The influence of transformational leadership and knowledge management on employee innovation in Dubai customs – mediating role of organizational trust and moderating role of training

The regulatory environment at Dubai Customs presents an urgent need to understand how to foster creativity among its employees. Therefore, this research aims to study the different effects of transformational leadership, knowledge management, organizational trust and personal skills training on employee creativity within Dubai Customs in the United Arab Emirates. The proposed conceptual framework examines the impact of transformational leadership and knowledge management on employee creativity, along with the role of organizational trust as a mediating variable and personal skills training as a moderating variable. The proposed conceptual framework includes ten hypotheses to explore and clarify the relationships between the variables involved, including direct relationships, as well as mediating and moderating effects. The study used quantitative methods and the data collected were primary data gathered through a well-structured questionnaire. The study encompassed all Dubai Customs employees, totalling 4,500 individuals, with a target sample size of 354 employees. The final dataset comprised 371 respondents selected using a simple random sampling technique. The results revealed that the predictive power of the employee creativity variable was 0.580, reflecting a moderate effect. Moreover, the results demonstrated significant effects, with path coefficients ranging from 0.147 for knowledge management to 0.318 for transformational leadership. Additionally, the results showed that organizational trust had an acceptable predictive power of 0.440, while transformational leadership exhibited a positive impact with a path coefficient of 0.204, and knowledge management contributed effectively with a path coefficient of 0.275. In terms of mediating influence, the results indicated partial mediation via organizational trust for both transformational leadership and knowledge management, with indirect impacts of 0.065 and 0.088 respectively. Concerning moderating effects, the results suggested that soft skills training played a modulating role in the relationship between transformational leadership and employee creativity, with a path coefficient of 0.129, while other factors did not demonstrate significant effects. Consequently, decision-makers must actively promote both transformational leadership and knowledge management, employing personal skills training as an essential tool. Future research can replicate the proposed model in different contexts and expand the framework by introducing different mediating and moderating variables.