George C. Homans created (1985) Social Exchange Theory (SET) Peter Blau expanded on it in 1964. This theory is based on the idea that the principle of social exchange shapes social relationships between individuals, including the relationship between employees and organizations. Exchanges can be in the form of goods or services, such as trust, appreciation, attention, and support (Emerson, 2008)In transformational leadership, leaders who provide individual attention, inspiration, and intellectual stimulation to their employees are considered to have "given something" in a social exchange. In response to this positive treatment, employees show higher levels of job satisfaction, or job satisfaction, and want to do more innovative things (Cropanzano & Mitchell, 2005). When organizations create a motivating work environment, both intrinsically (self-

development, meaningful work) and extrinsically (incentives, recognition), employees feel valued (Ahmad Prayudi & Imas Komariyah, 2023). According to SET, high work motivation indicates organizational support for employees, which is then reciprocated by employees through increased personal happiness and creative contributions (Diem Vo et al., 2022). Job satisfaction in social exchange theory acts as an outcome from positive perceptions of organizational or leadership treatment. Employees who are satisfied with their jobs and work relationships are more likely to contribute actively in the form of innovative behavior (Lee et al., 2022). Thus, job satisfaction becomes both a result and a bridge in social exchange towards innovative work behavior.

Innovative work behavior is an important component in an organization because it shows a person's ability to be creative and innovative in various workplaces. According to one definition, innovative work behavior is when everyone at all levels of the organization comes together to create, disseminate, and use profitable innovations (Stanescu et al., 2021). Scott and Bruce (1998), idea generation, namely the creation and application of new ideas in a number of fields, is the beginning of individual innovation (Soebardi, 2020). The process of developing and implementing new ideas to achieve professional goals, organizational standards, and progress is innovative behavior. Innovation involves implementing ideas or processing (Sueb Sueb & Sopiah Sopiah, 2023). When employees of a group or organization develop, discover, and implement new ideas to improve their performance, this is called innovative work behavior (Nguyen et al., 2019). In the literature review (ArfahAstuti & Rachmawati, 2023) there are two components that influence innovative work behavior: individual and organizational.

Some traits of transformational leaders that fall into the category of organizational factors include being inspiring, accepting new ideas, being proactive, sharing organizational knowledge with others, and having the courage to take calculated risks. Because they can foster courage, passion, and curiosity in followers, these characteristics of transformational leaders will motivate and trigger good organizational behaviors for employees (Gashema & Kadhafi, 2020). They are expected to be able to motivate others to support their creative ideas; in addition, they must have the courage to incorporate new concepts into the work process (Fathiyah et al., 2022)

Leadership is essential to encourage, guide, and shape innovative employees (Sudibjo & Prameswari, 2021). Since Burns' first book, transformational leadership has evolved into one of the most well-known theories and approaches to leadership and organizational behavior (Singh et al., 2023). Transformational leadership is closely related to innovative work behavior because transformational leaders can inspire and motivate their team members to act in innovative and creative ways. Not only do they provide a clear vision and encourage people to develop new ideas, but they also create an environment that supports experimentation and risk. Every worker is encouraged to improve their abilities and find new ways to work in a workplace like this (Aydin &

Erkilic, 2020) . Workers can become more creative and critical through transformational leadership (Sudibjo & Prameswari, 2021).

Transformational leadership greatly influences the performance of innovative employees. Therefore, previous studies have shown that there is a positive relationship between transformational leadership and innovative work behavior (Anggraeni & Rachmawati, 2023) . Innovative work behavior is defined as ideas that are useful for the progress of the organization that are created, developed, and implemented (Dewi et al., 2023) . Research shows negative and insignificant results between transformational leadership and innovative work behavior (Dewi et al., 2023) . Social Exchange Theory states that employees are expected to try and implement new ideas by creating and implementing them (Aydin Küçük, 2020) . In this case, a leader in an organization encourages his employees to try and create new ideas to apply in their work.

H1: Transformational Leadership has a significant positive relationship with Innovative Work Behavior.

Work motivation is a curiosity or drive that drives someone to complete a task effectively and efficiently. Motivation comes from how a person acts in a particular situation (Siagian, 2023) . Motivational variables that influence increased innovative behavior in the workplace, employees who have high levels of motivation may be more motivated to find innovative solutions to problems in their workplace (Anjani, 2019) . Employees who have high levels of motivation may be more motivated to find innovative solutions to problems in their workplace. Many factors influence the desire to work, including the company's compensation system, individual needs, and the workplace. Work motivation can also have a positive effect on innovative behavior (Anggraini & Mansyur, 2024) . According to Karlina & Alamsyah (2024), employees who engage in innovative behavior can make a significant contribution to achieving company goals. Therefore, organizations must create a culture that supports innovation and rewards innovative workers. According to SET, I WB is triggered by work motivation (both intrinsic and extrinsic) in response to investment of organizational or leader resources (Ndudi et al., 2023)

H2: Work motivation has a significant positive relationship with innovative work

behavior.

It is very important for leadership in an organization because transformational leadership affects the level of employee satisfaction and how someone leads their subordinates (Ludi Priyatmo, 2018) . In an organization, leaders or managers who implement transformational leadership can create harmonious integrity and encourage employee work enthusiasm to achieve maximum goals (Agazu et al., 2025) . An important factor in employee performance motivation is employee job satisfaction. According to a review of relevant literature, leadership is an important factor in employee satisfaction (Raharjo, 2023) . By considering leadership behavior as an independent factor, transformational leadership is considered a leadership style that can increase

employee satisfaction (Mahvia et al., 2023) . Social Exchange Theory (SET) explains how transformational leadership affects job satisfaction through

and norm of reciprocity.

H3: Transformational Leadership has a significant positive relationship with Job Satisfaction.

Job satisfaction is inseparable from the work motivation expected by employees (Cvjetkovic, 2022) . Motivation is the drive or reason that drives someone to do something they want. It is important for employees to have motivation to work, employees who are highly motivated will feel satisfied with their work (Grantor, 2025) . Motivation related to needs begins with the recognition of unmet needs, both consciously and unconsciously (Basalamah et al., 2021) . Providing financial incentives to employees can increase work motivation and make them feel supported and satisfied to have a place in the organization (Qayum et al., 2014) . Social Exchange Theory (SET) provides an explanation of the reciprocal relationship between employees and organizations, where employees respond to resources (economic, social, and emotional) received from the organization with positive attitudes and behaviors. This theory provides a basis for understanding the mechanisms of social exchange that enable work motivation and job satisfaction (Wijaya, 2020) .

H4: Work Motivation has a significant positive relationship with Job Satisfaction

Job satisfaction has an influence on innovative behavior. This strengthens the results of research showing that satisfied employees will tend to increase innovative behavior at work (Susanti & Lizarti, 2021) . because innovative behavior is not something innate to employees but a behavior that can be stimulated by increasing employee job satisfaction (Wahyunianti Dahri & Aqil, 2018) . The formation of employee job satisfaction needs to be done to increase innovative behavior to make a change (Ozsoy, 2022) . In accordance with (Hadi et al., 2020) innovative behavior does not always appear on its own. However, when employees face challenges in the workplace and have broad abilities to complete their tasks, they will become more innovative. Social Exchange Theory (SET) explains the reciprocal relationship between job satisfaction and innovative work behavior through the mechanism of social and economic resource exchange in the organization, Employees who are satisfied with their work will create new ideas (Afnan et al., 2025) .

H5: Job Satisfaction has a significant positive relationship with Innovative Work

Behavior.

Transformational leaders have the ability to create attractive goals and motivate their employees to achieve them. They are also able to build strong relationships with their followers, encouraging them to think creatively and innovatively (Aditianto & Amir, nd) . According to De Jong and Hartog (2010),

innovative work behavior is behavior that sees new opportunities and ideas. This behavior can also include doing new things, applying new knowledge, and achieving increased personal or business performance. The relationship between transformational leadership and innovative behavior is often mediated by job satisfaction and readiness to change. Studies show that employees who are satisfied with their jobs are more likely to develop new ideas (Ozsoy, 2022) .

H6: Transformational leadership has a positive and significant effect on job satisfaction, a positive and significant effect on innovative work behavior.

The stimulus that drives someone to do the tasks they have with enthusiasm and dedication is known as work motivation. According to Pratiwi and Yunianto (2021), job satisfaction is related to work motivation, which has a positive impact on employee performance. Studies show that motivated employees tend to be more innovative and productive in their workplace (Pratiwis & Yuniantos, 2018) . In innovative work behavior, employees do new things that can improve organizational performance. A study conducted by Indrayana (2019) found that work motivation and innovative behavior are positively correlated; employees who are highly motivated to work are more likely to do new things. Job satisfaction increases the desire to achieve innovative work behavior. (Fenny & Setyawan, 2024) found that job satisfaction has a significant influence on motivation and innovative behavior. The results of this study indicate that if job satisfaction increases, employees may be more open to new ideas. (Rosna et al., 2023).

H7: Work motivation has a positive and significant influence on innovative work behavior with the mediation of job satisfaction.

This study uses transformational leadership factors, work motivation, and job satisfaction in relation to innovative work behavior. With the research model shown in the conceptual framework as follows:

Figure 1. Conceptual Framework

The results of this study indicate that transformational leadership has a negative effect on innovative work behavior, this shows that employees in the

hospitality sector feel that leaders do not encourage collaboration with other employees, although sometimes leaders show behavior that is in accordance with the values adopted by the organization, but this does not make employees have the desire to apply new ideas in their daily work (Wibowo et al., 2023) . So far, leaders have been considered able to clearly explain the vision and mission of the organization's values to employees, they are also unable to invite employees to work with other employees to try existing ideas to be implemented. Innovative behavior is setting goals that are too high without providing the necessary resources or training, employees may feel burdened and unwilling to take innovative risks (Rahmawati & Achmad, 2025) . One factor that can improve other research is transformational leadership, but this was not found in this study. Social Exchange Theory states that employees are expected to try and implement new ideas by creating and implementing them (Aydin-küçük, 2020). This is in line with research (Sudibjo & Prameswari, 2021) , Transformational leadership does not affect the innovative behavior of employees in the hospitality sector, the results of this study are in line with research conducted at the Gajahmada Graha Hotel Malang in 2023, transformational leadership has a negative impact on innovative performance. leaders can clearly explain the vision and mission of the organization to their employees and employees can apply new ideas obtained from others in their

daily work so that they create innovative work behavior (Dewi et al., 2023).

The results of the study above show a negative and significant relationship between work motivation and innovative work behavior; this shows that the factor most often used by employees to innovate is their work motivation. However, this study shows that an unbalanced level of motivation can cause excessive pressure on employees, preventing them from taking risks and creating something new. For example, when receiving an award or achievement, if the award given does not match the employee's needs or does not match expectations, employees can become less motivated and ultimately show a lack of innovative behavior (Rahmadhani et al., 2024) . Ultimately, rewards for work performance, both material (eg bonuses or incentives) and non-material (eg recognition and praise), can affect employees' desire to work. Employees may become less creative because they feel that their efforts are not appreciated (Steven & Yanuar, 2024) . (Kesuma et al., 2023) show that to create a culture of innovation in hospitality companies, an integrated HR management approach is needed. These methods include better reward systems and better training to improve employees' ability to innovate.

This is in line with (Noerchoidah et al., 2020) research conducted in the hospitality industry which emphasizes the importance of maintaining a balance between motivation and freedom to innovate. A study conducted at Airlangga University found that inconsistent or inadequate rewards can affect innovative behavior.

The results of this study indicate that Transformational leadership has a positive and significant effect on Job satisfaction. This shows that transformational leadership employees are able to do their jobs well according to company standards, and always obey the regulations in the company. So that it creates a sense of employee satisfaction with their work. In transformational leadership, a leader must motivate and inspire his followers to achieve common goals through change (Wiyono, 2019) . Employees tend to be more satisfied with their jobs when management applies a transformational approach (Sibarani et al., 2024) . Transformational leaders increase employee morale and satisfaction by providing a clear vision and motivating the team to achieve higher goals. (Rulianti & Nurpribadi, 2023) . So that transformational leadership directly affects employee job satisfaction.

These results are in line with research conducted by Nurtjhjani and Suyanto (2020) that employee job satisfaction increases with transformational leadership. Employees feel trust, pride, and loyalty towards their leaders, which encourages them to work better. (Lestari et al., 2023) States that transformational leadership style increases employee motivation and creativity, creates a positive work environment, and reduces turnover and stress. This transformational leadership style causes employees to be more satisfied with their jobs overall.

The results of this study indicate that work motivation has a positive and significant effect on job satisfaction. This shows that the work is in accordance with what is desired because it gets attention and is given suggestions for improving work for mistakes made, so that employees become motivated and feel satisfied in their work. That motivation has a positive and significant effect on job satisfaction shows that increasing motivation will significantly increase employee job satisfaction (Veliando & Yanuar, 2021) . Thus supporting the hypothesis that the more motivation given by superiors, the higher the level of employee job satisfaction (Franedy & Kadang, 2020) .

This finding is in line with previous research findings (Paskanindia, 2019) which showed that motivation is an important factor in increasing employee satisfaction with their work. From this study, it can be concluded that work motivation has a significant and positive influence on employee satisfaction levels in the hospitality sector. Organizations should focus on increasing their employee motivation by using various strategies to achieve higher levels of satisfaction.

The results of this study indicate that job satisfaction has a positive and significant effect on work innovation behavior. This shows that employees do not want to work elsewhere because employees can explain ideas systematically to other employees. So that innovative work behavior arises, that increasing job satisfaction can be a great way to encourage innovative behavior in the workplace (Zain et al., 2024) . Job satisfaction serves as a mediating variable in this study, strengthening the relationship between creativity and innovative

behavior with employee performance. Employees who are satisfied with their jobs tend to be more motivated to do new and creative things in the workplace (Astuti et al., 2019) . Employees who feel satisfied and supported tend to be more confident in making innovations and contributing new ideas to innovative behavior. This suggests that increasing job satisfaction can be a successful strategy to encourage innovation in the workplace (Zain et al., 2024) .

This is in line with (Harianto et al., 2021) showing that job satisfaction has a positive influence on innovative behavior among hotel employees. This study emphasizes that when employees are satisfied with their work environment, they are more likely to engage in innovative behavior that can improve quality and satisfaction. Previous researchers (Astuti et al., 2019) showed that job satisfaction functions as a mediating variable. The results of the analysis show that job satisfaction has a significant positive influence on innovative behavior. This study emphasizes the importance of creating a pleasant work environment to encourage creativity in the workplace.

The study found the results of the mediating role of job satisfaction which has a significant positive relationship with transformational leadership and innovative work behavior. Transformational leadership encourages employees to work together and employees can explain their ideas to leaders and coworkers. Employees who are satisfied with their leadership tend to engage in innovative behavior, when employees feel valued and supported by their leaders, they are more likely to develop and implement new ideas. In addition, it shows that this leadership style not only increases job satisfaction but also contributes to improving employee performance. In this context, job satisfaction functions as an important mediator in the relationship between transformational leadership and innovative work behavior (Rahmawati & Achmad, 2025) . It was found that job satisfaction plays a significant role as a variable. This means that an increase in transformational leadership not only directly increases innovative behavior but also through increased job satisfaction (Yulianto & Saryono, 2023) . This is in line with research conducted by Afsar and Umrani (2020), which states that transformational leadership can encourage employees to do new things by creating a sense of togetherness.

The results of this study indicate that job satisfaction mediates positively and significantly between work motivation and innovative work behavior. Employees with high work motivation tend to be more satisfied with their jobs, which in turn causes them to act more creatively at work (Li et al., 2023) . When work meets employee expectations and interests, they are more motivated to do their jobs well and find new ways to complete tasks so that they meet company standards will be more confident and motivated to innovate. Effective communication is usually very important for innovation. Employees who can

communicate their ideas well to their leaders and coworkers have a greater chance of seeing the implementation of their ideas.

This relationship is also supported by recent research. Social resources in organizations, according to research conducted by (Li et al., 2023) , increase employee creativity, especially with superior support. Other studies also show that job satisfaction and work motivation are important components in creating a work environment that encourages innovation and high performance (Ningsih et al., 2023) .