Boosting Employee Creativity in the Hybrid Work Era: A Second-Order Transformational Leadership Model Mediated by Creative Self-Efficacy

Sarah Sentika; Yulita Anggelia; Narita Risdianovi; Hikmat Rizki Fathoni; Rivaldi Arissaputra

doi:10.55227/ijhess.v5i2.1969

Authors

Sarah Sentika Universitas Satu
Yulita Anggelia Psychology Department, Faculty of Business and Humanities, Universitas Satu
Narita Risdianovi Management Department, Faculty of Business and Humanities, Universitas Satu
Hikmat Rizki Fathoni Management Department, Faculty of Business and Humanities, Universitas Satu
Rivaldi Arissaputra Internasional Trade Department, Faculty of Economics, Businesss, and Social Sciences, Universitas ‘Aisyiyah

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.55227/ijhess.v5i2.1969

Keywords:

Employee Creativity, Transformational Leadership, Creative Self Efficacy, Hybrid Work, Human Resource Management

Abstract

Employee creativity has become a key determinant of organizational competitiveness, especially in hybrid work environments that combine flexibility with challenges to collaboration and motivation. This study examines the role of transformational leadership in fostering employee creativity, with creative self-efficacy as a mediating mechanism. Transformational leadership is modeled as a second-order construct consisting of idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration. A quantitative survey was conducted with 309 employees working under hybrid arrangements, and data were analyzed using structural equation modeling with SmartPLS 4.0. The findings demonstrate that transformational leadership significantly enhances employee creativity both directly and indirectly, with the mediating role of creative self-efficacy identified as the most effective pathway. Among the leadership dimensions based on outerloadings, inspirational motivation (0.947) and idealized influence (0.944) emerge as the strongest contributors, highlighting the importance of vision and trust in sustaining creativity under hybrid work conditions. The study contributes to leadership and creativity research while offering practical insights for organizations in Indonesia’s digital economy and creative industries, emphasizing leadership development and human resource strategies that strengthen creative self-efficacy to maintain innovation and resilience

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