Navigating the employee–organization relationship: Unleashing bootlegging innovation in Chinese knowledge employees

This study examined how the employee–organization relationship can predict knowledge employees' bootlegging innovation behavior. Drawing on social exchange theory, we analyzed survey data from 485 Chinese knowledge employees across various industries. This study found that family-like exchange, social exchange, and economic exchange significantly predicted the bootlegging innovation behavior of knowledge employees. Affective commitment positively mediated the relationship between family-like exchange and employee bootlegging innovation, and negatively mediated the relationship between economic exchange and employee bootlegging innovation. Further, knowledge sharing negatively mediated the relationship between economic exchange and employee bootlegging innovation. This paper enriches research on the antecedents of employee bootlegging innovation, expands the literature on the indirect mechanisms between employee–organization relationships and bootlegging innovation, and provides valuable theoretical exploration and practical insights for Chinese enterprises in managing employee innovation.