Virtuous Creativity: The Effects of Leader Behavioural Integrity on Follower Creative Thinking and Risk Taking

Despite the preponderance of research concerning creativity and ethical leadership, the possibility of why and how a leader's ethical behaviour may stimulate follower creativity has not been examined. Employing an online experimental design, we applied a virtue ethics framework to examine associations between subordinates' perceptions of their leader's integrity and their intention to think creatively and to engage in risk taking. Subordinates' perceptions of their leader's behavioural integrity positively predicted their sense of psychological safety. Moreover, psychological safety positively predicted followers' intention to think creatively and to take risks. Copyright © 2011 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Resume Malgre le grand nombre de recherches consacrees a la creativite et au leadership ethique, la question de savoir comment et pourquoi le comportement ethique du leader stimulerait la creativite de ceux qui le suivent n'a pas retenu l'attention des chercheurs. A partir d'une conception experimentale en ligne, nous avons utilise le cadre de la vertu ethique pour examiner le lien entre les perceptions que les subordonnes ont de l'integrite de leur leader et leur intention de penser de facon critique et de prendre des risques. L'etude montre que les perceptions que les subordonnes ont de l'integrite comportementale de leur leader predisent positivement leur sens de securite psychologique. Par ailleurs, la securite psychologique predit positivement les intentions des suiveurs de penser de facon critique et de prendre des risques. Copyright © 2011 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.