Individual-focused transformational leadership and employee strengths use: the roles of positive affect and core self-evaluation
ISSN: 0048-3486
Article publication date: 7 August 2020
Issue publication date: 10 March 2021
Abstract
Purpose
Through the lens of affective events theory, this study sought to investigate the associations of individual-focused transformational leadership, namely individualized consideration and intellectual stimulation, with employee strengths use (ESU) and the mediating role of positive affect and the moderating role of core self-evaluation (CSE) in these associations.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors collected data by a three-wave research design. Hypotheses were examined with a sample of 178 employees working in various organizations in China.
Findings
The results revealed that both individualized consideration and intellectual stimulation have positive relationships with ESU and positive affect partially mediates these two relationships. Contrary to our hypotheses, CSE negatively moderated the relationship of intellectual stimulation with positive affect and the mediational effect of positive affect on the relationship between intellectual stimulation and ESU. However, CSE did not moderate the relationships between individualized consideration, positive affect and ESU.
Originality/value
This study was the first to empirically examine the relationships of individualized consideration and intellectual stimulation with ESU and the mediating effect of positive affect and the moderating effect of CSE on these relationships.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
Conflict of interest: All authors declare that there no conflict of interest.Ethical Approval: All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.Informed consent: Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.Funding: This study was supported by “The Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (2020MS046)”Data availability statement: The data that support the findings of this study are available from HD (believedh@126.com) upon reasonable request.
Citation
Ding, H. and Lin, X. (2020), "Individual-focused transformational leadership and employee strengths use: the roles of positive affect and core self-evaluation", Personnel Review, Vol. 50 No. 3, pp. 1022-1037. https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-10-2019-0541
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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