Stimulation and effectiveness of sense of work gain for scientific and technological innovators

The talents of scientific and technological (sci-tech) innovators are crucial in maintaining the competitiveness of an organization. Based on organizational support theory, we examined the stimulation and effectiveness of sense of work gain in a survey of 459 sci-tech innovators under three types of paternalistic leadership: authoritarian, benevolent, and moral. The results showed that authoritarian leadership was negatively related to innovators’ task performance, whereas both benevolent and moral leadership were positively related to their task performance. For sense of work gain, all three dimensions (survival, relationship, and growth gain) mediated the relationship between authoritarian leadership and task performance, and relationship gain and growth gain mediated the relationships between both benevolent and moral leadership, and task performance. Organizational support positively moderated the relationships between the three dimensions of sense of work gain and task performance. The findings provide theoretical and practical references for improving innovators’ sense of work gain and task performance.