Does Distributed Leadership Contribute to Enhancing the Performance of New Product Development? - Evidence from China

In the rapidly changing digital economy era, the transformation of leadership style is an important issue in corporate strategic decision-making and also a key reason for enhancing innovation efficiency.This study investigates the impact of distributed leadership on new product development performance. Drawing on loose coupling theory and dynamic capability theory, we investigate the underlying mechanisms.This study analyzed the survey data of 226 senior executives of Chinese enterprises,The following conclusions are drawn:(1) Distributed leadership positively influences the performance of new product development in enterprises;(2) Distributed leadership contributes to the performance of new product development in enterprises respectively through the mediating effects of operational agility, customer agility and partner agility.(3) In the relationship of the impact of distributed leadership on the performance of new product development in enterprises, the mediating effect of customer agility is positively regulated by structural differentiation.The research not only expands the study of the causes of new product development,it has also deepened the understanding of the operational mechanism of the distributed leadership model within the organization,and provide theoretical guidance and reference for new product development from the perspective of organizational structure.