The Impact of Temporal Leadership on Innovative Work Behavior with the Moderating Role of Innovation Passion

Abstract
In today’s dynamic organizational landscape _ characterized by persistent time pressures, structural complexities, and resource constraints _ the synergy among effective leadership, time management, and leveraging employees’ innovative potential holds strategic significance. This study aimed to examine the effect of temporal leadership on innovative work behavior and to clarify the moderating role of innovation enthusiasm. Conducted within the positivist paradigm using a quantitative, cross‑sectional design, the research employed a researcher‑developed questionnaire. The statistical population consisted of employees of the Imam Khomeini Relief Committee in Kurdistan Province (N = 321), from which 220 participants were selected using Cohen’s formula and stratified random sampling. Instrument validity and reliability were confirmed through factor loadings, composite reliability, Cronbach’s alpha, content validity indices (CVR and CVI), convergent validity (AVE), and discriminant validity (HTMT). Data analysis using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS‑SEM) indicated that temporal leadership has a positive and significant effect on innovative work behavior (β = 0.312, p < 0.005). Furthermore, innovation enthusiasm significantly moderates and strengthens this relationship (β = 0.406, p < 0.001). ANOVA results showed that managers, employees aged 31–40 years, and those with a master’s degree or higher exhibit, respectively, the highest levels of temporal leadership, innovation enthusiasm, and innovative work behavior. Grounded in resource conservation theory and social exchange theory, the findings highlight the synergistic impact of temporal leadership and innovation enthusiasm in enhancing innovative work behavior and adapting managerial models to motivational and demographic attributes. The study’s novelty lies in integrating temporal analysis with a motivational dimension in a mission‑driven context.
Introduction
Innovation has emerged as a decisive capability for sustaining organizational adaptability, efficiency, and value creation, particularly in public sector entities where responsiveness to citizens’ needs is often challenged by regulatory constraints and resource limitations. Within this environment, innovative work behavior—encompassing idea generation, promotion, and implementation—serves as a critical driver for performance and service quality improvements. Leadership is central to cultivating such behaviors, and temporal leadership, which emphasizes synchronizing task sequences, foreseeing obstacles, and regulating workload, has gained recognition as a means of structuring work in ways that facilitate innovation. Temporal leadership not only organizes processes but also buffers the detrimental effects of time scarcity on creativity. However, its influence is not uniform across individuals; personal dispositions, such as innovation enthusiasm—the intrinsic motivation to engage with novel ideas and solutions—can amplify or weaken its impact. This study addresses this theoretical and empirical gap by exploring a moderated relationship between temporal leadership and innovative work behavior, thereby linking leadership processes with motivational constructs in a nuanced manner.
Case study
The empirical context selected for this investigation is the Imam Khomeini Relief Committee of Kurdistan Province, a mission‑driven organization committed to social welfare and poverty alleviation. Operating within a constrained budgetary and bureaucratic framework, the organization serves as an ideal setting for examining the role of temporal leadership in harnessing limited resources for innovative outcomes. The diversity of functions, ranging from administrative support to field operations, imposes high variability in task demands and temporal coordination requirements. Furthermore, substantial demographic diversity among employees, including different age groups, educational backgrounds, and hierarchical positions, provided a robust basis for analyzing how temporal leadership and innovation enthusiasm interact across organizational layers. These features made the case both analytically rich and practically relevant for understanding the dynamics of innovation in resource‑restricted environments.
Materials and Methods
Adhering to a positivist epistemology and a deductive approach, this study employed a quantitative, descriptive‑explanatory, and cross‑sectional methodology. Data were collected using a structured researcher‑developed questionnaire, whose dimensions were adapted from established scales: temporal leadership (three dimensions from Zhang et al., 2021), innovation enthusiasm (three dimensions from Ritwatthanavanich et al., 2021), and innovative work behavior (four dimensions from Srirahayu et al., 2023). The first part of the questionnaire captured demographic attributes, while the second comprised 33 five‑point Likert items. Content validity was verified through expert review (four academics, two senior managers, and two organizational experts), yielding CVR values between 0.77 and 0.94 and CVI values between 0.81 and 0.95, exceeding standard thresholds. Convergent validity (AVE > 0.5) and discriminant validity (HTMT < 0.9) were confirmed, while reliability was established with composite reliability and Cronbach’s alpha values above 0.7. Sampling was guided by Cohen’s formula, selecting 220 respondents from a population of 321 through stratified random sampling. Analytical procedures involved PLS‑SEM using SmartPLS to test hypothesized relationships, supplemented by ANOVA in SPSS to explore demographic differences. Structural model fit was assessed via path significance (Z‑values > 1.96), coefficient of determination (R² = 0.338 for innovative work behavior), effect sizes (f² = 0.156 for temporal leadership and 0.357 for the interaction effect), predictive relevance (Q² = 0.366), and overall model fit (GoF = 0.521). Ethical considerations—including voluntary participation, informed consent, anonymity, and neutrality during data collection—were observed rigorously.
Discussion and Results
Statistical analysis confirmed that temporal leadership significantly predicts innovative work behavior, validating Hypothesis 1. Leaders who effectively coordinate task priorities, ensure alignment of team schedules, and adapt to time‑sensitive contingencies foster environments conducive to creative behaviors and their implementation. The moderating role of innovation enthusiasm, supported by Hypothesis 2, revealed that individuals with higher intrinsic motivation towards innovation respond more strongly to temporal leadership, leveraging structured coordination to expand idea generation, advocacy, and application. ANOVA results uncovered notable demographic patterns: managers report superior temporal leadership, potentially due to formal authority combined with broader task oversight; employees aged 31–40, situated between early career exploration and later career consolidation, exhibit peak innovation enthusiasm; and higher educational attainment correlates positively with innovative work behavior, possibly reflecting advanced cognitive skills and greater exposure to problem‑solving frameworks. These findings align with the Conservation of Resources Theory, in which temporal structuring functions as a resource preservation mechanism, and with Social Exchange Theory, wherein employees reciprocate structured, supportive leadership with proactive engagement in innovation.
 
 
Conclusion
This study enriches the literature on leadership and innovation by integrating a temporal process perspective with an individual motivational driver within the challenging operational conditions of a mission‑driven organization. By demonstrating that temporal leadership not only directly fosters innovative work behavior but also interacts synergistically with innovation enthusiasm, the research underscores the necessity for managers to align temporal structuring with the motivational profiles of their teams. Practical implications suggest targeted leadership development programs emphasizing time coordination skills and initiatives to cultivate employees’ intrinsic enthusiasm for innovation. The originality of the study lies in bridging temporal and motivational dimensions to produce a comprehensive model adaptable to organizations operating under tight deadlines, complex service delivery systems, and resource scarcity. These insights offer a pathway for public and non‑profit sectors to stimulate innovation without compromising operational discipline, a balance increasingly vital in the evolving demands of the twenty‑first century workplace.