Purpose Although previous studies have studied the impact of spiritual leadership (SL) on employees’ innovation, the research on mechanisms and the boundary conditions for stimulating this relationship is scant. This paper aims to follow the idea of social capital theory (SCT), which contends that social relationships are resources that lead toward the development of intellectual capital, important for innovative work behavior (IWB) of employees; the mediating role of knowledge sharing self-efficacy (KSSE) and moderating role of innovation climate (IC) are considered. Design/methodology/approach The authors collected the data from the foreign and local employees working in multinational companies in China. The quantitative analysis was performed using Smart-PLS 3.0. Findings The results indicated that employee high-ranking of SL is positively related to KSSE. Moreover, SL is significant to enhance IWB, whereas KSSE explained this relationship. The authors also suggest that an employee’s KSSE is significant to form important behavior at work (IWB). However, IC did not play its moderating role in the SL – IWB link. Originality/value This study explores the influence of the leadership style (SL) on employees’ KSSE and the effect of KSSE on IWB, which have not been studied previously. The current study confirms the relationship between SL and IWB in the multicultural workplace and reveals the deeper influence of an individual’s belief (KSSE) mechanism between them. SCT was applied to explain the proposed relationships.
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