Abstract According to the personal-environment fit theory, using polynomial regression, response surface analysis and block variable analysis methods, 302 matching data of leaders and subordinates were analyzed to explore the impact mechanism of the match between leader’s evaluation of the employee creativity and employee’s self-evaluation of creativity on bootleg innovation. The results show that, firstly, in the case of evaluation consistency, “high employee’s self-evaluation of creativity-high leader’s evaluation of employee creativity” is better than “low employee’s self-evaluation of creativity-low leader’s evaluation of employee creativity” in terms of stimulating bootleg innovation. Secondly, in the case of inconsistency, “high employee’s self-evaluation of creativity-low leader’s evaluation of employee creativity” can promote bootleg innovation better than “low employee’s self-evaluation of creativity-high leader’s evaluation of employee creativity”. Thirdly, the match of the employee creativity between self-evaluation and the leader’s evaluation indirectly affects bootleg innovation through work autonomy. Finally, the perceived climate of Team Cha-Xu moderates the relationship between work autonomy and bootleg innovation.
