Driving pathways of university teachers’ professional development: the roles of perceived team leadership, innovative self-efficacy, and organizational innovation climate

Introduction: The professional development of individuals within organizations is a crucial component in shaping organizational competitive advantage. Although existing research indicates that leadership styles can significantly influence individual professional development, there is limited understanding of the mechanisms and boundary conditions governing the relationship between perceived team leadership and individual professional development. Methods: Based on valid survey questionnaires from 655 university teachers in Hebei Province, China, this article constructs and tests a moderated mediation model. Results: Empirical results demonstrate that: perceived team leadership has a significant positive impact on university teachers' professional development; innovative self-efficacy plays a partial mediating role in the relationship between perceived team leadership and university teachers' professional development; organizational innovation climate positively moderates all paths within the mediation framework. Conclusion: This finding reveals the interactive effects of "context-individual-behavior," extends the application boundaries of Social Exchange Theory in educational organizations, and demonstrates that leadership effectiveness also depends on organizational climate support. This article elucidates the mechanism by which perceived team leadership influences the professional development of university teachers, providing practical insights for university administrators, such as enhancing team leadership, fostering organizational innovation climate, and activating teachers' intrinsic motivation for development.