Transformational Leadership and Organizational Resilience in the Era of Industry 5.0: The Mediating Role of Knowledge Management Capability and Employee Innovative Behavior

Abstract

The transition toward Industry 5.0 has fundamentally reshaped organizational priorities by emphasizing human-centricity, sustainability, resilience, and intelligent collaboration between advanced technologies and human capabilities. Within this context, transformational leadership has emerged as a strategic driver of organizational adaptability and long-term competitiveness. This study investigates the direct and indirect effects of transformational leadership on organizational resilience by examining the mediating roles of knowledge management capability and employee innovative behavior. A quantitative research design was employed using a survey of employees from organizations undergoing digital transformation across multiple industrial sectors. Data were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) to evaluate both measurement and structural models. The findings reveal that transformational leadership significantly enhances knowledge management capability, stimulates employee innovative behavior, and directly strengthens organizational resilience. Knowledge management capability also exerts a significant positive influence on employee innovative behavior and organizational resilience, confirming its strategic role in facilitating organizational learning and adaptive capacity. Furthermore, employee innovative behavior significantly contributes to organizational resilience by enabling continuous improvement, creative problem-solving, and organizational flexibility. Mediation analysis demonstrates that knowledge management capability and employee innovative behavior partially mediate the relationship between transformational leadership and organizational resilience, indicating that leadership effectiveness is reinforced through organizational knowledge processes and innovation-oriented employee behavior. These findings contribute to the growing Industry 5.0 literature by integrating leadership, knowledge management, innovation, and resilience into a comprehensive conceptual framework. The study offers practical implications for managers seeking to develop resilient organizations by fostering transformational leadership, strengthening knowledge management systems, and encouraging employee innovation to achieve sustainable organizational performance in increasingly dynamic and digitally driven business environments.