The impact of overqualification on employee innovative performance: A moderated mediation model

Overqualification reflects employees’ perception of being too highly qualified for their job, which can significantly influence their psychological state and behavior. While researchers have extensively explored the negative effects of employee overqualification, research on its positive effects remains limited, and the underlying mechanisms are still unclear. Drawing on human capital theory and trait activation theory, our study employed hierarchical regression analysis to statistically analyze 883 leader−employee pairs. The findings indicated that overqualification positively influenced employees’ innovative performance and role-breadth self-efficacy. Further, role-breadth self-efficacy mediated the relationship between overqualification and employee innovative performance. In addition, inclusive leadership moderated the relationship between overqualification and role-breadth self-efficacy. Our findings reveal the mechanisms linking overqualification to employee innovative performance, providing valuable insights for managers to better address employees’ perception of overqualification and enhance employee creativity.