Participative leadership and team innovation: the roles of team cohesiveness and digital platform adoption

Purpose This study aims to explore the impact of participative leadership on team innovation through the mediating role of team cohesiveness. This work further offers deeper insight into the moderating mechanism of digital platform adoption in the relationship between participative leadership and team innovation. Design/methodology/approach To test the research hypotheses, data were collected from 357 information technology (IT) employees at three-time points and analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling. Findings Empirical findings indicate that participative leadership positively impacts team innovation. Moreover, team cohesiveness has a complementary effect on this relationship. In addition, the moderating impact of digital platform adoption between participative leadership and team innovation is supported. Practical implications The findings suggest that IT companies can promote team innovation by building participative leadership and enhancing team cohesiveness. Moreover, managers should fully integrate digital platforms into the core fabric of the organization. Originality/value To the best of the author’s knowledge, this inquiry is probably the first attempt to explore the mechanism linking participative leadership and team innovation, with the mediating role of team cohesiveness. In addition, digital platform is an increasingly relevant factor in contemporary business but so far little explored in research. This study extends the current knowledge by considering the moderating role of digital platform adoption in the participative leadership and team innovation relation.