Exploring the impacts of leader anger expressions on employee boundary-spanning behavior in construction projects
Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management
ISSN: 0969-9988
Article publication date: 30 August 2024
Abstract
Purpose
Despite the increasing importance of boundary-spanning behaviors in construction projects, the research on how leader anger expressions impact employees’ boundary-spanning behaviors remains unclear. This study aims to investigate the impact of leader anger expressions on employees’ boundary-spanning behaviors in construction projects while exploring the mediating effect of work hope and the moderating effect of power distance orientation through the lens of social information processing theory.
Design/methodology/approach
The empirical data were collected from a questionnaire survey of 235 employees in construction projects, and the hypotheses were tested using the PROCESS program developed by Hayes.
Findings
This study demonstrated that leader anger expressions negatively affect employees’ work hope, and work hope mediates the relationship between leader anger expressions and employees’ boundary-spanning behaviors. Besides, the stronger the employees’ power distance orientation, the stronger the negative relationship between leader anger expressions and employees’ work hope, and the above mediating effect was also stronger.
Research limitations/implications
The use of cross-sectional data was unable to entirely infer a causal relationship between leader anger expressions and employees’ boundary-spanning behaviors. Additionally, the reliance on self-reported data inevitably introduced some common method bias.
Originality/value
Applying social information processing theory, this paper enriches the discourse on factors influencing employees’ boundary-spanning behaviors in construction projects. It also offers valuable insights for leaders in construction projects to manage their teams effectively.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This research was supported by grants from the National Social Science Fund of China (Grant No. 20BGL050), the Project of Cultivation for young top-notch Talents of Beijing Municipal Institutions (Grant No. BPHR202203088) and BUCEA Post Graduate Innovation Project (Grant No. 05081024005).
Citation
Kang, F., Shi, Y., Li, J. and Zhang, H. (2024), "Exploring the impacts of leader anger expressions on employee boundary-spanning behavior in construction projects", Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/ECAM-04-2024-0407
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2024, Emerald Publishing Limited