An increasing number of firms engage in grassroots innovation, i.e., the voluntary generation and development of innovations by any member of an organization, regardless of function or seniority. However, no empirical study to date identifies the determinants of success or failure of grassroots innovation initiatives. We execute a survey study among 3,728 managers in 14 countries, 2,353 of which (63.1%) had already engaged in grassroots innovation. We find that, on average, firms that adopt grassroots innovation outperform firms that do not. We also find that firms that enable (1) employee autonomy, (2) competence development, and (3) relatedness (i.e., helping employees establish mutually beneficial relationships with trusted colleagues) in their grassroots innovation initiatives outperform firms that do not. We document that such effects are contingent on a firm’s institutional environment (i.e., leadership style and market orientation). For instance, the lower the market orientation and the higher the hierarchical leadership of the firm, the higher the performance returns the firm obtains from fostering autonomy and relatedness in grassroots innovation. These findings encourage managers and firms to adopt (or persist in their) grassroots innovation initiatives, to infuse them with sufficient autonomy, competence, and relatedness and match them with the right leadership style.

越来越多的公司从事草根创新，即组织的任何成员自愿产生和发展创新，无论其职能或资历如何。然而，迄今为止，没有实证研究确定基层创新举措成功或失败的决定因素。我们对 14 个国家的 3,728 名管理者进行了一项调查研究，其中 2,353 人（63.1%）已经从事基层创新。我们发现，平均而言，采用草根创新的公司优于不采用草根创新的公司。我们还发现，在草根创新计划中，能够实现 (1) 员工自主权、(2) 能力发展和 (3) 相关性（即帮助员工与可信赖的同事建立互利关系）的公司的表现要优于不具备这种能力的公司。我们证明这种影响取决于公司的制度环境（即领导风格和市场导向）。例如，企业的市场导向越低，领导层级越高，企业通过培育基层创新的自主性和关联性而获得的绩效回报就越高。这些发现鼓励管理者和公司采用（或坚持他们的）基层创新举措，为他们注入足够的自主权、能力和相关性，并使其与正确的领导风格相匹配。企业通过培养基层创新的自主性和关联性获得的绩效回报越高。这些发现鼓励管理者和公司采用（或坚持他们的）基层创新举措，为他们注入足够的自主权、能力和相关性，并使其与正确的领导风格相匹配。企业通过培养基层创新的自主性和关联性获得的绩效回报越高。这些发现鼓励管理者和公司采用（或坚持他们的）基层创新举措，为他们注入足够的自主权、能力和相关性，并使其与正确的领导风格相匹配。