This study looks into whether a leadership style that combines both strictness and care, similar to that of a parent, either hinders or fosters creativity at work. It examines how paternalistic leadership shapes employee creative behavior indirectly, with creative self-efficacy acting as the mediating factor. How various dimensions of paternalistic leadership influence employee creative behavior remain highly controversial. We used a questionnaire-based approach to acquire valid sample responses from multiple employees then used mediation effects to test the model and validate proposed hypotheses. Our results show that benevolent leadership is substantially associated positively with creative self-efficacy and with creative behavior, with creative self-efficacy acting as a full mediator. Virtuous leadership and authoritarian leadership, in contrast, did not exhibit statistically significant direct or indirect effects on creative self-efficacy or on creative behavior within this study. These results indicate that corporate managers should concentrate on curbing authoritarian tendencies and enhancing employees' confidence in creativity through benevolent leadership, thereby more effectively promoting employee creativity.

Zeng Liqi. How Paternalistic Leadership Shapes Employee Creative Behavior: A Mediation Model of Creative Self-Efficacy. Academic Journal of Business & Management (2026), Vol. 8, Issue 6: 72-78. https://doi.org/10.25236/AJBM.2026.080609.

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