Negotiating Phantom Autonomy through Strategic Leadership to Cultivate Innovation Culture in Ethiopian Government TVET Colleges

<title>Abstract</title> <p>This constructivist grounded theory study explores how innovation culture is collaboratively shaped through strategic leadership in public technical and vocational education and training (TVET) colleges within Ethiopia’s Sidama Regional State. Data were collected from 28 semi-structured interviews, 18 observations, and 78 documents across three purposively selected institutions, and analyzed using iterative coding and constant comparative methods. The central concept negotiating phantom autonomy describes the ongoing process by which leaders and staff carve out room for innovation in colleges that are officially designated as autonomous yet remain under substantial government administrative oversight. This process evolves through five phases: recognizing institutional gaps, creating makeshift spaces for action, carrying out informal innovation efforts, engaging in legitimacy-building activities, and either embedding changes institutionally or reverting to prior practices. Six theoretical propositions outline the interplay between contextual factors, strategic initiatives, and the resulting innovation outcomes. The study extends strategic leadership theory to resource-constrained, federalising states; introduces phantom autonomy as a distinct concept within institutional logics scholarship; conceptualises guerrilla innovation as rational bureaucratic adaptation; and highlights the paradoxical role of legitimation and formalisation. Contrary to conventional thinking, sustainable innovation relies predominantly on bricolage and guerrilla execution, followed by strategic legitimation rather than prior authorisation. Practical implications are provided for the Sidama Regional TVET Bureau, college leaders, and international development partners.</p>