Leadership as a determinant of product innovation: A systematic review of the literature

This systematic review paper integrates and analyzes previous empirical results between 2002-2012 to characterize the theories and variables that examine the leadership-innovation relationship. Even though there were many studies examining the effects of leadership on various types of innovation, the empirical results showing the leadership-product innovation relationship were scarce. Among a variety of styles or characteristics of leadership, transformational leadership was used most as explanatory variable to predict innovation. However, there was no single study revealing the positive effect of transformational leadership on product innovation. This article provides the pathway for researchers to further investigate the leadership-product innovation relationship.