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The purpose of this paper is to provide a deeper understanding of how transformational leadership relates to followers' innovation implementation behavior, the psychological mechanisms of this relationship, and the role of individual perceptions of climate for initiative.

Perceptual data were collected from 198 employees in lower and middle management positions of a multinational automotive corporation. Relationships were tested using hierarchical regression analysis.

Results demonstrate that transformational leadership was strongly related to followers' innovation implementation behavior and that the nature of this relationship was moderated by followers' levels of perceived climate for initiative. Additionally, commitment to change fully mediated the relationship between transformational leadership and followers' innovation implementation behavior.

The paper is based on a cross‐sectional design. A causal interpretation requires studies with experimental or longitudinal designs.

Companies should invest in transformational leadership training and in the selection of supervisors with this leadership style before initiating the implementation of innovations. Enhancing contextual factors, such as a perceived climate for initiative, should be promoted by integrating them into organizations' reward systems.

The paper is one of the first to investigate the relationship between transformational leadership and followers' innovation implementation behavior. It specifies the organizational contexts under which transformational leadership is most likely related to innovation implementation behavior, and those in which such a relationship is unlikely to occur.

Suggestion systems offer the opportunity for organizations to benefit directly from their employees' innovativeness. The purpose of this paper is to investigate processes underlying employees' involvement with suggestion systems. It examines the relationship between interactional justice of the suggestion system, valence of the suggestion system (VSS), employees' wellbeing, and their motivation to submit suggestions.

Data were collected in a German manufacturing company. In total, 142 questionnaires were completed (response rate: 71 percent). The paper applies the bootstrapping method in order to test the hypothesized relationships.

Results support the hypothesized moderated mediation model, in that VSS mediated the positive relationship between interactional justice and motivation to submit suggestions when wellbeing was high or moderate, but not when wellbeing was low.

The results reflect only subjective appraisals. However, the studied variables are ultimately based on what employees perceive. Nonetheless, future research should generate and include more objective measures.

The paper provides evidence, first, that companies should consider the important role of employees' wellbeing in the innovation context and try to enhance it. Second, the interactional justice and the VSS contribute to employees' motivation to submit suggestions and should be strengthened.

While the existing literature mostly focuses on innovative behaviour in general, this paper analyzes employees' motivation to submit suggestions.