Digital leadership and deviant innovation: the roles of innovation self-efficacy and employee ambitions

Abstract

Digital leadership as a new type of leadership plays an important role in the digital transformation of enterprises. Although studies show the positive impact of digital leadership on organizational innovation, there is little research on how it affects employees’ innovation behavior. Drawing on social information processing theory, this paper develops a model of digital leadership acting on deviant innovation behavior through employee ambition. It also delves into the boundary role of employee innovation self-efficacy in the model based on job demands–resources theory. Through the analysis of 365 questionnaires, the results show that digital leadership significantly and positively affects employees’ deviant innovation behavior, and employee ambition plays a mediating role in it. Additionally, results indicate that innovative self-efficacy modulates the impact of employee ambition on employees’ deviant innovation behavior, also enhancing the mediation effect of ambition. Notably, the higher the employee’s sense of self-efficacy in innovation, the stronger the influence of employee ambition on deviant innovation behavior, and the stronger the mediating role of employee ambition. This study pioneers in establishing and validating the influence path of digital leadership on deviant innovation, contributing valuable management insights for governance and talent development in the digital era, with theoretical and practical implications.