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Building on the person–supervisor fit theory, this paper examines how and when leader–follower moqi congruence positively impacts task performance.

With data collected from 174 leader–follower dyads in 41 project teams in Shanghai, China, the authors use polynomial regression and response surface plots to test the hypotheses on the effects of leader–follower moqi congruence.

Leader–follower moqi congruence positively affects followers' task performance, mediated by coordination. Task coordination was of higher quality when the congruence is achieved at a high level of moqi than at a low level. The effect of leader–follower moqi congruence on task performance (mediated by coordination) was weaker when leader-member exchange was low than when it was high.

This study identifies why leader–follower moqi can improve coordination and task performance. It extends person–supervisor fit theory and is an enhancement for moqi research and practice.

Research on workplace loneliness has thus far been dominated by perceptions of followers; hence, few researchers have considered the perspective of leader-follower congruence. The purpose of this paper is to examine how the leader-follower relationship mediates the relationship between leader-follower congruence/incongruence in workplace loneliness and turnover intentions.

Data were collected from 232 leader-follower dyads from ten companies in China. Polynomial regression combined with the response surface methodology was used to test the hypotheses.

Four conclusions were drawn. First, leader-member exchange (LMX) was higher when leaders and followers were aligned in terms of workplace loneliness than otherwise. Second, in the case of leader-follower congruence, LMX rose as their workplace loneliness fell. Third, in the case of incongruence, followers had lower LMX when they were lonelier than their leaders. Finally, LMX partially mediated the leader-follower congruence/incongruence effect of workplace loneliness on followers’ turnover intention.

This study emphasized the importance of leaders’ congruence with followers in workplace loneliness. Additionally, it extended research on leader-follower congruence from a positive perspective to a negative one.

Prior studies have consistently shown that leader psychological capital is beneficial for leader–member exchange (LMX) and followers’ outcomes. In this study, the authors challenge this consensus; they propose that a leader with high-level psychological capital may decrease LMX and promote followers’ turnover intention when encountering a follower with low-level psychological capital. Only congruent psychological capital in leader–follower dyads increases LMX and decreases turnover intention.

A two-wave survey was designed to collect data from a sample of 207 leader–follower dyads in the service industries of China. Polynomial regression combined with the response surface analysis was used to test the hypotheses.

(1) LMX increased when the levels of psychological capital between leaders and followers were congruent, but LMX suffered when they were not congruent (e.g. leaders’ psychological capital was higher than followers’ or otherwise); (2) in the conditions of psychological capital congruence, LMX was higher when a leader’s and a follower’s psychological capital were both high than low; (3) LMX mediated the relationship between psychological capital congruence and followers’ turnover intention.

These findings provide a novel perspective on understanding of the function of psychological capital and its implications for turnover management.

Drawing from the literature on person–environment fit and proactive personality, the purpose of this paper is to empirically examine whether congruence between the proactive personality of a leader and his/her follower is facilitative/inhibitive of creativity of the follower.

Data were collected in two waves from 355 followers and 36 corresponding leaders working in a large manufacturing company in India. Hypotheses were tested using polynomial regression analysis and response surface method.

The results indicate that leader–follower congruence in proactive personality is more likely to encourage followers’ creativity. Moreover, leader–follower congruence at higher levels of proactive personality showed higher levels of followers’ creativity than when dyads are congruent at lower levels.

Findings suggest that human resource management in organizations should consider matching leaders’ proactive personality with that of followers’ to foster employee creativity. This is critical from the perspective of recruitment and dyad formulation for jobs that demand creativity.

Research examining why and how congruence in personal characteristics between a leader and his/her follower foster followers’ creativity is at best scant. The study is a novel attempt to examine the effect of congruence in leader–follower proactive personalities on workplace creativity of the follower.

Drawing on the person–supervisor fit theory, this study aims to adopts a dyadic and relational approach to investigate the congruence between the leader’s and the follower’s learning goal orientation (LGO) on their leader–member exchange (LMX) quality and the follower’s innovation.

The participants were 213 frontline employees and their 69 immediate supervisors from a large five-star hotel in China. The authors analyze the multiple-wave data using the cross-level polynomial regression approach.

The results show that when the levels of LGO between the leader and the follower are congruent, follower innovation and LMX are higher; when the levels of LGO between the leader and the follower are incongruent, it hinders LMX but benefits follower’s innovation.

This study implies that personality congruence and incongruence can be equally important in creating positive work outcomes, enriching the theoretical understanding and practical implications for promoting LMX and follower innovation in hospitality industry.

Prior research has identified the importance of employees’ LGO in promoting innovation. However, the fit between employees’ and their leaders’ LGO has not been investigated.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the (in)congruence of leaders’ and followers’ cognitive characteristics (i.e. pessimism), followers’ identification with a leader and job satisfaction.

Data from 291 working professionals are analyzed, following a series of hierarchical linear modeling and mediated polynomial regression analyses.

Polynomial regression analysis results indicate that alignment (congruence) between leaders’ pessimism and followers’ pessimism, when both are at high levels, is related to low levels of job satisfaction. Further, leader–follower congruence at lower levels of pessimism leads to high levels of job satisfaction through the mediator of followers’ perceived identification with a leader.

By identifying (in)congruence of leader–follower pessimism as a key antecedent, and taking an explanatory mechanism of identification with a leader into account, the authors contribute to disentangling the conceptual paths that underlie the mode by which implicit leadership theory might explain instances of individual job satisfaction.

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of the (in)congruence between team leader self-evaluation and follower evaluation about the leader's transformation leadership (TL) on team performance, as well as the conditions under which the impact can be strengthened or weakened.

This study adopts a survey method to collect data from matched sales team leaders and sales team members in 81 teams. A multi-level polynomial regression analysis was conducted.

Team performance was higher in teams with balanced or high TL than with balanced or low TL. Among the teams with incongruence, no difference was found between leader underestimation and leader overestimation. TL congruence plays a moderating role in the relationship between team follower evaluation of TL and team performance, such that the relationship is stronger when team leader self-evaluation and follower evaluation are congruent than incongruent.

This study extends the authors' current understanding of TL literature by combining and contrasting the different perceptions of TL from both the leaders themselves and the followers towards leaders. The findings highlight the importance of congruence versus incongruence rather than just the high or low levels of follower TL evaluation. It provides a more complete understanding of the TL and team performance relationship than the traditional view that promotes a linear relationship between TL and performance.

Assumptions regarding the effect of leader self-enhancement values on leader-follower relationships are oversimplified. To advance this conversation, we test non-linear and congruence effects. We hypothesize that leader self-enhancement values (via prestige) have an inverted U-shaped relationship with employee perceptions of leader-member exchange (LMX) and leader interpersonal justice, and that leader-follower incongruence is negatively related to LMX and interpersonal justice.

To evaluate our hypotheses we use hierarchical regression, polynomial regression, and surface plot analysis. Our sample consists of 193 leader-follower dyads from a variety of organizations.

LMX and interpersonal justice increase as leader self-enhancement increases, but begin to decrease at higher levels of self-enhancement values. Additionally, leader-follower self-enhancement incongruence is negatively related to interpersonal justice. Finally, LMX is lowest when leaders are higher than followers in self-enhancement values compared to when followers are higher than leaders.

It is critical to evaluate the level of leader self-enhancement values and/or the joint influence of the follower values (self-enhancement) to fully understand the effect of leader values on follower perceptions of the dyadic relationship. Organizations interested in facilitating high-quality leader-follower relationships should focus on the levels of the values and on mechanisms that facilitate leader-follower value alignment.

This work extends prior research assuming a direct, linear effect of leader self-enhancement values on follower outcomes. To fully understand the influence of leader values it is important to consider curvilinear and congruence effects.

Based on the micro role transition theory (MRTT), the present study aims to explore how leader–follower congruence in psychological capital (PsyCap) affects followers' task performance and voice behavior, in which we uncover the mediating role of organizational embeddedness.

A survey was conducted in South China through a three-stage procedure, and finally, a dyad-structured sample of 62 leaders and 218 employees was matched. The polynomial regression method, response surface analysis and structural equation modeling were employed to test the effects of leader–follower PsyCap congruence.

(1) Followers' organizational embeddedness will be higher when leaders' and followers' PsyCap are more aligned; (2) followers' organizational embeddedness will be higher when leaders' and followers' PsyCap are aligned at a high level rather than when they are aligned at a low level; (3) followers' organizational embeddedness will be higher when followers' PsyCap is higher than leaders', compared to when followers' PsyCap is lower than leaders'; (4) organizational embeddedness mediates the relationship between leader–follower PsyCap congruence and followers' (a) task performance and (b) voice behavior.

This study emphasizes leaders' pivotal role in a process where followers' PsyCap affects task performance and voice behavior, and further extends MRTT through introducing organizational embeddedness as a mediator in such a mechanism.

Building upon relational leadership theory, we develop a theoretical model examining the association between leader-follower congruence in follower role orientation and manager and subordinate relational and well-being outcomes. Follower role orientation represents individuals’ beliefs regarding the best way to enact a follower role. We predict that managers and subordinates who share similar role orientations will experience higher quality leader-member exchange (LMX) relationships and greater eustress than those who differ in their follower role orientations. Propositions are presented for direct effects between congruence and stress and indirect effects through LMX. Our theoretical model contributes to nascent research on followership by offering greater understanding of manager and subordinate beliefs regarding how followers should enact their roles, and the importance of considering leader (i.e., manager) as well as follower outcomes in the workplace. It also extends current thinking about stress as an important outcome of leader-follower relationships.