Political self-efficacy matters: an investigation of how and when leader political mentoring affects follower political behavior and promotability

Abstract

Purpose

The authors propose a new motivation construct, political self-efficacy, and investigate how and when leader political mentoring influences follower political behavior and promotability through political self-efficacy.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors collected four samples to develop a scale for political self-efficacy and conducted two field studies of leader-follower dyads to examine the model.

Findings

Leader political mentoring enhances followers' political behavior and promotability through increasing their political self-efficacy. These positive indirect effects are stronger when followers have a higher positive political perception.

Originality/value

This study integrates mentoring research with organizational politics literature and theorizes how a domain-specific self-efficacy—political self-efficacy, translates the positive impact of leader political mentoring on constructive behavioral and career-related outcomes.

Citation

Zhao, C., Gao, Z., Liu, Y. and Yang, O. (2023), "Political self-efficacy matters: an investigation of how and when leader political mentoring affects follower political behavior and promotability", Journal of Managerial Psychology, Vol. 38 No. 3, pp. 177-193. https://doi.org/10.1108/JMP-06-2021-0336