Does platform leadership foster subordinates’ innovative behavior? A multilevel moderated mediation analysis

Purpose Drawing on social information processing theory, this study investigates how platform leadership influences employees’ innovative behavior. Specifically, we propose a theoretical model that incorporates creative self-efficacy as a mediator and organizational identification as a moderator. Design/methodology/approach Multisource data were collected in three waves from 304 employees and their 65 leaders in China. Findings Hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) results reveal: (1) a positive association between platform leadership and subordinates’ innovative behavior; (2) creative self-efficacy as a mediator in the relationship between platform leadership and subordinates’ innovative behavior and (3) organizational identification as a moderator in the indirect relationship between platform leadership and subordinates’ innovative behavior through creative self-efficacy, with the indirect effect being stronger when organizational identification is high than when it is low. Originality/value From a cross-level perspective, our findings revealed the underlying mechanisms and boundary conditions under which platform leadership influences followers’ innovative behavior.