The Influence of Spiritual and Authentic Leadership on Innovative Work Behavior: A Dual Mediation Model in the Public Sector

Abstract

This study investigates the mechanisms through which spiritual leadership and authentic leadership influence innovative work behavior (IWB) among civil servants in the public sector, focusing on the Regional Office of the Ministry of Religious Affairs, Southeast Sulawesi Province, Indonesia. Drawing on self-determination theory and the job demands–resources (JD-R) theory, the study proposes work engagement and proactive personality as parallel mediating pathways linking leadership style to employee innovation. A cross-sectional survey was administered to 243 civil servants, and the data were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The results show that both spiritual leadership and authentic leadership exert significant, positive direct effects on IWB. Proactive personality partially mediates the effects of both leadership styles on IWB, whereas work engagement does not significantly mediate either relationship. These findings extend the leadership–innovation literature by identifying a dispositional (proactivity-based) rather than an affective–motivational (engagement-based) pathway through which value-laden leadership translates into innovation in a bureaucratic, religiously oriented public organization. The study offers theoretical contributions to Islamic and spiritual organizational behavior research and practical implications for human resource development in government institutions in emerging economies.