Transformational Leadership and Ambidextrous Work Behaviours among Employees in Tunisian Knowledge-Intensive Firms: The Mediating Role of Psychological Empowerment

Abstract

This study examines the effect of transformational leadership on employees’ ambidextrous behavior by focusing on the mediating role of psychological empowerment in knowledge-intensive organizations. Addressing calls for deeper micro-foundations of ambidexterity, the research explains how leadership behaviors translate into employees’ ability to simultaneously exploit existing competencies and explore new ideas and work methods. Survey data were collected from 82 employees working in Tunisian knowledge-intensive firms and analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM).

The findings show that transformational leadership enhances psychological empowerment (β = 0.626, p < 0.001), which in turn fosters ambidextrous behavior at work (β = 0.386, p < 0.05). By empirically demonstrating the mediating role of psychological empowerment (β = 0.242, p < 0.05), this study makes a clear theoretical contribution to leadership and ambidexterity research by identifying empowerment as a key behavioral mechanism linking leadership to adaptive and innovative employee outcomes. Moreover, by focusing on a non-Western, emerging-economy context, the study extends existing literature beyond Western-centric perspectives and highlights the contextual relevance of transformational leadership. From a practical standpoint, the results suggest that organizations can strengthen employee ambidexterity by investing in leadership development practices that promote empowerment, autonomy, and continuous learning.