Abstract
agricultural research institutes. However, empirical investigations into how leadership styles
influence employees’ innovative work behavior in this sector remain scarce. In particular,
scholars have paid limited attention to how leaders in agricultural research institutes shape and
enhance employees’ innovation-related behaviors. This study fills that gap by examining how EL
influences employees’ innovative behavior (EIB), emphasizing organizational motivation to innovate
(OMI) and creativity as the key mechanisms that leaders use to promote innovation
among employees in Ethiopian agricultural research institutions. Using a proportionate systematic
random sampling method, we drew the sample from the Amhara Agricultural Research
Institute (ARARI). The study employed validated questionnaires to examine the hypothesized
relationships among EL, EIB, OMI, and employees’ creativity (EC). The findings reveal that OMI
serves as a mediator between EL and EIB. Moreover, EC mediates the relationship between OMI
and EIB. The study discusses the insights derived from the findings and offers recommendations
for fostering creative behavior among staff in agricultural research institutes. Doing so contributes
to the literature on entrepreneurial leadership and innovative behavior, particularly
relevant to agricultural research institutes in Ethiopia’s developing economy. It also extends
previous empirical research by examining how EL influences EIB in agricultural research settings,
with OMI and individual creativity as key mediators.