AUTHOR=Liu Weiwei , Oubibi Mohamed , Xu Yunyun , Li Bei 

TITLE=The impact of authentic leadership on employees’ bootleg innovation behavior: the mediating role of affective commitment

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychology

VOLUME=Volume 16 - 2025

YEAR=2025

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1581513

DOI=10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1581513

ISSN=1664-1078

ABSTRACT=PurposeAccording to the suggestions, the abstract has been revised: Innovation is the core competitiveness that maintains the continuous development of enterprises. Deviated innovation, as an important way for employees to engage in innovative activities and promote enterprises to enhance their competitive advantages, has become an increasingly important topic of concern in the academic circle. This study reveals the relationship between authentic leadership and employee bootleg innovation within the Chinese context, expanding research on the formation mechanisms of deviant innovative behaviors. It provides significant guidance for effectively leveraging authentic leadership, appropriately directing employee deviant innovative behaviors, and advancing enterprise management practices.MethodBased on social exchange theory and the cognitive-affective personality system theory, to explore the mechanisms through which authentic leadership influences employees’ deviant innovative behavior. The research focuses on high-tech enterprises in several provinces of China, collected 378 valid sample data of employees from high-tech enterprises. All data were analyzed using SPSS22.0, and the Bootstrap mediating effect test method was used to test the mediating effect results. The structural equation model was tested using AMOS24.0 statistical software.ResultsAuthentic leadership has a significant positive effect on deviant innovation behavior (β = 0.409, P < 0.001), and all four dimensions of authentic leadership have a significant positive impact on deviant innovation behavior. Self-awareness has a significant positive impact on employees’ deviant innovation behavior (β = 0.101, P < 0.05), relationship transparency has a significant positive impact on employees’ deviant innovation behavior (β = 0.196, P < 0.001), and internalized morality has a significant positive impact on employees’ deviant innovation behavior (β = 0.129). (P < 0.01), balanced information processing has a significant positive impact on employees’ deviant innovative behaviors (β = 0.268, P < 0.001). Authentic leadership has a positive effect on emotional commitment (β = 0.205, P < 0.001), and all four dimensions of authentic leadership have a significant positive impact on emotional commitment. Self-awareness has a significant positive impact on emotional commitment (β = 0.201, P < 0.001), relationship transparency has a significant positive impact on emotional commitment (β = 0.264, P < 0.001), and internalized morality has a significant positive impact on emotional commitment (β = 0.136, P < 0.01). Balanced information processing has a significant positive impact on emotional commitment (β = 0.361, P < 0.001). The mediating variable of affective commitment showed a considerable positive impact on bootleg innovation as well (β = 0.396, P < 0.001).ConclusionThe findings indicate that authentic leadership has a positive influence on employees’ deviant innovative behavior. Authentic leadership also positively affects affective commitment and affective commitment partially mediates the relationship between authentic leadership and employees’ deviant and innovative behavior. This study introduces an emotional perspective and takes emotional commitment as a mediating variable to explore the mediating transmission mechanism of emotional commitment between authentic leadership and employee deviant innovation. It enriches the research on the influence path of authentic leadership on the relationship of employee deviant innovation.