The emergence mechanism of informal leadership in technology enterprises

Based on leadership identity construction theory, this study examines how the congruence between employees’ motivation to lead (MTL) and peer’s implicit leadership theories (ILT) in technology firms affects informal leadership emergence, with trust relationships as a mediator. Through a multi-wave and social network survey of Pony.ai employees, 298 “individual-peer” dyadic datasets were collected. Polynomial regression and response surface analyses revealed four congruence conditions: high MTL–high ILT, high MTL–low ILT, low MTL–high ILT, and low MTL–low ILT. Compared to other three congruence conditions, high MTL–high ILT congruence yielded the strongest trust relationships and the highest informal leadership emergence. Trust relationships mediated the relationship between MTL–ILT congruence and informal leadership emergence. The research findings reveal the intrinsic mechanism of informal leadership emergence and offer managerial implications for talent identification, team empowerment, and agile leadership development in technology enterprises.