The double-edged sword of leader humility: Investigating when and why leader humility promotes versus inhibits subordinate deviance
Extant research has uniformly demonstrated that leader humility is beneficial for subordinates, teams, and even organizations. Drawing upon attribution theory, we challenge this prevailing conclusion by identifying a potential dark side of leader humility and suggesting that leader humility can be a...
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| Published in | Journal of applied psychology Vol. 105; no. 7; p. 693 |
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| Main Authors | , , , , |
| Format | Journal Article |
| Language | English |
| Published |
United States
01.07.2020
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| Subjects | |
| Online Access | Get more information |
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| Abstract | Extant research has uniformly demonstrated that leader humility is beneficial for subordinates, teams, and even organizations. Drawing upon attribution theory, we challenge this prevailing conclusion by identifying a potential dark side of leader humility and suggesting that leader humility can be a mixed blessing. We propose that the effects of leader humility hinge on subordinates' attributions of such humble behavior. On the one hand, when subordinates attribute leader humility in a self-serving way, leader humility is positively associated with subordinate psychological entitlement, which in turn increases workplace deviance. On the other hand, when subordinates do not attribute leader humility in a self-serving way, leader humility is positively associated with leader-member exchange, which in turn decreases workplace deviance. We found support for our hypotheses across a field study and an experiment. Taken together, our findings reveal the perils and benefits of leader humility and the importance of examining subordinate attributions in this unique leadership process. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved). |
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| AbstractList | Extant research has uniformly demonstrated that leader humility is beneficial for subordinates, teams, and even organizations. Drawing upon attribution theory, we challenge this prevailing conclusion by identifying a potential dark side of leader humility and suggesting that leader humility can be a mixed blessing. We propose that the effects of leader humility hinge on subordinates' attributions of such humble behavior. On the one hand, when subordinates attribute leader humility in a self-serving way, leader humility is positively associated with subordinate psychological entitlement, which in turn increases workplace deviance. On the other hand, when subordinates do not attribute leader humility in a self-serving way, leader humility is positively associated with leader-member exchange, which in turn decreases workplace deviance. We found support for our hypotheses across a field study and an experiment. Taken together, our findings reveal the perils and benefits of leader humility and the importance of examining subordinate attributions in this unique leadership process. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved). |
| Author | Huang, Mingpeng Chen, Chen Ju, Dong Qin, Xin Yam, Kai Chi |
| Author_xml | – sequence: 1 givenname: Xin surname: Qin fullname: Qin, Xin organization: Sun Yat-sen Business School – sequence: 2 givenname: Chen orcidid: 0000-0002-0112-5046 surname: Chen fullname: Chen, Chen organization: Sun Yat-sen Business School – sequence: 3 givenname: Kai Chi surname: Yam fullname: Yam, Kai Chi organization: Business School – sequence: 4 givenname: Mingpeng surname: Huang fullname: Huang, Mingpeng organization: Business School – sequence: 5 givenname: Dong surname: Ju fullname: Ju, Dong organization: Business School |
| BackLink | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31670527$$D View this record in MEDLINE/PubMed |
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| Snippet | Extant research has uniformly demonstrated that leader humility is beneficial for subordinates, teams, and even organizations. Drawing upon attribution theory,... |
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| Title | The double-edged sword of leader humility: Investigating when and why leader humility promotes versus inhibits subordinate deviance |
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