THE LEADERSHIP BEHAVIORS FOSTERING INNOVATIVE WORK BEHAVIOR IN EARLY-STAGE STARTUP

Abstract

Indonesia is the country with the most startups in Southeast Asia in 2022. Even so, the startup success rate in Indonesia is only 5%. In today's uncertain era, startups need to continue to innovate. Unfortunately, Indonesia is ranked 87th out of 132 countries in the Global Innovation Index. Previous research has shown a correlation between leadership behavior and innovative work behavior. Therefore, this study aims to find certain leadership behaviors that need to be adopted by an early-stage startup leader to support the innovation process in innovative work behavior. To answer research questions, qualitative methods with a case study approach were carried out at early-stage startups in the fisheries sector. Data collection is done by an interview method on four people who work directly under the CEO in the selected startup. Then the data analysis was carried out in three stages, open-coding, axial coding, and selective coding and ended with dimensional construction. After the dimensions are formed, triangulation is carried out with focus group discussions to ensure the validity and credibility of the findings. From the analysis, it was found that providing vision, promoting information exchange, supporting behavior, and motivating members need to be adopted by leaders in the idea generation phase. The behavior of collecting and discussing ideas and openness can support the idea championing phase. Meanwhile, evaluating implementation with an open mind, being a role model in execution, giving appreciation, and being firm are needed to support the idea implementation phase. Further research needs to be done to measure and test the variables found in this research using quantitative research on a broader scope so that it is not limited to early-stage startups in the fishing industry.