Leadership and innovation in the public sector: studying the organizational, team and individual level

Public sector organizations throughout the world are facing unprecedented challenges. Given these challenges and demands, fostering innovation could obviously be a very useful strategy for public organizations. As proposed by scholars, increased innovativeness is of key importance for public organizations, due to the challenges with which they are confronted (e.g., budgetary pressures and grand societal challenges).

This study investigates effects of leadership on innovation. It is particularly important to analyze the roles that leaders may play in innovation at different hierarchical levels, as initial evidence in the academic literature depicts different leadership roles in public sector organizations in order to cultivate strategies designed to foster innovation.

By doing so, this dissertation contributes to the literature by providing additional insights into the role that leadership plays in innovation within a public sector context. Besides, the study offers suggestions to practitioners concerning how to bolster innovation within a public sector context.