Leader failed humor and follower advice seeking
Journal of Managerial Psychology
ISSN: 0268-3946
Article publication date: 18 January 2023
Issue publication date: 9 March 2023
Abstract
Purpose
Drawing on benign violation theory (BVT), this paper aimed to investigate the underlining mechanism and boundary condition of the relationship between follower perception of leader failed humor and follower advice seeking.
Design/methodology/approach
A three-wave survey with 256 leader-follower dyads and an online experiment with 117 participants were conducted to test the hypotheses.
Findings
The results showed that leader failed humor decreased follower liking toward leader and subsequently reduced follower advice seeking. Moreover, this negative relationship was exacerbated when leader and follower had infrequent interaction.
Originality/value
Existing research has encouraged leaders to use humor to build and maintain successful interpersonal relationships. However, the situation that a leader may fail when attempting to present humor is neglected. This study advances the concept of leader failed humor and explores its subsequent consequences.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
Funding: This research was supported by the grant funded by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant 72002038) awarded to Shengming Liu.
Citation
Ji, X., Liu, S. and Wang, H. (2023), "Leader failed humor and follower advice seeking", Journal of Managerial Psychology, Vol. 38 No. 2, pp. 104-115. https://doi.org/10.1108/JMP-03-2021-0153
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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