Linking organizational emotional capability to innovation performance in high‐tech innovating firms

Previous research on the association between organizational emotional capability and organizational innovation still stays in the conceptual framework stage with inadequate empirical studies. According to affective events theory, this study proposed and examined a multiple mediated moderation model of how emotional capability affects innovation performance. Based on matched multi‐source surveys of R&D department managers and employees and employees in 435 Chinese high‐tech innovating firms, we found that organizational commitment and organizational learning acted as mediators on the relationship between organizational emotional capability and innovation performance, external environmental dynamics moderated the relationship between emotional capability and commitment, external environmental competitiveness moderated the relationship between organizational commitment and learning, and environmental dynamics and competitiveness have a positive joint moderating effect on the relationship between emotional capability and organizational commitment. The findings of this study make essential contributions to the research of organizational capability and innovation in dynamic and competitive environments.