Purpose: Innovations are imperative for organizational growth and sustainability. This study focuses on the employees' innovative behavior, a source of organizational innovations, which has received substantial attention from the researchers. Based on the psychological empowerment theory, the study exposes the effect of the various dimensions of public service motivation (PSM) on employees' innovative behavior (IB) in public sector institutions especially in the context of developing countries such as Pakistan. Moreover, the study also investigates the mediating role of psychological empowerment (PSE) between the dimensions of PSM and IB.Design/methodology/approach: This study used the cross-sectional research design. By using random sampling, the adapted survey questionnaires were used to collect data from 346 faculty members of public sector universities located in provincial capitals of Pakistan. A partial least square–structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) tool was used to assess the proposed hypotheses through SMART-PLS software.Findings: Results revealed that attraction to policymaking (APM), compassion (COM), self-sacrifice (SS) have a significant impact on employees' PSE and their innovative behavior, while the relationship of commitment to the public interest (CPI) with PSE and IB was found insignificant. Moreover, PSE partially mediated the relationship between PSM dimensions and employees' IB.Originality/value: There was a scarcity of research on IB especially in public sector institutions such as academia. This study theoretically contributed to the literature by providing a refined picture in assessing the proposed relationship of the constructs. This is also one of the original studies that examine the relationship between the dimensions of PSM and IB.

This study developed and tested a moderated mediation model by examining the relationships between humble leadership (HL), emotional intelligence, employee conflict (EC), and creative performance (CP), using resource-based theory as the theoretical foundation. We conducted a cross-sectional survey of 322 employees and their immediate supervisors (n = 53) from the telecom sector in Pakistan. The data was analyzed using AMOS 21 and SPSS 26. The results demonstrate that HL has a positive effect on creative performance and a negative relationship with employee conflict. Furthermore, employee conflict has a negative impact on CP and mediates the impact of HL on CP. Moreover, a leader’s emotional intelligence moderates the negative relationship between HL and EC. Finally, this study reveals that EI moderates the indirect effects of HL on CP. The conclusions and implications are discussed at the end of this paper.

Background: The growing complexity of organizational environments necessitates leadership styles that promote employee creativity and engagement. While humble leadership (HL) is a significant predictor of creative performance (CP), mechanisms like work engagement (WE) and contextual factors like job autonomy (JA) remain underexplored. This study addresses this gap by examining WE as a mediator and JA as a moderator in the HL-CP relationship. Objectives: The study aimed to: (1) investigate the HL-CP relationship, (2) explore WE as a mediator, and (3) examine JA as a moderator in the HL-WE and HL-CP relationships. Methods: Data from 412 employee–supervisor dyads in Pakistan’s service sector were analyzed using SPSS V.26 for mediation and moderation analyses and AMOS V.21 for confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Results: WE partially mediated the positive HL-CP relationship. JA significantly moderated both the HL-WE and HL-CP relationships, enhancing the positive effects of HL. Conclusion: The study highlights WE and JA as key mechanisms linking HL to CP, offering practical insights for fostering creativity through humble leadership and autonomy. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed, along with future research directions.