Abstract:      Bootleg innovation can bring revolutionary innovation outcomes to businesses, but it also has high difficulty and high uncertainty characteristics. Therefore, exploring the internal mechanisms of bootleg innovation helps corporate managers guide and manage it more effectively, maximizing its positive effects. Existing research has confirmed that employee creativity is a predictive variable for bootleg innovation, but have not truly delved into the intrinsic dynamics of bootleg innovation from the perspective of the creative process, resulting in an incomplete understanding of it.Considering that individual innovation is a social interactive process, this study incorporated both self-assessment of creative employees and leader-assessment of creativity into the theoretical framework. It employed the polynomial regression analysis and response surface analysis techniques to investigate the relationship between leader-subordinate creativity assessment matching and bootleg innovation, as well as to further explore the mediating effect of breakthrough innovation engagement and the moderating role of paradox mindset. Utilizing a questionnaire survey method, this study collected paired data from leaders and subordinates in tech companies in Beijing, Guangzhou, Zhengzhou, and other locations, and the relevant hypotheses were tested through correlation analysis and multiple regression models on the survey data using SPSS 22.0.Our results showed the following conclusions: (1) the greater inconsistent the leader-subordinate creativity assessment match is, the stronger the impact on creative deviance, but has no significant impact on bootleg innovation; (2) compared with "low employee creativity self-assessment-low employee creativity leader-assessment", "high employee creativity self-assessment-high employee creativity leader-assessment" has a stronger positive impact on bootleg innovation, but no significant influence in creative deviance; (3) compared with "low employee creativity leader-assessment-high employee creativity leader-assessment", "high employee creativity leader-assessment-low employee creativity leaderassessment" has a strong positive impact on both bootleg innovation and creative deviance; (4) breakthrough innovation engagement plays an mediating role between leader-subordinate creativity evaluation fit and bootleg innovation as well as creative deviance; (5) employee paradox mindset can positively moderate the relationship between breakthrough innovation engagement and bootleg innovation as well as creative deviance.By adopting a matching perspective, this study has enhanced the comprehension of the intrinsic mechanisms of bootleg innovation and confirmed that there are differences in the drivers of various types of bootleg innovation, complementing the nomological network of bootleg innovation. Furthermore, based on the creative process perspective, this study verified the mediating role of breakthrough innovation engagement and the moderating effect of the paradox mindset, revealing the internal influence mechanisms and contexts of bootleg innovation behavior. The study will also provide managerial implications for corporate executives: on the one hand, managers should effectively utilize creativity assessment tools to construct contexts that can trigger bootleg innovation and fully stimulate employees′ innovative potential; on the other hand, managers should also provide effective supervision, intervention, and support for the creative process of employees, focusing on cultivating a paradox mindset to ensure the smooth implementation of bootleg innovation. 

Key words: employee creativity, breakthrough innovation engagement, paradox mindset, bootleg innovation, response surface analysis