The Impact of Transformational Leadership on Employee Engagement and Innovation Culture: The Case Study of Indigenous Oil and Gas Companies in Nigeria

This study investigates the impact of transformational leadership on employee engagement and innovation culture in Nigeria’s indigenous oil and gas sector. Given the sector's important role in the country’s economic development, nurturing innovation is critical for indigenous oil and gas companies to compete effectively with the multinationals. Transformational leadership, embodying idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration, is a key driver to generating the innovation culture in the sector, as has been empirically proven by this study. Unlike previous studies, this research takes an integrative approach to investigating relationships between transformational leadership, employee engagement, and innovation culture with focus on the Nigerian oil and gas sector. A mixed method, combining quantitative and qualitative approaches, has been adopted for the data collection and analysis to enhance the credibility of the conclusions and recommendations. Online surveys, as well as structured questionnaires, were deployed to a sample of employees in the sector, who are mainly located in the Niger Delta region of the country. The responses were quantitatively and qualitatively analysed using SPSS software and Excel coding, respectively. The findings revealed that transformational leadership has a positive causal relationship with employee engagement and innovation culture, separately and jointly. Additionally, employee engagement mediates the relationship between transformational leadership and innovation culture. Key recommendations for nurturing a positive innovation culture include integrating employees’ vision and aspirations into the organisational vision, encouraging risk-taking, cultivating and nurturing diversity, and practicing innovation parenting.