Does shared platform matter? The impact of platform leadership on research innovative behaviors in universities

In an era of change and uncertainty, innovation is crucial to social sustainability. Universities play a vital role in driving this innovation. The innovative behaviors of researchers have already raised widespread concern. Based on Social Exchange Theory, the study aims to examine the influence mechanism of platform leadership on innovative behaviors of researchers and validate the dual moderating effects of growth mindset and need for approval. Through convenience sampling, 374 researchers from Chinese universities completed a two-wave survey. The findings indicate that knowledge sharing intention plays a mediating role between platform leadership and innovative behaviors of researchers. Platform leaders can promote research innovative behaviors by enhancing researchers' knowledge sharing intention. Growth mindset and need for approval moderate the relationship between platform leadership, knowledge sharing intention and innovative behavior of researchers. Platform leadership enables researchers with a high growth mindset and a need for approval to engage more readily in knowledge sharing and innovative research.