Survey analysis reveals individual-focused transformational leadership positively impacts innovative behavior, suggesting leader identification mediates this effect while team dynamics moderate the relationships.
In the new phase of economic transformation and social development, innovation has emerged as a critical issue. Corporate innovation largely depends on the innovative behavior of its members, making it crucial to understand the impact of transformational leadership on employees’ innovative behavior. We conducted a study from the perspective of relational identity theory. Questionnaire data were collected from April to June 2024 through a professional survey company in China that recruited 640 members and leaders of 160 teams. The analysis results are as follows: First, individual-focused transformational leadership was found to have a positive effect on individual innovative behavior. Second, leader identification played a significant mediating role in the relationship between individual-focused transformational leadership and individual innovative behavior. Third, team-focused transformational leadership exhibited a significant negative cross-level moderating effect on the relationship between individual-focused transformational leadership and leader identification. Lastly, team innovative climate showed a significant positive cross-level moderating effect on the relationship between leader identification and individual innovative behavior.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Wang et al. (2025) studied this question.