Zhongyong thinking, leader–member exchange, and employee innovative behavior

Innovative and creative employees are crucial for increasing organizations’ competitive advantage. This study examined the relationship between Zhongyong thinking and employee innovative behavior, along with the mediating role of leader–member exchange (LMX). Participants were 275 subordinates and 61 supervisors employed at a large enterprise in China. We tested the proposed hypotheses with structural equation modeling based on a time-lagged survey. The results show that, as predicted, both Zhongyong thinking and LMX were positively related to subordinates’ innovative behavior. Furthermore, LMX partially mediated the relationship between Zhongyong thinking and subordinates’ innovative behavior. These findings point to the importance of both Zhongyong thinking and LMX for innovative behavior in an organization. Implications are discussed for research and practice.