Understanding the Relationship between Leader Boundary Spanning Behavior and Team Innovation: A Knowledge Management Perspective

Abstract

Abstract: Existing literatures primarily investigate the antecedents of team innovation from team characteristics and process perspectives, paying less attention to the role of external activities and internal-external interface activities. In this study, we introduce leader's boundary spanning behavior, and examine its influence on team innovation as well as the underlying mechanisms and boundary conditions. Analysis of a sample of 111 R & D teams indicates that team leader's boundary spanning behavior has a positive effect on team innovation, through the mediating role of knowledge sharing quality (not quantity). Further, team communication is found to marginally moderate leader's boundary spanning behavior, namely team innovation is better improved by leader's boundary spanning behavior when the communication with the team is better. The findings deepen our understanding of antecedents that foster team innovation, and provide implications for team innovation management.

Key words: leader's boundary spanning behavior, team innovation, knowledge sharing, team communication, knowledge management

Song Meng, Wang Zhen, Zhang Hualei. Understanding the Relationship between Leader Boundary Spanning Behavior and Team Innovation: A Knowledge Management Perspective[J]. , 2017, 29(3): 126-135.

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