Transformational Leadership and Faculty Innovative Behavior in Chinese Vocational Institutions: A Moderated Mediation Model

Abstract

While transformational leadership (TL) is a recognized catalyst for innovative work behavior (IWB), research has not sufficiently examined whether this relationship holds in resource-constrained, non-Western educational settings. This omission is consequential, as the behavioral expression of work motivation may be contingent on resource availability. Drawing on self-determination theory (SDT) and conservation of resources (COR) theory, this study examined a moderated mediation model positing that psychological empowerment (PE) mediates the TL–IWB relationship, and that this indirect effect is contingent on perceived resource constraints (PRC). Survey data from 431 full-time faculty across 12 vocational institutions in Guangxi, China, were analyzed using structural equation modeling with cluster-robust standard errors and latent moderated structural equations, supplemented by an equivalence test to validate the key null finding. TL was positively associated with both PE and IWB. PE partially mediated the TL–IWB link (indirect effect = 0.16, 95% CI [0.07, 0.29]), accounting for 36.4 percent of the total effect. PRC significantly moderated the PE→IWB path (β = −.19, *p* = .003); the indirect effect was reduced by 61 percent under high resource constraints. The TL→PE path remained non-contingent on resource conditions and was statistically equivalent to zero via equivalence testing. This asymmetric pattern—a resource-insensitive motivational pathway and a resource-fragile behavioral pathway—reveals a phenomenon of motivational-behavioral decoupling in resource-scarce environments. Leadership development and adequate resourcing function as complementary mechanisms; the 61 percent attenuation under high constraints demonstrates that resource scarcity constrains the translation of leadership-induced motivation into innovative action.