Enhancing public service team innovation through ambidextrous leadership: the mediating and moderating roles of team learning and trust in leaders

Purpose This study aims to develop a cross-level research model to explore the relationship between ambidextrous leadership (AL) and team innovation, the role of team learning mediation and the effect of trust in leader moderation on the relationship. Design/methodology/approach This study adopted a cross-sectional approach, which included a quantitative survey. The survey was given to 404 respondents from 99 working groups from 29 regional apparatus organizations in Indonesia. Structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis using MPLUS software was used to test the proposed relationships. Findings AL has a direct negative correlation with team innovation. However, AL can have a positive impact on team innovation when it is mediated by team learning and strengthened by trust in leader. Originality/value This study offers a novel and substantive contribution to the advancement of dynamic capability theory within the unique context of local government organizations in Indonesia, an area that has been largely underexplored. By dissecting the intricate mechanisms linking AL to team innovation, this research challenges the commonly held assumption that AL is inherently beneficial. It reveals a counterintuitive finding: AL, in isolation, has a non-significant impact on team innovation unless mediated by team learning and reinforced by trust in the leader. This nuanced insight expands the theoretical boundaries of dynamic capability by emphasizing that an organization’s adaptive and innovative capacity hinges on not solely leadership style but also the cultivation of collective learning processes and relational trust. Such findings not only enrich existing theoretical models but also offer practical implications for fostering innovation in bureaucratic and hierarchical institutional settings.