The Role of Leadership in Enhancing Innovation through Knowledge Management as an Intervening Factor

Abstract

This study aims to explore the relationship between leadership, knowledge management, and innovation at PT Nuon Digital Indonesia. Based on the analysis using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM), it was found that leadership does not have a direct significant impact on innovation but plays a crucial role in shaping effective knowledge management. Additionally, knowledge management was found to have a significant influence on innovation, serving as an important mediator in the relationship between leadership and innovation. This finding emphasizes that, although leadership can create the infrastructure and culture that support knowledge sharing, the success of innovation is more significantly determined by the capacity of knowledge management to accumulate, document, and distribute knowledge. Thus, knowledge management acts as a bridge between the leader's vision and the innovation outcomes that can be achieved. This study suggests that companies should focus more on developing systematic knowledge management systems to drive sustainable innovation. Practical implications for PT Nuon’s management include the importance of transforming the role of leaders into knowledge enablers and implementing more formal and structured knowledge management practices.