Fostering team experience through inclusive leadership: an empirical study at a retail chain in Vietnam

Purpose Drawing from the Input–Process–Output (IPO) framework, this study examines how inclusive leadership (IL) (input) influences the quality of team experience (QTE) (output) through two mediating processes: collective thriving (CT) and a culture of companionate love (CCL) in a retail chain in Vietnam. Design/methodology/approach A time-lagged survey design was implemented across three waves. Data were collected from 210 store managers working in a chain of luxury retail stores in Vietnam. We used SmartPLS 4 to perform partial least squares structural equation modeling to assess sufficiency relationships and necessary condition analysis to examine the necessity logic of the proposed model. Findings IL does not have a significant direct effect on QTE, indicating that its influence on team experience is not immediate. Instead, IL operates indirectly by fostering CT and CCL, which translate leadership behaviors into shared team experiences. NCA results further show that IL functions as a “must-have” for CT, meaning that CT cannot occur without it. In contrast, IL functions as a “should-have” for CCL since a culture can still exist when IL is low. These findings highlight that IL acts as a distal, context-shaping influence whose effects depend on the emergence of motivational–cognitive and emotional–relational team states. Practical implications Organizations should move beyond promoting IL behaviors alone and focus on cultivating team-level processes that convert these behaviors into meaningful shared experiences. This includes fostering CT through learning and vitality, as well as nurturing relational cultures characterized by care, compassion and interpersonal connection. Originality/value This study reconceptualizes IL as an indirect, process-dependent driver of team well-being rather than a direct determinant. It extends the IPO framework by integrating parallel cognitive–motivational (CT) and emotional–relational (CCL) pathways to explain team experiential outcomes. It also introduces QTE as an integrative construct capturing the lived, phenomenological quality of team functioning.