The influence of supply chain leadership on innovation: the mediating role of team creativity climate and the moderating role of supply chain complexity

Amid dispersed global value chains and increased external opportunities to innovate, supply chain leaders have remarkably understood and mobilised resources, and firms that use supply chain resources have actively innovated and interacted with one another. This study uses social cognitive theory to examine the influence of supply chain leaders on innovation performance, the mediating role of team creativity climate in this relationship, and the moderating role of supply chain complexity in the relationships among leadership, performance, and team creativity climate. A questionnaire was administered to 211 Chinese firms, and their responses were assessed using hierarchical regression and bootstrap analyses. The results showed that supply chain leadership significantly and positively affected innovation performance, a relationship mediated by team creativity climate. This mediation was positively moderated by supply chain complexity. Finally, a moderating mediating effect was observed.