HEC Research Papers Series,
HEC Paris

Abstract: We examine the effect of interaction of high levels of team autonomy and intra-team trust on team innovative climate. Isolation of teams with high levels of autonomy may be amplified in teams which have a higher level of intra-team trust leading to complacency and a reduced climate for innovativeness. We expect that such negative effects can be overcome when leadership points to a superordinate purpose which embeds the unit’s actions into a superior objective shared by the whole organization. Using large-scale panel data (85,317 observations belonging to 76,387 teams from 1,501 firms) and three distinct samples, we find significant support for our predictions and the role of purpose-based leadership experience as a mechanism to balance trade-offs of team design features.

Keywords: Innovative climate; Team autonomy; Intra-team trust; Purpose-based leadership experience

JEL-codes: D23; M54; O31

46 pages, February 14, 2026

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