Abstract: Digital transformation has become a critical strategy for corporate innovation, yet in practice, digital innovation often faces a disconnect between value perception and value realization. Existing research primarily focuses on resource limitations or individual resistance, lacking a dual-perspective analysis from both executives and employees. This study uses matched data from executives and employees to conduct an empirical investigation. The results show that when their task demands and digital technology applications are misaligned, employees may act in a way that deviates from their own task needs under managerial influence, leading to negative outcomes in technology use. Based on this, the concept of “deviant behavior” is proposed, highlighting that digital technologies can produce both boosting and deviating effects in two-party interactions. Furthermore, process intelligence and cross-level cognitive differences moderate these effects, suggesting that organizations can address such dilemmas by reducing coordination demands and improving coordination quality. This study not only offers a theoretical explanation for the gap between value perception and actual realization in digital innovation but also extends contextual research on technology affordance and provides managerial insights for fostering executive-employee alignment and enhancing digital innovation outcomes.s

Key words: digital innovation, boosting effect, deviating effect, deviant behavior, technology affordance