how entrepreneurial leadership sparks innovative behaviour in the hospitality industry

Purpose – This study aims to examine the nexus between entrepreneurial leadership and innovative behaviour, mediated by psychological empowerment, knowledge sharing, and affective commitment. Design/methodology/approach – A quantitative explanatory research design was adopted, with data gathered in two waves over one month from 388 frontline employees of star-rated hotels in Ghana. The data retrieved were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics with the help of SPSS (V.26) and SmartPLS 4.0. Findings – The analysis revealed a positive relationship between entrepreneurial leadership and innovative behaviour. Affective commitment and knowledge sharing sequentially mediated this relationship. In addition, there were parallel mediating effects of knowledge sharing and psychological empowerment in the link. However, affective commitment alone did not significantly mediate the relationship between entrepreneurial leadership and innovative behaviour. Finally, knowledge sharing was found to mediate the relationship between affective commitment and innovative behaviour. Practical implications – Leaders of organisations should adopt behaviours that seek to empower employees, offer a feeling of attachment to the organisation and foster knowledge sharing to drive continuous innovative behaviours. Originality/value – This study uniquely extends the social exchange theory by revealing how entrepreneurial leadership activates frontline innovation through dual emotional-cognitive pathways (i.e. psychological empowerment and knowledge sharing), thereby shifting focus from affective bonds to actionable empowerment in the hospitality industry.