Work Engagement as a Mediator Between Transformational Leadership and Employee Innovative Behaviour in Nigerian Telecommunications Companies

This study examines work engagement as a mediating mechanism between transformational leadership and employee innovative behaviour in Nigerian telecommunications companies, contributing to the growing literature on leadership-innovation linkages in technology-intensive African organisations. Telecommunications companies in Nigeria operate in a rapidly evolving competitive landscape that demands continuous workforce-driven innovation, making transformational leadership and employee engagement particularly salient strategic constructs. The study draws on a sample of 230 employees from four major telecoms, MTN, Airtel, Glo, and 9mobile, in Lagos and Abuja, selected through stratified random sampling. Measures include Bass's Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire-Short Form, the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale, and the Innovative Work Behaviour Inventory. Path analysis via SEM with bootstrap mediation testing is employed. Findings confirm that transformational leadership significantly predicts innovative work behaviour, and that this relationship is substantially mediated by work engagement, particularly the vigour and dedication dimensions. The absorption dimension of engagement partially mediates the leadership-innovation relationship, suggesting that immersive work focus enhances, but does not fully explain, the innovation effect. Firm-level moderation analysis reveals that innovation climate strengthens the leadership-engagement path. The study recommends leadership development investments focused on inspirational communication and individualised consideration, combined with contextual innovation climate management. This study adds empirical depth to the Nigerian telecommunications HRM literature on the behavioural pathways connecting leadership to innovation. Keywords: Transformational Leadership, Work Engagement, Innovation, Telecommunications, Mediation.