Strengths-based leadership and bootleg innovation: The roles of growth need strength and work centrality

Xixi Chu¹, Run Guo¹, Yujin Wang^2,*, Zhong Li³
1 School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Beijing Institute of Petrochemical Technology, Beijing, China
2 School of Labor and Human Resources, Renmin University of China, Beijing, China
3 School of Public Administration, Guizhou University, Guiyang, China
* Corresponding Author: Yujin Wang. Email: email

Journal of Psychology in Africa https://doi.org/10.32604/jpa.2026.072738

Received 02 September 2025; Accepted 02 March 2026; Published online 01 April 2026

Download PDF

Abstract

Bootleg innovation serves as a vital supplement to routine innovation, yet strengths-based leadership mechanisms driving such informal behavior remain underexplored. This study examined the mediation mechanism of growth need strength, as well as the boundary condition set by work centrality, in the association between strengths-based leadership and bootleg innovation. We employed a time-lagged design across two waves to gather data from 375 employees within the technology sector (Wave 1, n = 583; Wave 2, n = 425). The final sample consisted of 47.5% males, with 67.7% aged between 30 and 40. Hierarchical regression results found that strengths-based leadership serves as a predictive factor of employee bootleg innovation. Furthermore, growth need strength was found to fully mediate this association, suggesting that such leadership fuels employees’ developmental desires, which in turn prompts them to undertake bootleg innovation. Moreover, it was found that work centrality attenuates the positive association between strengths-based leadership and bootleg innovation. Based on these findings, we suggest that organizations focus their strengths-based leadership efforts on employees with lower work centrality, as high work centrality naturally substitutes for the need for external leadership support.