Transformational leadership and creativity: Exploring the mediating effects of creative thinking and intrinsic motivation

This study investigates the effect of transformational leadership on the followers' creativity through the mediation of creative thinking and intrinsic motivation. Data were collected from the Research and Development employees of 50 companies in Taiwan. It is found that the creative thinking and the intrinsic motivation fully mediate the relationship between transformational leadership and creativity. It is also found that the transformational leadership has a relatively smaller effect on creative thinking than on intrinsic motivation. In addition, creative thinking has a greater effect on creativity than does intrinsic motivation. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.