Abstract

The dual issues of leadership features and innovativeness constitute an important component of the related
literature along with the studies focusing on the connections between these two. The current study considers this
connection with the notion that innovativeness should be included as a feature of a leader, but it also moves
further by trying to understand how leadership orientations and innovativeness are patterned together within the
leadership concept. To this end, the authors of the current study collect data from the top managers of businesses
in the Istanbul Leather Organized Industrial Zone and perform inferential analyses. It is discovered that
leadership orientations have three and that innovativeness has five distinct factors. A structural equation model
that includes all of these factors together under the concept of leadership is proposed. Although all of the
innovativeness factors are found to be integrated within this model, only one factor for leadership orientations –
people orientation – can be integrated within the model. In other words, innovativeness can entirely be included
within the proposed model of leadership, but leadership orientations can only partially be included. Most of the
innovativeness factors are positively and moderately related to leadership, albeit assertiveness is not
considerably favored. Overall, the emphasis appears to be on people oriented and innovative leadership.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.