How appreciative leadership affects employees' helping behaviors? The mediating role of emotions and the moderating role of organizational trust

Abstract

PurposeThis study, based on social exchange theory, aims to explore the association between appreciative leadership and employees' helping behaviors by investigating the mediation role of emotional reactions (pride, anxiety), and choosing organizational trust as a boundary condition between appreciative leadership and helping behaviors.Design/methodology/approachA total sample of 285 reliable questionnaires were collected in three time lags from employees working in the Pakistani education and banking sectors. PROCESS macro using SPSS and AMOS are employed for data analyses of the proposed model.FindingsThe findings reveal that appreciative leadership has positive impacts on employees' helping behaviors and emotional reactions (pride, anxiety) mediate the relationship of appreciative leadership and employees' helping behaviors. In addition, the results show that high organizational trust strengthens the positive relationship between appreciative leadership and employees' helping behaviors.Practical implicationsThis research has provided empirical proof between the relationship of appreciative leadership and helping behaviors and the findings are of great significance for managers, employees, and organizations. The study proposes that leaders should have appreciative behavior while treating their subordinates. Moreover, it is revealed that the role of organizational trust should be given more attention and importance because it is a factor moderating the employees' helping behaviors.Originality/valueThe present study, among the first empirical efforts investigating the relationship between appreciative leadership and helping behaviors, organizational trust as a moderator, enriches the existing academic literature of and provides worthy insight into the research on appreciative leadership and helping behaviors.

Measuring Job Performance through Leadership with the Mediating Effect of Emotional Intelligence

“…This discussion aims to explore and analyze the findings regarding the role of LD on JP, focusing on the mediating role of EQ within the private health sector of Pakistan based on the available literature. Numerous studies (Asim et al, 2022;Dubey et al, 2023;Fakhri et al, 2020;Goodman, 1990;Hassan Helaly et al, 2022;Hoxha, 2019;Jiatong et al, 2022;Jnaneswar & Ranjit, 2020;Krijgsheld et al, 2022;Perez, 2021;Perloff, 1997;Thorndike, 1920;Zhao & Zhou, 2019) have established a positive relationship between LD and JP. Effective leadership is characterized by inspiring and motivating employees, setting clear goals, providing guidance and support, and encouraging employee development.…”

“…The healthcare sector of Pakistan has undergone significant growth and transformation over the last few decades. However, despite the contribution of healthcare professionals, there have been significant challenges in delivering quality healthcare to the population, such as inadequate infrastructure, insufficient resources, a shortage of trained healthcare professionals and a lack of leadership roles (Asim et al, 2022). The healthcare system in Pakistan also faces unique challenges related to employees' job performance.…”

Abusive supervision and helping behavior among nursing staff: a moderated mediation model

“…For instance, nursing staff plays a vital role in providing patient care in hospitals. Despite research on the impact of helping behavior in sectors such as banking and teaching (Asim et al ., 2022), there is limited understanding of its effects on nurses.…”

“…Interpersonal helping behaviors enable coworkers to seek assistance for job-related problems, enhancing organizational success (Liu et al ., 2020; Mossholder et al ., 2011; Podsakoff et al ., 2000). While it falls under citizenship behavior, helping others in their work often requires more discretion compared to other forms of citizenship behaviors (Asim et al ., 2022; Chou and Stauffer, 2016).…”

Relationship of abusive supervision and employees’ helping behaviors: moderated-mediation perspective

“…Previous literature highlighted the importance of leadership styles on discretionary behaviors (Asim et al , 2021; Islam et al , 2021). For example, positive leadership styles like transformational leadership and appreciative leadership can enhance employees’ discretionary behaviors (Liu and DeFrank, 2013; Asim et al , 2022), but negative leadership styles negatively affect discretionary behaviors such as organizational citizenship behaviors (Zhang and Xie, 2017).…”