Leading innovation in the public sector: A review of existing quantitative research

Existing scholarship widely recognises the importance of leadership as an antecedent of public-sector innovation. As empirical research on the relationship between public-sector innovation and leadership grows, it is important to review this scholarship to identify progress, knowledge gaps, and opportunities for future research that will help the field mature. This systematic review focuses on articles that rely on quantitative methods (N = 62). We examine how public-sector innovation and leadership are conceptualised and measured, the data sources and research designs used to study the relationship between the two, and the findings that emerge from this growing field of study. We identify the important contributions of this body of work as well as its limitations and conclude by presenting an analytic framework to guide future research in this area. Points for practitioners - The relationship between public-sector innovation and leadership is multifaceted: leaders at various levels in public organisations can shape innovation in different ways. - Leaders often shape public-sector innovation by affecting employee behaviours and actions, but they can also do so by shaping organisational conditions. - Leaders need to better understand these nuances to be more effective in advancing public-sector innovation.