Team Cognitive Composition and Innovation: The Role of Leader Behavior and Ambidextrous Learning

Abstract

Integrating the theoretical perspective of innovation ambidexterity and the complementarity theory, this study elaborates a complementary approach between team cognitive composition and leader behaviors to reconcile the creation–implementation tension at the team level. Using the multi-time and multi-source data gathered from 702 team members in 116 teams across six Chinese high-tech companies, we found that when team at relatively low levels of systematic-intuitive cognitive composition, that is, the proportion of members with systematic cognitive style is higher than that of members with intuitive cognitive style, the weaker management control and stronger power sharing from the team leader would promote team ambidexterity. In contrast, when team at relatively high levels of systematic-intuitive cognitive composition, that is, the proportion of members with intuitive cognitive style is higher than that of members with systematic cognitive style, the stronger management control and the weaker power sharing from the team leader would enhance team ambidexterity. Additionally, we integrated the above findings to examine two moderated mediation models, which suggest that team ambidexterity mediated the interactive effects between team cognitive compositions and two team leadership behaviors-leader management control and leader power sharing on team innovation. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings, the limitations of our study, and future research directions are discussed as well.