Does generational diversity lead to innovative behaviour? Moderated-mediation evidence from the Indian IT sector

Purpose This study aims to investigate the effect of generational differences on employee innovative behaviour (IB), along with the mediating role of task conflict (TC) and relationship conflict (RC) and the moderating role of inclusion and organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB). Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from 518 full-time working professionals from the Indian Information Technology (IT) sector and analysed using structural equation modelling and the PROCESS macro. Findings Contrary to the proposed hypotheses, the authors found generational diversity (GD) positively impacting IB, wherein only TC had a significant mediating effect. Similarly, the moderated-mediation results showed the significant impact of TC only. Research limitations/implications This study contributes in three ways. First, it links GD to IB, a relatively underexplored outcome. Second, it explains mixed diversity effects by examining TC and RC as mediators, with inclusion and OCB as boundary conditions. Third, it provides context-specific insights from the Indian IT sector, extending diversity research beyond Western settings. Practical implications Managers must create a dynamic atmosphere of continuous learning and improved decision-making to tackle technical challenges and foster innovation by leveraging age diversity. Originality/value This study examines IB as a key outcome and identifies TC as a central mechanism, with inclusion and OCB as boundary conditions. These findings are based on perceptual measures of GD within the Indian IT sector and should be interpreted in light of the single-source, cross-sectional nature of the data.