Impact of inclusive leadership on team innovation performance of new generation employees: the role of team learning from failures and career calling

Grounded in the theory of team regulation (TRT), this study investigates the boundary conditions and mechanisms through which inclusive leadership affects the innovation performance of teams made up of new-generation employees. Data was collected using a 3-wave time lagged questionnaire design from 400 employees nested within 77 teams. The proposed hypotheses were tested using SEM in combination with bootstrapping analysis. The findings show that inclusive leadership is positively linked to team innovation performance. Moreover, team learning from failures is a mediating mechanism between improved innovation outcomes and inclusive leadership. In addition, career calling moderates the link between inclusive leadership and team learning from failures, such that the effect becomes robust when the team career calling’s level is higher. By examining the role of inclusive leadership in the terms of project failure, this study offers useful theoretical insights and practical implications for enhancing team innovation performance.