Green Transformational Leadership and Social Innovation: The Role of Work Well‐Being, Green Organizational Citizenship Behavior, and Digital Leadership Capabilities
研究基于中小企业调查数据，发现绿色变革型领导通过提升工作幸福感和绿色组织公民行为间接促进社会创新，而数字领导能力的调节作用不显著。
ABSTRACT This study addresses how green transformational leadership (GTL) translates into social innovation (SI) in SMEs through a behavioral and process‐based mechanism. Drawing on the job demands–resources (JD‐R) model and social exchange theory, we propose a sequential framework in which GTL enhances work well‐being (WW), which in turn fosters green organizational citizenship behavior (GOCB), ultimately generating SI as an emergent outcome. Using survey data from SMEs and structural equation modeling, the findings indicate that GTL is indirectly associated with SI through WW and GOCB. WW alone is unlikely to systematically generate innovation unless it is translated into discretionary sustainability‐oriented behaviors. GOCB emerges as a key mechanism through which psychological resources are converted into collective innovative action. In contrast, digital leadership capabilities (DLC) do not exhibit a significant moderating effect, suggesting a context‐dependent rather than systematically amplifying role in SME settings. The study contributes to leadership and SI literature by shifting the focus from direct effects to a microfoundational behavioral process. It shows that SI is better understood as an emergent outcome resulting from the progressive conversion of psychological resources into discretionary collective action.