Open Access

Leaders’ expectations of innovation and employees’ innovative behavior: The roles of employees’ expected positive performance outcomes and innovative self-efficacy

Qian Ma¹, Hao Zhou^2,*

1 Department of Economic Management, Jinzhong University, Jinzhong, 030619, China
2 Business School, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610065, China

* Corresponding Author: Hao Zhou. Email:

Journal of Psychology in Africa 2025, 35(1), 7-19. https://doi.org/10.32604/jpa.2025.065775

Received 20 May 2024; Accepted 27 October 2024; Issue published 30 April 2025

Abstract

Employees’ innovative performance determines an organization’s innovation, which critically impacts its structural optimization and sustainability. Applying expectancy theory, we examined how and when the Pygmalion effect occurs in the relationship between leaders’ expectations of innovation and employee innovative behavior. Our sample comprised 201 frontline employees (female = 31.84%; mean age = 41.48 years, SD = 7.97 years) in a Chinese coal enterprise, who completed surveys on innovation expectations of leaders, expected positive performance outcomes, innovative self-efficacy and innovative behavior. The results revealed that employees’ expected positive performance outcomes mediated the positive relationship between leaders’ innovation expectations and their innovative behavior. Employees’ innovative self-efficacy positively moderated the relationship between their expected positive performance outcomes and innovative behavior, with this relationship being stronger for employees with high innovative self-efficacy. Moreover, we validated the moderated mediation model. Findings suggest that leaders can stimulate employee innovative behavior through expressing expectations and they also need to consider the boundary conditions.

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Keywords

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