A Dual-Path Model of Employees’ Innovative IS Usage Behavior: The Moderating Roles of External and Internal Innovation Incentives

Information systems (IS) innovation by employees is critical for digital transformation, yet prior research often examines external social resources and internal cognitive antecedents separately. From a systems perspective, we integrate social capital theory and social cognitive theory to construct a dual-path model. Using survey data from 350 employees in Chinese enterprises, we investigate how social networks (external path) and individual expectations (internal path) predict employees’ innovative IS usage behavior, and how external versus internal innovation incentives moderate these relationships. Results show that both social networks and individual expectations have significant positive effects, with network heterogeneity and performance expectations being the strongest predictors; achievement expectations show no significant effect. External innovation incentives positively moderate the social-network path, whereas internal innovation incentives positively moderate the individual-expectations path, revealing a differentiated “internal–external fit” pattern. Based on these findings, we propose a systemic “factors–incentives–behavior” framework. This study advances the dual-path understanding of IS innovation and provides guidance for designing targeted incentive systems.