Power or Embeddedness? Differing Impact of Leader’s Logic on Followers’ Innovative Behavior

Abstract

This study aims to build a framework concerning a mediated model in explaining the impact of leader’s logic with which the leaders imbue when interacting with subordinates on fostering innovative behaviors. Drawing upon resource dependence theory, we argue that psychological empowerment will mediate the relationship between leader’s underlying logic (e.g., logic of power and logic of embeddedness) and followers’ innovative behavior. Building on Gulati & Sytch’s (2007) study examining relative strength of the logic of power and the logic of embeddedness on firm’s performance, we theorize on a different impact of leader’s logic on followers’ innovative behavior. We propose that leaders who perceive leader- follower dyad as a power game will inhibit the followers’ innovative behavior since the followers would be less psychologically empowered, whereas the leaders who perceive the dyadic relationship as mutually dependent and, in turn, beneficial in long term will stimulate the followers’ innovative behavior via heightened psychological empowerment of the followers’. We expect our theorization would deliver theoretical implication in fostering individuals’ innovative behavior in organizations before discussing the effectiveness of specific leadership styles.