Inclusive Leadership and Team Creativity: The Mediating Role of Knowledge Sharing and the Moderating Role of Psychological Safety

Abstract

While leadership is critical for fostering innovation in higher education, the precise mechanisms and boundary conditions linking inclusive leadership to team creativity remain under-examined, particularly within developing nations. Grounded in Social Exchange Theory and Social Learning Theory, this study addresses this gap by investigating a moderated mediation model that positions knowledge sharing as a mediator and psychological safety as a moderator in Pakistani higher education institutions. Survey data were collected from faculty, administrative staff, and department heads across public and private universities in Lahore, Islamabad, and Karachi using validated 5-point Likert scales. Results from OLS path analysis and hierarchical moderated regression confirm that inclusive leadership directly enhances team creativity, an effect substantially mediated by knowledge sharing. Furthermore, psychological safety acts as a critical boundary condition, significantly amplifying both the knowledge sharing–creativity link and the overall indirect pathway. Teams experiencing high inclusive leadership alongside a high psychological safety climate achieved the strongest creative outcomes. These findings extend inclusive leadership theory into the South Asian context and offer strategic insights for university management to simultaneously cultivate inclusive leadership, open knowledge exchange, and psychologically safe workplace climates.