Planting the seeds of innovation: exploring ebullient supervision with learning motivation, psychological safety and leader-member exchange

Purpose Recent literature has emphasized investigating ebullient supervision (ES) and, at the same time, cultivating innovative work behavior (IWB) has become a necessity for organizations; therefore, this study investigates how and when ES affects employees’ IWB. Specifically, this study aims to explore learning motivation (LM) and psychological safety (PS) as mediators between ES and IWB. Furthermore, it explores the conditional role of leader-member exchange (LMX) on the association of ES with LM and PS. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from 1274 supervisor-employee dyads working in the IT sector using a snowball sampling technique. Structural equation modeling was used in two stages to test the measurement and structural models. Findings The results reveal that ES positively affects employees’ IWB. In addition, LM and PS mediate the association between ES and IWB. The results also reveal that a high-quality LMX is more likely to strengthen employees’ LM and PS perceptions when working under ES. Research limitations/implications The multisource cross-sectional time-lagged data may restrict causality. Nevertheless, managers can adopt ES as a tactical and flexible leadership approach that promotes impactful use of fun initiatives to enhance employees’ IWB. The insights further suggest that this emerging supervision style has great potential to foster LM and PS, which are of immediate importance to organizations. Originality/value The study extends social exchange theory (SET) by illustrating that social exchange in leadership is not limited to resource provision or fair treatment, but can also occur through playful supervisory behaviors that shape employees’ psychological readiness to innovate.