PurposeThis paper aims to explore the mechanism and boundary conditions of authoritarian leadership that influence employee innovation behavior (EIB) in Chinese culture based on the leader–member exchange theory and state–trait theory.Design/methodology/approachThe authors used Mplus and SPSS to test the proposed model with data from 286 leader–employee dyads in Chinese companies. In this study, questionnaires were collected through commission and field investigation.FindingsThe results indicate that authoritarian leadership can positively influence perceived insider status and EIB within a certain range in Chinese organizational culture, although this is counterintuitive. In addition, perceived insider status has a high level of explanatory power on EIB and can mediate the relationship between authoritarian leadership and EIB. Furthermore, proactive personality can moderate the positive influence of authoritarian leadership on perceived insider status.Originality/valueInnovation management is inseparable from the specific organizational cultural context. This paper argues that the relationship between authoritarian leadership and EIB in the context of organizational culture in China may differ from that in the west. This study constructs a unique research model and offers new insights into when and how EIB can be influenced by authoritarian leadership.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the combined influence of exchange quality (i.e. leader-member exchange or LMX, and coworker exchange or CWX) and organizational identity on the relationship between authoritarian leadership and employee innovation based on social cognition theory and social exchange theory.Design/methodology/approachThe authors used mediation analysis, moderation analysis and bootstrapping method to test the proposed model with data from 286 supervisor-subordinate dyads in China, covering manufacturing and Internet companies. This study also used the time-lag design, and the questionnaires were collected by means of multi-source and multiphase.FindingsThe results indicate that authoritarian leadership can positively influence employee innovation behavior, and organizational identity mediates this relationship. Both LMX and CWX can significantly moderate the relationship between authoritarian leadership and organizational identity, while the moderating effect is the opposite. To be specific, CWX has appositive effect, while LMX has a negative effect. Furthermore, the indirect effect of authoritarian leadership on employee innovation behavior via organizational identity is also moderated by LMX.Originality/valueAt present, scholars have not yet reached a consensus on the relationship between authoritarian leadership and employee innovation behavior. Based on social cognition theory and social exchange theory, this study incorporates organizational identity and exchange quality into the research model to explore this lack of consensus. By verifying the research model, this study offers original views on when and how authoritarian leadership and exchange quality affect employee innovation behavior, which enriches the current research on employee innovation and the effectiveness of authoritarian leadership in different cultural contexts.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the mechanism and boundary condition of the effect of managers' negotiable fate belief (NFB) on enterprise incremental and radical innovation based on social cognition theory and social network theory.Design/methodology/approachThe authors used Mplus and SPSS (Statistical Product and Service Solutions) to test the proposed model with data from 278 enterprises that have established national or municipal enterprise technology centers. In this study, questionnaires were collected through commission and field investigation.FindingsThe results indicate that managers' NFB has a significant positive impact on local and cross-border knowledge search and on the incremental and radical innovation of enterprises. Knowledge search is positively correlated with enterprise innovation and can play a mediating role between the managers' NFB and enterprise innovation. Network capability can positively moderate the relationship between managers' NFB and cross-border knowledge search but has no significant impact on the relationship between managers' NFB and local knowledge search.Originality/valueAlthough there have been many studies of managers' cognition, little is known about how managers' NFB influences enterprise behavior and enterprise innovation. This study incorporates managers' NFB and knowledge search into the research model and examines the moderating effect of network capability between managers' NFB and knowledge search from an interactive perspective. By verifying the research model, this study offers original views on whether and how managers' NFB and knowledge search affect enterprise innovation.