Although public employees’ innovative behavior is essential for ongoing improvement of public services and thereby development of public organizations, limited research has examined this topic—especially in transition countries. Drawing on social cognitive theory, this study theorizes that servant leadership fosters public sector employees’ innovative behavior through the sequential mediation roles of public service motivation and learning goal orientation. Results from structural equation modelling with multi-source data from Vietnam’s public sector employee and manager surveys support the hypothesized model. Our study sheds light on the drivers of public employees’ innovative behavior in a less researched context. 1University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam 2Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK 3Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn, VIC, Australia Corresponding Author: Nhung Thi Hong Nguyen, School of Government, University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City, 279 Nguyen Tri Phuong, Ward 5, District 10, Ho Chi Minh City 700000, Vietnam. Email: nhungnth@ueh.edu.vn 1100623AAS0010.1177/00953997221100623Administration & SocietyNguyen et al. research-article2022 Nguyen et al. 31