Exploring the Nexus Between Project Leadership Styles and Team Innovation in Nigeria’s Technology Startup Ecosystem

Innovation is a critical competitive driver for technology startups, and project leadership may significantly moderate team innovation capacity. This study explores the relationship between project leadership styles and team innovation in Nigeria's technology startup ecosystem. A cross-sectional survey will recruit 240 team members, product managers, and founders from 30 startups in Lagos, Abuja, and Port Harcourt. The Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ-5X) will assess transformational, transactional, and empowering leadership styles. Team innovation will be measured using the Team Innovation Scale covering idea generation, championing, and implementation. Structural equation modeling will test direct and mediated pathways, with psychological safety as a hypothesized mediator. Nigeria's growing startup ecosystem presents a unique empirical context characterized by resource constraints, rapid pivots, and multicultural team composition. This study generates actionable insights for startup founders on leadership development and team creativity management, contributing to the emerging project leadership innovation literature from sub-Saharan Africa. Keywords: project leadership, team innovation, technology startups, Nigeria, psychological safety