Linking leader humor to employee creativity: the roles of relational energy and traditionality
Journal of Managerial Psychology
ISSN: 0268-3946
Article publication date: 29 April 2021
Issue publication date: 12 October 2021
Abstract
Purpose
The current study examines the effects of leader humor on the creativity of employees by focusing on the mediating role of relational energy and the moderating role of traditionality.
Design/methodology/approach
This study used three-wave data from 302 employee–supervisor dyads and tested the hypotheses using hierarchical regression and bootstrapping.
Findings
The results indicated that leader humor was positively associated with employee creativity, relational energy mediated this influence. Besides, traditionality not only moderated the relationship between leader humor and relational energy but also attenuated the indirect relationship between leader humor and employee creativity through relational energy.
Practical implications
Leadership training programs can be used to assist leaders in improving their humorous skills. In addition, supervisors should implement humorous behaviors according to the different levels of traditionality of employees.
Originality/value
Integrating conservation of resource theory, this study provides solid evidence that the extent to which relational energy mediates the relationship between leader humor and employee creativity depends on traditionality. It provides a new direction for leader humor.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 71902015), the Research Planning Foundation Project of Humanities and Social Sciences of Ministry of Education in China (Grant No. 20YJA630077), the Science and Technology Research Program of Chongqing Municipal Education Commission of China (Grant No. KJQN201901116) and Scientific Research Foundation of Chongqing University of Technology (Grant No. 2019Z089)
Citation
Yang, C., Yang, F. and Ding, C. (2021), "Linking leader humor to employee creativity: the roles of relational energy and traditionality", Journal of Managerial Psychology, Vol. 36 No. 7, pp. 548-561. https://doi.org/10.1108/JMP-06-2020-0300
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2021, Emerald Publishing Limited