More positive, more innovative: a moderated-mediation model of supervisor positive feedback and subordinate innovative behavior

This study attempted to establish and validate a moderated-mediation model to discuss the effect of supervisor positive feedback on subordinate innovative behavior. Based on cognitive evaluation theory, the mediating role of intrinsic motivation and the moderating role of feedback orientation were also discussed in such relationship. The three-wave time lagged data of 411 Chinese subordinates and their direct supervisors were collected, and the PROCESS macro was used to test the research hypothesis in this study. The results showed that supervisor positive feedback has a strong predictive effect on subordinate innovative behavior. Meanwhile, intrinsic motivation partially mediated the positive effect of supervisor positive feedback subordinate innovative behavior. In addition, feedback orientation of subordinates moderated the associations among supervisor positive feedback, their intrinsic motivation, and innovative behavior, whereby supervisor positive feedback could make subordinates with high feedback orientation have higher intrinsic motivation level than those with low feedback orientation, and finally result in more innovative behavior. Taken together, these conclusions provide a new perspective the academic circle to explain the relationships between supervisor positive feedback, subordinate feedback orientation, intrinsic motivation, and innovative behavior, which also have certain enlightenment for improving subordinate innovative behavior in practice.