Charismatic Leadership and Perceived Team Innovative Behavior in SMEs: The Mediating Role of Employees’ Self-Concept

Petra Cajnko, Iztok Podbregar

doi:10.32038/jbso.2026.15.01

European KnowledgeDevelopment Institute

Original Research

Charismatic Leadership and Perceived Team Innovative Behavior in SMEs: The Mediating Role of Employees’ Self-Concept

Petra Cajnko

Iztok Podbregar

International Journal of Behavior Studies in Organizations, Volume 15, Pages 1-21, https://doi.org/10.32038/jbso.2026.15.01

Abstract
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For small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), innovation plays an important role in remaining competitive as business conditions change. While previous research has linked leadership to innovative behavior, less is known about the psychological processes underlying this relationship. This study investigates how charismatic leadership relates to perceived team innovative behavior in Turkish SMEs, with particular attention to the possible mediating role of employees’ self-concept. We used a quantitative, cross-sectional design and administered an online questionnaire to employees of SMEs in Mersin, Turkey. After data screening, 250 valid responses were used to evaluate the measurement and structural models using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) in SmartPLS.Charismatic leadership was positively associated with perceived team innovative behavior and employees’ self-concept. Employees’ self-concept was also positively associated with perceived team innovative behavior. The estimated indirect effect of charismatic leadership on perceived team innovative behavior through employees’ self-concept was positive but small. The percentile bootstrap 95% confidence interval did not support statistical significance. The findings indicate positive associations among charismatic leadership, employees’ self-concept, and perceived team innovative behavior in Turkish SMEs. These findings suggest that leadership and employees’ perceptions of themselves are relevant to innovation-related behavior, although further research using longitudinal data and improved measurement models is needed.

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Keywords

Charismatic Leadership; Perceived Team Innovative Behavior; SMEs; Self-Concept; PLS-SEM; Turkey

Author(s) Information

Petra Cajnko

Petra Cajnko, PhD, is an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Organizational Sciences and a researcher and teaching assistant at the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, University of Maribor, Slovenia. At the Faculty of Organizational Sciences, she specializes in human resource management, while at the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, she conducts research at the Institute of Physics and teaches at the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science. Her interdisciplinary academic background combines mathematics, philosophy, business sciences, and management. She holds a doctorate in Business Sciences from the University of Maribor. Her research interests include human resource management, organizational development, artificial intelligence, digital competencies, educational innovation, and sustainable development. She actively participates in national and international research projects. Dr. Cajnko serves as Secretary General of the Pomurje Academy of Sciences and Arts (PAZU), Editor-in-Chief of the scientific journal Anali PAZU HD, and a member of the Supervisory Board of CEROP d.o.o. She also contributes to the international academic community as a reviewer for scientific journals and conferences. Additionally, she is involved in higher education at institutions such as GEA College. Her interdisciplinary work bridges science, education, technology, and management, emphasizing applied research, knowledge transfer, and international collaboration.

Iztok Podbregar

Iztok Podbregar, PhD, is a Full Professor at the Faculty of Organizational Sciences, University of Maribor, Slovenia, and Head of the Department of Organization and Management. He holds a doctorate in Organizational Sciences and has extensive academic, managerial, and leadership experience in national security, public administration, and organizational management. His research interests include strategic and crisis management, security management, organizational development, risk management, critical infrastructure protection, and leadership. He is the author and co-author of numerous scientific publications, professional articles, and academic books, contributing to the advancement of organizational and security sciences. Before and alongside his academic career, Dr. Podbregar held several prominent leadership positions, including Chief of the General Staff of the Slovenian Armed Forces, Director of the Slovenian Intelligence and Security Agency, and National Security Advisor to the President of the Republic of Slovenia. He also served as Dean of the Faculty of Organizational Sciences, University of Maribor. His interdisciplinary work integrates academic research with extensive practical experience in strategic decision-making, organizational leadership, security, and crisis management, emphasizing the application of scientific knowledge to complex organizational and societal challenges.

How to cite this article

Cajnko, P., & Podbregar, I. (2026). Charismatic leadership and perceived team innovative behavior in SMEs: The mediating role of employees’ self-concept. International Journal of Behavior Studies in Organizations, 15, 1-21. https://doi.org/10.32038/jbso.2026.15.01

Funding

Not applicable.

Author Contributions

Petra Cajnko: Methodological Review, Interpretation of Results, Writing – Review & Editing, and Manuscript Preparation.

Iztok Podbregar: Methodological Review, Interpretation of Results, Supervision, and Writing – Review & Editing.

Both authors contributed to the scientific evaluation, interpretation, and critical revision of the manuscript. Both authors reviewed and approved the final version and agree to take responsibility for the accuracy and integrity of their respective contributions.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Generative AI Use Disclosure Statement

During the preparation of this manuscript, the authors used OpenAI's ChatGPT to assist with language editing, manuscript organization, statistical output verification, and interpretation of reported results. The original statistical analyses were conducted using SmartPLS 3.2. All AI-assisted interpretations and manuscript revisions were critically reviewed by the authors, who take full responsibility for the accuracy, integrity, and final content of the manuscript.

Data Availability Statement

The data supporting the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request, subject to applicable confidentiality and data protection requirements.

Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge the contribution of the collaborating research institution in Turkey to the data collection process conducted among employees of small and medium-sized enterprises in Mersin between July and December 2024. The authors also express their appreciation to the assistans involved in the collecting data and to all participating organizations and employees for their contributions to the research.

Open Access

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. You may view a copy of Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License here: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/