How and when are learning‐adaptable newcomers innovative? Examining mechanisms and constraints

Abstract Higher levels of learning adaptability at work are expected to help performance when individuals encounter an unfamiliar environment, such as during organizational entry. However, little is known about how and when newcomer learning adaptability drives innovative behaviors. Drawing on and extending individual adaptability theory, we propose that two mediating mechanisms, positive framing and task mastery, may transmit the effect of learning adaptability on innovative behavior, with supervisor's tendency to avoid uncertain situations posited as a boundary condition. The proposed hypotheses were tested using multi‐source, multi‐wave data from three companies. We found that learning adaptability indirectly impacts innovative behavior via positive framing but not via task mastery. In addition, supervisor uncertainty avoidance moderated the relationship between learning adaptability and positive framing, and task mastery moderated the relationship between positive framing and innovative behavior, supporting a pattern of moderated mediation, such that the indirect relationship between learning adaptability and innovative behavior via positive framing was more positive when both moderators were low. The research findings are discussed in terms of implications for socialization research and practice.