elahe asadolahidehkordi

The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of authentic leadership on innovative work behavior, with the mediating roles of proactive personality and employee engagement, using the case of Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences. This research is applied in nature and follows a descriptive–survey method. Data were collected through fieldwork. The statistical population included all 467 employees of the university, from which a sample of 250 individuals was selected using Cochran’s formula and stratified random sampling. Data collection instruments consisted of standardized questionnaires: Authentic Leadership (Walumbwa et al., 2008), Employee Engagement (Schaufeli et al., 2006), Proactive Personality (Johnson et al., 2017), and Innovative Work Behavior (Scott & Bruce, 1994). Content validity was confirmed by experts, and reliability coefficients (Cronbach’s alpha) were 0/75, 0/81, 0/77, and 0/88 respectively. The hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling and the partial least squares (PLS) approach. The results indicated significant and positive relationships between authentic leadership and proactive personality, authentic leadership and innovative work behavior, proactive personality and innovative work behavior, proactive personality and employee engagement, and employee engagement and innovative work behavior. Furthermore, the mediating role of proactive personality in the relationship between authentic leadership and innovative work behavior, and the mediating role of employee engagement in the relationship between proactive personality and innovative work behavior were confirmed. Among these, employee engagement emerged as a stronger mediator between proactive personality and innovative work behavior.