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Despite the fact that innovative behaviour of teachers is important for the quality of teaching in our knowledge society, there is still little research into leadership and organizational factors that influence teachers' innovative behaviour. By combining self-concept leadership theory, social exchange theory and a hierarchical model of the distance of variables to human behaviour from an interactive perspective, we tried to unravel the relationships between school organization and teacher variables. Based on longitudinal data (2011, 2012, 2013) from a select sample of 597 teachers (being part of a research panel), a structural equation model (Mplus) was used for testing the relationship between transformational leadership, the school learning climate, the quality of teacher–leadership relationships (leader–member exchange), teachers' inquiry habit of mind and teachers' innovative behaviour. The findings show a very good fit for the model and contribute to confirmation of the combined used theories and concepts of leadership in education, leaderships' influence on the organizational learning climate, the crucial mediating role of leader–member exchange between organizational variables and teacher variables, and the mediating dispositional variable of teachers' inquiry habit of mind between leader–member exchange and innovative behaviour. This study adds to our insights into the complexity of innovation in school organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Throughout the world, educational policy makers, practitioners, and scholars have acknowledged the importance of principal leadership in the generation and implementation of innovations. In many studies, transformational leadership has emerged as a promising approach in response to increasing demands to develop and implement innovations in schools. Although research has suggested that having access to leaders with expertise can significantly stimulate innovation, the link between transformational leadership and principals’ social network position has not yet been extensively studied. The goal of this study was to investigate the relationship between principals’ positions in their schools’ social networks in combination with transformational leadership and schools’ innovative climate. It was conducted among 702 teachers and 51 principals in 51 elementary schools in a large educational system in the Netherlands. Using social network analysis and multilevel analysis, the authors analyzed a quantitative questionnaire with social network questions on work-related and personal advice and Likert-type scales for transformational leadership and innovative climate. Findings indicated that transformational leadership was positively associated with schools’ innovative climate. Principals’ social network position, in terms of centrality, was also related to schools’ innovative climate. The more principals were sought for professional and personal advice, and the more closely connected they were to their teachers, the more willing teachers were to invest in change and the creation of new knowledge and practices. Moreover, work-related closeness centrality was found to mediate the relationship between transformational leadership and innovative climate. Implications of the study are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]