Resumen

PETIT TORRES, Elsa Emilia  y  GUTIERREZ GONZALEZ, Lorena Beatriz. Empowerment Leadership: Promoter of Innovation. Revista Venezolana de Gerencia [online]. 2007, vol.12, n.38, pp.207-217. ISSN 1315-9984.

Abstract This article describes the model of leadership with empowerment in order to identify its profile as a promoter of innovation in business organizations. A strategy of qualitative investigation was adopted, based on application of the interpretative method proposed by Joseph Kockelmans (1975), which is founded in the technique of analyzing the contents of specialized articles. The empowerment leadership model is described as a promoter of the innovation considering the following characteristics: 1. Cultural empowerment with innovative values; 2. Confidence and commitment to the business organization; 3. intrategia as an instrument for unity; 4. Locus of internal control to impel continuous change, 5. maintain competition and 6. optimism, creativity and cross-collaboration. Conclusions are that a conceptual contact point among the theory of innovation, the knowledge management approach and management theory consists of assuming leadership as a determinant of innovation. Management theory within the framework of knowledge management and the empowerment leadership model, explains conceptually how it is possible to take advantage of ideas, exploit resources, generate capacities and develop competences in an organization based on the contributions of all its members, centering on the value of using ideas, which constitutes the link that permits relating the variables “empowerment leadership” and the “process of innovation.”

Palabras clave : Empowerment leadership; innovation; business organizations.