When leaders forgive: encouraging radical innovation in more altruistic organizations

Abstract

Purpose

There is general agreement on the importance of innovation to improve business performance and competitiveness. In recent years, many studies have sought to unravel what conditions are conducive to innovation. Following this trend, the present study seeks to broaden the understanding of the antecedents of radical innovation. To this end, and drawing on positive organizational psychology, the study focuses on the role of leaders and the importance of improving working conditions within companies, favoring innovation in more respectful and prosocial organizations.

Design/methodology/approach

The study provides, through structural equations, empirical evidence of the relationship between leader's forgiveness and radical innovation, using altruism as an explanatory variable. The study was conducted in a population of 11,594 Spanish companies. A sample frame of 554 questionnaires from 277 different firms was obtained.

Findings

Results confirm the hypotheses proposed in the model. Forgiveness, analyzed as a leader behavior, promotes altruism within companies and, in turn, radical innovation.

Originality/value

This is one of the few empirical studies that analyzes the consequences of leader's forgiveness in the organizational context.

Citation

Mallén-Broch, F.F. and Domínguez-Escrig, E. (2021), "When leaders forgive: encouraging radical innovation in more altruistic organizations", Baltic Journal of Management, Vol. 16 No. 5, pp. 712-728. https://doi.org/10.1108/BJM-02-2021-0068