COMPARING TEACHERS’ INNOVATIVE WORK BEHAVIOR IN PUBLIC AND PRIVATE UNIVERSITIES: A PLS MULTI-GROUP ANALYSIS STUDY ON LEADERSHIP, TRUST, & ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to compare the impact of leadership, trust and organizational culture on innovative work behavior (IWB) of faculty members in private and public universities in Hyderabad and Jamshoro, Sindh, Pakistan. Given the growing demand for innovation in higher education, the research acknowledges that faculty creativity and innovation are products of institutional setting dynamics. It collected data from 240 university teachers from the same group, 60 per cent from the public institutions and 40 per cent from the private ones, using a structured survey. Using Structural Equation Modelling with Smart PLS 4.0, measurement model was assessed, path coefficients were determined, and Multi Group Analysis (MGA) was conducted to test for differences between the institutional types. Results showed that transformational leadership, organizational trust, and organizational culture, were strongly associated with innovative work behaviors. The magnitude and strength of relationships in public and private universities however vary. Curiously, path coefficients were stronger at a private institution between leadership and culture to IWB, indicating a more suitable contextual environment for innovation. In contrast, public universities had weaker associations with innovation, indicative of bureaucratic and cultural constraints that may impede it. The paper ends with suggestions for specific tactics that will promote an academic environment consumed by innovation.