Empower to Innovate: The Role of Empowering Leadership in Driving Green Innovation Initiatives in Beverage Companies of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14500/kujhss.v9n2y2026.pp771-782Keywords:
Empowering Leadership, Green Innovation, Beverage Industry, Sustainability, Kurdistan RegionAbstract
This study aims to evaluate the impact of empowering leadership on green innovation and how such a leadership style can lead and drive the organization’s capability to innovate in green initiatives. This study focused on the beverage companies operating in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, as most of the studies in a similar scope are conducted in high-tech companies, but this study focused on such a low-tech industry. To fill this gap, the researchers used a quantitative approach to collect data from staff working at these three selected major companies and analyze the data using SPSS and SMARTPLS - SEM. The sample consisted of 293 respondents randomly selected, and the researchers analyzed the reliability and validity of the scale used, and the path analysis and Structural model to test the hypothesis developed in this study. The effect size of EI on GI is large, as f2 is 0.547 and P=0.000. The findings show that empowering leadership can significantly and positively affect green innovation initiatives. The results recommend that when leaders trust, coach, and involve employees in decisions in order to empower the employees, in return, they actively innovate in green practices to develop green products and green processes.
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