When and Why Does Platform Leadership Drive Employee Intrapreneurship? Moderating Role of Innovation-Oriented Human Resource Management

Abstract

Platform leadership, a new concept in leadership, along with intrapreneurship, has garnered considerable attention in China. Despite scholarly efforts to establish a theoretical link between leadership and employee intrapreneurship, gaps persist in understanding when and why platform leadership influences intrapreneurship. This study seeks to fill in these gaps by proposing a new model exploring the theoretical relationship between these concepts. Based on social exchange theory, this research examines how platform leadership enhances intrapreneurship by boosting employees' perceived insider status. Moreover, this study investigates how innovation-oriented human resource management (HRM) moderates this effect. Analysis of two-stage data from 471 employees in 57 Chinese platform organizations supports the proposed hypotheses, revealing that platform leadership positively influences intrapreneurship, predominantly by enhancing perceived insider status. The effect of platform leadership on perceived insider status and intrapreneurship is also strengthened in the context of superior innovation-oriented HRM. This study enriches the theoretical understanding of platform leadership and intrapreneurship through social exchange theory and highlights innovation-oriented HRM as a critical boundary condition. Insights gained from this study offer valuable guidance for advancing leadership and HRM practices within platform organizations.