How do servant leadership and self-esteem at work shape family performance in China? A resource gain development perspective

Abstract

Purpose

Drawing on the resource gain development (RGD) perspective, this study is aimed to examine how servant leadership as an environmental resource and general self-esteem as a personal resource influence employees' family performance through work-to-family facilitation (WFF) and explore the moderating effects of gender and Chinese traditionality on the relationship between servant leadership and WFF.

Design/methodology/approach

Two-wave data were collected from 369 employees in China. The structural equation model and path analysis were used to analyze the data.

Findings

The results confirm that WFF mediates the effects of servant leadership and employees' general self-esteem on employees' family performance. Gender and Chinese traditionality moderate the relationship between servant leadership and WFF.

Originality/value

This study contributes to existing research by revealing how specific environmental resources (servant leadership) and personal resources (general self-esteem) impact employee family performance through WFF; it also identifies gender and Chinese traditionality as demand characteristics which moderate the effect of environmental resources on WFF.

Citation

Li, D., Li, Y., Hu, Y. and Tu, Y. (2022), "How do servant leadership and self-esteem at work shape family performance in China? A resource gain development perspective", Management Decision, Vol. 60 No. 3, pp. 550-566. https://doi.org/10.1108/MD-08-2020-1104