Does inclusive leadership influence employee innovation? A multilevel investigation

PurposeThe purpose of this research is to investigate the cross-level effects and mechanisms of inclusive leadership on employee innovation in team contexts, and further explore the boundary conditions of inclusive leadership.Design/methodology/approachThis study collected data from 237 leader-member dyads in 60 teams of Chinese firms. The research utilized multilevel linear models and multilevel structural equation models in the R language to test the hypothesized model.FindingsThe findings suggest that inclusive leadership has a positive impact on both employee incremental and radical innovation. Team psychological safety and employee role breadth self-efficacy mediate the effects. Employee risk avoidance propensity negatively moderates the mediating role of role breadth self-efficacy in the relationship between inclusive leadership and incremental innovation.Practical implicationsLeaders should pay attention to team psychological safety, employee role breadth self-efficacy and employee individual risk avoidance propensity that influence employee innovation to maximize the effectiveness of inclusive leadership.Originality/valueThis research expanded the level of analysis from individual to team, exploring cross-level effects and mechanisms of inclusive leadership on employee innovation in team contexts, and clarified the effectiveness conditions of inclusive leadership.