Examining the nexus between entrepreneurial leadership and employees’ innovative behavior
The moderation mediation model
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 17832191 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Benhua Xu (Henan University), Diandian Gu (Henan University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 13 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Publication date | 2026-02-27 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Humanities and Social Sciences Communications (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2662-9992 • E-ISSN: 2662-9992 |
| Publisher | Palgrave Macmillan (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1057/s41599-026-06751-w |
| OpenAlex | W7131855812 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 49 |
Despite extensive research on leadership’s role in influencing employee outcomes, there is limited understanding of the specific impact of entrepreneurial leadership on employees’ innovative behavior. Little is known about how entrepreneurial leadership enhances employee work passion, which in turn influences employees’ innovative behavior. Additionally, the potential moderating role of growth need strength in this relationship has been under-explored, leaving a gap in understanding how interactions between leaders may further shape these outcomes. Based on affective events theory, this study examined how entrepreneurial leadership affects employees’ innovative behavior through the mediating role of employee work passion and the moderating role of growth need strength. The consistent PLS-SEM approach was applied to analyze valid data from 354 employees from 20 enterprises. The empirical results reveal that: (1) There is a positive effect of entrepreneurial leadership on employees’ passion for work. (2) Work passion partially mediates the positive relationship between entrepreneurial leadership and employees’ innovative behavior. In other words, entrepreneurial leadership positively impacts employees’ innovative behavior through work passion. (3) Growth need strength plays a positive moderating role between entrepreneurial leadership and work passion. It also moderates the mediating effect of work passion on the relationship between entrepreneurial leadership and employees’ innovative behavior. When employees have a high level of growth need strength, entrepreneurial leadership can promote employees’ innovative behaviors through work passion; on the contrary, it cannot do so when employees have a low level of growth need strength. The results of the study reveal the mechanisms and boundary conditions of entrepreneurial leadership that affect employees’ innovative behavior, which provides theoretical insights and practical guidance for enterprises to enhance innovative behavior in complex situations. This research further adds to the existing pool of knowledge that holds implications for organizations, top management, researchers, and government concerning entrepreneurial leadership, employees’ innovative behavior, work passion, growth need strength, and preparation for challenges in the future
Entrepreneurial Leadership · Mediation · Moderated mediation · Moderation · Passion · Work behavior · Employee Performance and Management · Job Satisfaction and Organizational Behavior · Workplace Spirituality and Leadership
Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) Using R
Determinants of Innovative Behavior
Measuring entrepreneurial passion
Interactive Effects of Growth Need Strength, Work Context, and Job Complexity On Self-Reported Creative Performance
Motivation through the design of work
The role of parent–child communication on Chinese rural left-behind children’s educational expectation
How do leadership styles influence employee engagement and performance in SMEs
The impact of leadership on employees’ innovation behavior
The relationship between leadership style and staff work engagement
Examining the nexus between servant leadership and employee task performance
What drives passion? An empirical examination on the impact of personality trait interactions and job environments on work passion
The Impact of Surface and Deep Acting on Employee Creativity
How does uncertainty avoidance affect employee voice behavior through the dual-path ways of work engagement and psychological security
The broken trust
Social Cognitive Theory
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |