Leader Humility and Knowledge Sharing Intention: A Serial Mediation Model

Abstract

PurposeThis paper examines the influence of leader humility on knowledge sharing intention. Drawing on social exchange theory (SET), we test the direct and indirect mechanisms to explain the influence leader humility has on knowledge sharing intention.Design/Methodology/ApproachA two-wave, time-lagged field study was conducted. We surveyed 252 professional employees from Australia.FindingsResults show a significant direct, positive association between leader humility and knowledge sharing intention. While leader humility had a direct, positive association with affective trust in supervisor and work engagement, it did not directly impact on organizational citizenship behaviors directed toward the individual (OCB-I). There were three SET-related, serial mediators in the relationship between leader humility and knowledge sharing intention. These were affective trust, work engagement, and OCB-I.Research Limitations/ImplicationsFuture studies should collect multi-source data such as peers’ or supervisors’ ratings of the focal respondents’ work engagement, OCB-I, and knowledge sharing behaviors to augment single-source data. Future studies could adopt an affect theory of social exchange to further explore the relationships tested in this study.Originality/ValueThis study contributes to the affect SET and knowledge management literature on how leadership behaviors impact the intention to share knowledge. Our study highlights the preference of the willingness to share knowledge with their co-workers is mediated by affective trust in their immediate supervisors, work engagement, and OCB-I that are equally important as treating their subordinates with humility.

How can a leader's humility enhance civility climate and employee voice in a competitive environment?

“…In other words, even though this study was conducted in a country identified with a high power distance score and authoritarian tendencies (Hofstede, 1991;Hofstede et al, 2005), a humble leadership style remains an essential choice for the community. At the same time, our findings complements the existing literature on the effect of leader humility on positive employee attitudes and behaviors (Carnevale et al, 2019;Lei et al, 2021;Nguyen et al, 2020;Wang et al, 2019) and also the role of leadership in promoting a polite climate (Bunce, 2021;Laschinger and Read, 2016).…”

“…Previous studies have widely cited social exchange theory (SET) to explain the consequences of leader humility on employee attitudes and behavior (Carnevale et al, 2019;Lei et al, 2021;Nguyen et al, 2020;Wang et al, 2019). SET assumes that a crucial rule in the exchange process is "reciprocity," where the individual reaction of the social exchange process is in response to the actions of others (Blau, 1964).…”

Post-traumatic Growth and Psychological Resilience During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Serial Mediation Model

“…On the one hand, an ex ante approach was adopted in the design of questionnaires ( 56 ). Participants were assured confidentiality and anonymity by an introductive message to minimize social desirability effect ( 57 ). On the other hand, Harman’s single-factor test (SPSS 28.0 version) and the method-factor approach (Mplus 8.3 version) were conducted to ensure statistical control.…”

Development of thriving at work and organizational citizenship behavior through Islamic work ethics and humble leadership

“…Within the context of leader humility, the interplay between agentic and communal values has unique consequences for employees' positive behavior. For example, leader humility is believed to be a predictor of the collaborative environment (Owens & Hekman, 2012a, 2012b, team performance (Rego et al, 2017), psychological capital (Qian et al, 2020), promotion of employees' knowledge-sharing behavior (Anand et al, 2019;Nguyen et al, 2020), and team humility (Ye et al, 2020). Accordingly, leader humility is the basis for driving agentic (dominance and competence) and communal behaviors (cooperation and social bonds).…”

“…Argandona (2015) explains that the main characteristics of a humble leader are openness to the ideas and opinions of subordinates, acknowledging achievements (e.g., giving verbal rewards and acknowledging subordinates' achievements), acknowledging their weaknesses, and willingness to share experiences with subordinates (Argandona, 2015). Therefore, leader humility is closely related to the formation of employee knowledge through their willingness to train subordinates (Nguyen et al, 2020) and creating a collaborative environment (Owens & Hekman, 2012a, 2012b. Although researchers have actively studied the consequences of leader humility on individual and group behavior, its impact on thriving at work has been relatively neglected.…”