Impact of mean LMX on team innovation: An empirical study of the mediating effect of team cooperation and the moderating effect of LMX differentiation in China

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of mean Leader member exchange (LMX) on team innovation within team, and the mediating effect of team cooperation as well as the moderating effect of LMX differentiation between the mean LMX and team innovation. Based on a sample (n = 245) from china, questionnaire surveys were carried out to explore the relations among variables. All analyses were conducted at the team level. As expected, mean LMX within teams was positively related to team innovation, and the team cooperation was the mediator between mean LMX and team innovation. Furthermore, we found that mean LMX interacted with relationship differentiation within teams to explain team innovation. The results were discussed in terms of their implications for related theories and management practice. Key words: Mean Leader member exchange (LMX), team cooperation, team innovation, Leader member exchange (LMX) differentiation.