Effects of Leader Networking Behaviors and Vertical Faultlines on Support for Innovation

Abstract

Leader networking behaviors for innovation (LNBI) is an important yet less studied topic in innovation research. This study investigates the behavioral cascading effect of LNBI on organizational support for innovation. Building on faultline theory and the demographic representativeness approach, we conceptualize vertical faultlines as demographic misalignment across job ranks, and hypothesize their moderating effects on the relationships between LNBI and organizational support for innovation. Results from a large, multi-source sample of 55 work units in a U.S. high-technology firm support the mediation model that senior leaders’ LNBI influences unit-level support for innovation through junior leaders’ LNBI. Moreover, the relationship between junior leaders’ LNBI and unit-level support for innovation was more pronounced in work units with weaker rather than stronger vertical faultlines between employees and junior leaders. Our findings highlight the importance of leader networking activities and structural configurations of workforce diversity in building organizational support for innovation.