PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine how leader personality traits and cognitive abilities influence perceptions of inspirational communication and organizational proactivity during a crisis. Design/methodology/approachA quasi-natural experiment design with multi-source data was used. The crisis condition included N = 217 frontline leaders, their managers (N = 217) and N = 1,112 followers. Non-crisis condition included N = 151 leaders, their managers (N = 151) and N = 753 followers. Leaders completed self-report measures of reward interest, change consideration and attentional focusing. Followers rated inspirational communication, and managers rated organizational proactivity. FindingsDuring the crisis, leader reward interest and change consideration positively associated with follower perceptions of inspirational communication, which in turn predicted manager-rated organizational proactivity. Attentional focusing moderated this relationship such that low attentional focusing strengthened the link between inspirational communication and organizational proactivity. These effects were not observed in the non-crisis condition. Findings suggest that specific combinations of leader traits and abilities are more influential during crises, highlighting the importance of novelty-seeking, solution-focused thinking and cognitive flexibility in shaping effective leadership behaviors under conditions of uncertainty and disruption. Practical implicationsLeaders who are curious, open to change and can maintain broad situational awareness will inspire their teams and act proactively. Organizations could assess these traits when selecting or training frontline leaders. Originality/valueAn interdisciplinary approach to crisis leadership by integrating reinforcement sensitivity, wisdom and attentional control theory is used. This combines neurobiological, cognitive and wisdom-based perspectives to understand how personality and cognitive traits shape leadership effectiveness under uncertainty.
PurposeEmpirical studies have reported inconsistent findings regarding the relationship between authentic leadership and follower outcomes, creating challenges for developing effective management strategies. To address this issue, the present study investigates the effects of authentic leadership on employees' attitudinal, behavioral, and relational perception outcomes, while also examining the moderating roles of power distance, individualism–collectivism, and gender. Design/methodology/approachFollowing the PRISMA guidelines, a meta-analysis was conducted based on a systematic review of 115 empirical studies involving healthcare employees (N = 44,078). Effect sizes were synthesized using Comprehensive Meta-Analysis (CMA) software. FindingsThe results indicate that among various outcomes, authentic leadership exerts the strongest influence on relational perception, particularly trust in the manager, followed by voice behavior, structural empowerment, organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), job satisfaction, job performance, work engagement, psychological capital, and organizational commitment. In addition, authentic leadership significantly reduces workplace bullying, turnover intention, and burnout. Power distance, individualism/collectivism, and gender are found to significantly moderate some of these relationships. Originality/valueThis study advances the understanding of how authentic leadership shapes follower outcomes in the healthcare sector and offers important theoretical and practical implications for leadership research and practice in this context.
PurposeThis study systematically reviews the impact of authentic leadership on organizational innovation, focusing on its conceptualization, effects and underlying mechanisms. It addresses research gaps by exploring intercorrelations and contextual variations, guiding future studies and practical strategies to enhance innovation in organizational settings. Design/methodology/approachThis study employs a systematic literature review, utilizing the Scientific Procedures and Rationales for Systematic Literature Reviews (SPAR-4-SLR) protocol for data collection process. The study applies Theory-Context-Characteristic-Method (TCCM) framework to examine the impact of authentic leadership on organizational and employee innovation, based on a comprehensive analysis of 101 empirical studies from 2008 to June 2024. FindingsThis research suggests that authentic leadership has a significant impact on organizational innovation, promoting trust, ethical behavior and transparency. Key mediating factors, such as psychological empowerment and psychological capital, play crucial roles, enabling employees to feel valued and motivated to contribute creatively. Additionally, the effectiveness of authentic leadership is moderated by contextual factors, such as organizational culture and external pressures, which can either enhance or limit its impact. Originality/valueThis paper is among the first to contribute to authentic leadership and innovation literature by detailing how authentic leadership impacts innovation, focusing on boundary conditions and mediators and providing insights for scholars and practitioners. Organizations and managers can enhance innovation by encouraging leaders to be genuine, transparent and ethical, thereby building a culture of creative thinking that leads to more effective problem-solving and the development of innovative solutions.
PurposeTo better understand the role power distance plays when embedding corporate sustainability in a large finance organisation, which impacts hundreds of thousands of customers. Design/methodology/approachInterpretive, qualitative, exploratory study where 24 participants from all hierarchical levels within one large Australian finance organisation (directors, managers, frontline staff) were interviewed (semi-structured). These interview transcripts were triangulated with the organisation's corporate reports and field notes. FindingsWhile directors espoused corporate sustainability values where anyone could speak up in their ‘nice’ organisation, subordinates reported a high power distance; this behaviour stopped subordinates asking corporate sustainability questions. Subsequently, the organisation was media-shamed for engaging in greenwashing. Research limitations/implicationsThis study's limitations highlight opportunities for further theoretical and practical contributions. As a single-case design, findings cannot be generalised; however, their depth offers fertile ground for comparative multi-case research across finance and other purported low power-distance contexts. Future studies could examine how normative niceness interacts with structural power in organisations that espouse egalitarian cultures. Conceptually, the study contributes by theorising niceness as a moralised form of normative control that sustains silence and protects dominant financial logic, offering a transferable lens for understanding institutional barriers that inhibit the embedding of corporate sustainability. Practical implicationsPractically, this study illuminates the organisational levers directors and senior leaders can adjust to dismantle high power-distance norms that undermine corporate sustainability. By showing how normative niceness suppresses speaking up, the findings emphasise the need for governance mechanisms that surface undiscussables, including independent sustainability oversight and structured contrarian briefings. The study also contributes practical guidance for redesigning incentive systems to reward authentic upward challenge rather than compliance. Additionally, it highlights the value of establishing cross-level forums that normalise voice, enabling psychologically safe dialogue. Collectively, these insights provide actionable pathways for embedding sustainability as a lived organisational practice. Social implicationsThis study highlights significant social implications arising from high power distance and normative niceness within large finance organisations. When staff self-censor and uncomfortable issues remain undiscussable, risks tied to customers' financial wellbeing go unaddressed, contributing to erosion of public trust in the financial sector. Silencing subordinate voices also perpetuates inequity, as those closest to customers – often frontline staff – are least empowered to influence decisions that affect community outcomes. The persistent dominance of financial logic over corporate sustainability logic ultimately undermines societal efforts to address climate risk, ethical governance and long-term economic resilience, affecting millions who depend on responsible finance. Originality/valueAustralia prides itself as being egalitarian; however, this research found high power distance behaviours. Normative niceness played a role in masking high power distance, which enabled financial logic. As a consequence, corporate sustainability was stymied and subordinates were silenced from raising legitimate corporate sustainability suggestions and concerns.
PurposeThis study synthesises global research on leadership styles and employee engagement using a bibliometric and science-mapping approach. It addresses persistent fragmentation across theoretical lenses, methodologies and regional contexts by examining how the field has evolved, identifying influential contributors, and uncovering dominant themes and research gaps. Design/methodology/approachFollowing the PRISMA protocol, we retrieved 349 peer-reviewed journal articles published between 2000 and 2024 from the Scopus database. We conducted performance analysis and science mapping covering co-authorship, co-citation, bibliographic coupling and keyword co-occurrence. We used VOSviewer and bibliometrix (Biblioshiny) to map the intellectual structure, collaboration networks and thematic evolution of leadership style–engagement research. FindingsPublications increased sharply after 2010, with transformational leadership and employee engagement forming the dominant thematic backbone. The maps show strong linkages between leadership styles, motivation, job satisfaction and organisational outcomes, yet they also expose underdeveloped themes around digital and hybrid leadership, cross-generational engagement, and engagement in virtual work settings. The evidence base remains methodologically and geographically imbalanced, relying predominantly on cross-sectional surveys and concentrating research outputs in Western contexts, with comparatively limited contributions from emerging economies. Originality/valueThis article offers a comprehensive bibliometric synthesis of leadership-driven employee engagement research. It contributes (1) methodologically, by providing a transparent PRISMA-based mapping of the field; (2) theoretically, by consolidating key explanatory lenses (e.g. transformational leadership theory and the job demands–resources model) and clarifying how thematic clusters align with these perspectives; and (3) practically/policy-wise, by outlining actionable implications for leadership development and engagement strategies, particularly in digital and hybrid work contexts.
Purpose With the integration of digital technologies into the modern workforce, cyberloafing has become a widespread issue for enterprises, potentially leading to various negative outcomes. Empowering leadership can enhance employees' intrinsic motivation and may serve as an effective strategy to address cyberloafing. However, previous research has largely adopted a leader-centered perspective, overlooking how employees interpret and make sense of empowering leadership. Drawing on the conservation of resources (COR) theory, this research reveals when empowering leadership exerts positive (or negative) effects on cyberloafing.Design/methodology/approach This study consisted of two experiments and a comprehensive questionnaire survey. Data were collected and analyzed from full-time employees (Study 1: N = 180; Study 2: Nsub-study1 = 130, Nsub-study2 = 130; Study 3: N = 307).Findings The results showed that the impact of empowering leadership on employees is contingent on the leader's credibility. In instances of high leadership credibility, employees tend to interpret empowerment as a resource investment, perceiving trust from the leader, which reduces cyberloafing. Conversely, in situations of low leadership credibility, employees are more likely to view empowerment as a threat to resources, feeling exploited by the leader and engage in increased cyberloafing.Originality/value This study provides a fresh perspective on the relationship between empowering leadership and cyberloafing, offering practical insights for organizations and leaders to manage this issue effectively.
Purpose The purpose of this study is to develop and validate an employee sustainability (ES) scale grounded in Buddhist principles of happiness. It aims to capture the employees' happiness through an outside-in lens in the developing nations.Design/methodology/approach ES scale is developed through a two-phase process of scale construction and validation. Scale is evaluated using a mixed-method validation approach combining SmartPLS and Python. The ES construct is operationalized as a higher-order formative construct comprising multiple formative dimensions. The convergence of results across both platforms ensured methodological rigor and enhanced the reliability and consistency of the scale.Findings A multifaceted method that incorporated both qualitative and quantitative analyses involving 900 employees from manufacturing organizations facilitated the validation of the ES as a multidimensional construct rooted in Buddhist principles of happiness. It comprises eight dimensions: egalitarianism (EG), health and safety (H&S), human rights (HR), learning and development (L&D), cultural enrichment (CE), governance (GV), philanthropy (PL) and psychological well-being (PW). The results validated the significant influence of ES practices within manufacturing organizations in India on employee experiences.Practical implications The proposed ES scale offers leaders and organizations a structured tool to assess and enhance employee happiness through sustainable workplace practices.Social implications By integrating Buddhist principles, the scale promotes a more compassionate, equitable and mentally healthy work environment, contributing to broader societal well-being.Originality/value This study uniquely integrates Buddhist philosophy with sustainability and happiness indices to develop a novel formative scale for measuring ES.
Purpose This paper examines the role of organizational downsizing on employee stress among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by incorporating the Job Demands Resource (JD-R) theory. It analyses the relationship between job demands as a mediator of the relationship and transformational leadership (TL) as a moderating resource likely to alleviate the negative effects of downsizing.Design/methodology/approach The structured questionnaires were used to gather data on 282 employees employed in 50 SMEs in Sargodha, Pakistan. The study has employed partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) to test the direct, indirect, and conditional relationship between downsizing and employee strain via job demands and TL.Findings The findings indicate that downsizing does not have a direct impact on employee strain. Rather, it raises job demands, which in turn raise strain, confirming the mediation process suggested by the JD-R framework. Moreover, transformational leadership has a significant effect in lessening perceived job demands, which is important in undermining the indirect relationship between downsizing and strain. These outcomes demonstrate the critical importance of leadership as a job resource that can buffer stressors caused by change in different organizations.Practical implications The management of the SMEs should focus on providing clear role definition, equal redistribution of tasks, and facilitative leadership behaviours in the restructuring. Transformational qualities can be developed through leadership development programs to maintain the well-being of employees during downsizing.Originality/value The study contributes to the JD-R theory in that it establishes job demands as an important mechanism that connects downsizing with strain and illustrates that TL is a protective boundary condition. It presents new evidence by the SMEs in an emerging-economy situation where the pressure of downsizing and the scarcity of resources are best felt.
PurposeThis paper develops a conceptual framework that positions leaders' gossip as a form of informal leadership communication, addressing its neglect in leadership research. Design/methodology/approachA conceptual synthesis of gossip, leadership communication, organizational culture, and ethical leadership literatures is undertaken to theorize gossip's functions in leadership practice. FindingsLeaders' gossip is conceptualized across three dimensions – normative, strategic, and ethical – each expressed through functions such as norm reinforcement, sensegiving, soft intelligence gathering, and moral signaling. Boundary conditions including leadership style, organizational culture and digital or cross-cultural contexts shape whether gossip strengthens trust and learning or undermines them. Originality/valueThe paper redefines gossip as a legitimate leadership practice, integrating fragmented literatures and challenging overly formalized accounts of leadership communication. It highlights gossip's role in shaping norms, culture and ethics, offering new directions for empirical inquiry and leadership development.
PurposeThis study examines how agentic leadership, conscious unbossing and AI-augmented ethical decision-making (AI-EDM) jointly shape crisis-resilient leadership among emerging global leaders. Addressing a key gap in leadership scholarship, the study conceptualizes artificial intelligence (AI) not merely as a technical tool but as a governance architecture that structures decision authority, accountability and ethical action under conditions of uncertainty. Design/methodology/approachA mixed-method design was employed. Survey data were collected from 423 early-career professionals across 12 countries. Partial least squares structural equation modeling using SmartPLS (version 4.1.1.6) tested a moderated mediation model in which agentic leadership predicts crisis-resilient leadership effectiveness (CR-LE) through AI-EDM, with conscious unbossing and crisis exposure as moderating conditions. Qualitative interviews with 24 Gen Z leaders operating in crisis-prone contexts were used to contextualize and interpret the quantitative findings. FindingsAgentic leadership significantly predicted CR-LE, with this relationship mediated by AI-EDM. The indirect pathway was stronger among leaders exhibiting higher levels of conscious unbossing, indicating that leadership agency is conditioned by decentralized and algorithmically governed authority structures. Crisis exposure intensified the salience of ethical AI engagement, highlighting the heightened accountability pressures leaders face under volatility. Qualitative findings reinforced these results, illustrating how leaders navigate responsibility for outcomes shaped by AI-mediated decision systems they do not fully control. Research limitations/implicationsThe cross-sectional design limits causal inference, and scalar measurement invariance was not tested. Future longitudinal and cross-contextual research is needed to examine how leadership agency and accountability operate across different institutional and regulatory environments. Practical implicationsThe findings underscore the need to reconceptualize leadership development and organizational governance for AI-mediated contexts. Rather than focusing solely on ethical capability enhancement, organizations and policymakers must equip leaders to operate under algorithmic constraints by clarifying decision rights, escalation pathways and contestability mechanisms. Originality/valueThis study advances leadership theory by identifying accountability displacement under AI-mediated governance as a central mechanism reshaping leadership agency in crisis contexts. It reframes leadership not as autonomous discretion or technological mastery but as accountable action under constraint within socio-technical governance systems.
Purpose This paper examines how paradoxical leadership (PL), a leadership style that integrates competing demands such as control and empowerment, stability and flexibility cultivate Sustainable Employee Engagement (SEE). Drawing on Paradox Theory and the Job Demands–Resources (JD-R) Model, the paper proposes two core resources of motivational pathways: a personal resource (PsyCap) and a job resource (MW). Design/methodology/approach A conceptual framework is developed, informed by a targeted review of peer-reviewed studies on Paradoxical Leadership published between 2010 and 2025 and indexed in Scopus. These secondary sources are synthesised through narrative integration to identify underlying mechanisms and boundary conditions that link PL to SEE. Findings The analysis suggests that PL fosters SEE by simultaneously strengthening PsyCap and MW as parallel motivational routes. PL builds PsyCap by nurturing followers’ hope, efficacy, resilience and optimism in the face of paradoxical demands, and enhances MW by clarifying purpose, signalling significance and reinforcing value congruence. The framework further argues that Paradox Mindset (PM) amplifies the indirect effect of PL on SEE via PsyCap, while Trust Climate (TC) amplifies the indirect effect via MW, thereby explaining when and for whom PL is most effective in sustaining engagement. Originality/value This paper offers one of the first integrated conceptual models positioning SEE as an outcome of paradox navigation, advancing engagement theory through a multi-mechanism, boundary-sensitive perspective that combines Paradox Theory and the JD-R Model.
PurposeThis study aims to investigate the relationship between humble leadership and followers' prosocial behavior to examine the mediating role of followers' prosocial motivation and the moderating effect of follower-attributed motives (prosocial and impression management) toward humble leaders.Design/methodology/approachBased on social learning theory and attribution theory, this study proposes a moderated mediation model. A multisource, two-wave dyadic design was adopted, and data were collected using a convenience sampling method. The final sample comprised 278 employees and 97 supervisors from 57 organizations in Taiwan. Followers assessed humble leadership, prosocial motivation, and the attributes of leader motives, whereas supervisors evaluated followers' prosocial behavior. Path analysis was conducted using Mplus to test all the hypotheses.FindingsFollowers' prosocial motivation mediates the relationship between humble leadership and prosocial behavior. Moreover, follower-attributed prosocial motives toward humble leaders strengthened the indirect impact of humble leadership on followers' prosocial behavior through followers' prosocial motivation. However, impression management motives toward humble leaders weaken the indirect impact of humble leadership on followers' prosocial behavior through followers' prosocial motivation.Originality/valueBy incorporating follower attribution into the social learning framework, this study advances the theoretical understanding of humble leadership and provides a more nuanced account of when and why humble leadership promotes follower prosocial behavior.
Purpose This study aims to describe, explore, analyse and understand Ramphele’s leadership development and is theoretically anchored in Oyewùmí’s (1997, 2002) African feminism conceptual framework. The study objectives comprise two aspects: firstly, examining the leadership journey of a Black African leader through the lens of the selected feminist theory, and secondly, developing a leadership framework for Black African women leaders from a feminist theory perspective. Design/methodology/approach This study employed a qualitative psychobiographical account, classified as a longitudinal, single-case design. Ramphele was purposively sampled to enhance the leadership literature through studying the leadership development of a woman leader in South Africa. Data from the public domain were analysed using thematic analysis. Ethical standards and procedures in psychobiography were followed to improve the study’s quality criteria and protect the subject from potential harm. Findings The findings reveal the presence of gender, structural and cultural influences in her leadership pursuit. Such factors include patriarchal systems, apartheid, racial injustices, career bias, criticisms, banning orders and the lack of opportunities. To manage these gender aspects, Ramphele adopted her mother’s socially constructed assertive behaviour, resilient demeanour, self-determination and courageous behaviour and pursued education as a leadership resource and empowerment tool to overcome the unjust system. Research limitations/implications Finally, this study is limited to a psychobiographical single-case study and cannot be generalised. It provides insight into women’s leadership in a very specific context and within a very specific time frame. Practical implications This psychobiographical study has the potential to help women in business, whether serving as managers or leaders or assuming positions of power, by modelling Ramphele’s strategic leadership and ways to overcome systemic challenges. Originality/value This research study contributes to studies focusing on non-Western, educated, industrialised, rich and democratic contexts. It provides further insight into African women’s leadership through the lens of African feminism.
PurposeFrom the learning perspective, our research aims to explore how rational evaluations influence relationship dynamics by investigating the transformation mechanism from subordinates' cognitive trust in supervisors to affective trust.Design/methodology/approachWe tested hypotheses using structural equation modeling with a multi-wave and multi-source field survey of 217 supervisor-subordinate dyads from an insurance company in China.FindingsSubordinates' cognitive trust in supervisors transforms into affective trust through behaviors of advice seeking and knowledge sharing and then relational attachment. Additionally, supervisors' cognitive trust in subordinates, as a complement to mutual cognitive trust, strengthens the transformation process.Originality/valueOur research contributes to the existing literature by examining the impact of cognitive trust in supervisors on supervisor-subordinate relationship dynamics, offering insights into the developmental sequence between cognitive and affective trust and extending the learning theory by revealing learning as a mechanism for relational development beyond knowledge development.
PurposeIn an era of heightened workplace skepticism and authenticity concerns, understanding how CSR perceptions shape employee attitudes is increasingly becoming important. This study examines how CSR perceptions influence affective organizational commitment through the mediating mechanism of organizational cynicism. It further investigates procedural justice as a boundary condition and tests the causal influence of CSR on cynicism using an experimental design.Design/methodology/approachA two-study mixed-method design was employed. Study 1 surveyed 216 manufacturing employees in India using moderated mediation analysis (PROCESS Models 4 and 7). Study 2 utilized a randomized vignette experiment with 77 participants from the UK and USA to establish causality.FindingsOrganizational cynicism significantly mediated the CSR-commitment relationship. Procedural justice moderated this pathway, with Johnson-Neyman analysis identifying a threshold (3.7 on a 7-point scale) below which CSR fails to reduce cynicism. The experimental study confirmed causality, with CSR enhancement producing significant reductions in cynicism.Practical implicationsOrganizations should audit procedural justice perceptions before investing in CSR initiatives, as fairness serves as a prerequisite for CSR to reduce cynicism. CSR communications should be integrated with internal messaging that demonstrates alignment between external initiatives and fair internal processes.Originality/valueThis study extends CSR-commitment literature by identifying cynicism as an affective pathway distinct from traditional social identity frameworks, establishing procedural justice as a first-stage moderator and providing causal evidence through experimental methodology. The finding that a minimum fairness threshold is required for CSR effectiveness offers actionable guidance for practitioners.
PurposeDrawing on conservation of resources theory, this study investigates how abusive supervision affects employees' quiet quitting through emotional exhaustion, employing a moderated mediation model.Design/methodology/approachThis study used a three-wave data collection design with a sample of employees working in various industries in Vietnam. To test the proposed hypotheses, hierarchical regression was employed, and mediation as well as moderated mediation were analyzed using bootstrapping techniques implemented via the PROCESS macro.FindingsThis study indicates that political skill weakens the positive association between abusive supervision and employees' emotional exhaustion, and also mitigates the negative indirect effect of abusive supervision on quiet quitting.Originality/valueThese findings deepen our understanding of the antecedents of quiet quitting. Furthermore, this study contributes to the literature by clarifying the moderating role of political skill in the relationship between abusive supervision and emotional exhaustion, as well as its subsequent effect on quiet quitting. Based on the validated results, the implications of this research for academics and managers are discussed.
PurposeBoard leadership attributes greatly influence a firm's sustainability performance. However, the impact of these attributes depends on the board's structure: Unitary, Two-tier or Mixed. The specific attributes of each structure may affect sustainability oversight. They can enable or constrain corporate sustainability, depending on the board's leadership effectiveness. The primary objective of this research is to examine how board leadership attributes impact environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance across different board structures.Design/methodology/approachThis study examines the relationship between board leadership and ESG performance across companies in Europe, Asia and America. It uses data on about 8,094 companies from Refinitiv Ikon (2016-2021) and conducts panel-data analysis using fixed- and random-effects models.FindingsBoard size affects ESG performance differently across structures: larger boards improve ESG in Unitary and Mixed boards but reduce it in Two-tier boards. Board independence, expertise and gender diversity all boost ESG scores across structures. Larger companies score better on ESG, but leverage has little effect on ESG across structures.Practical implicationsThe findings matter for legislators, board members, academicians, and investors. Policy should promote board attributes tailored to each board structure. ESG subcommittees can fix structural gaps because boards differ. Companies should review their board evaluation criteria to determine whether their boards integrate leadership into sustainability strategy, especially in family-owned or state-influenced firms - so skilled board members can contribute more effectively.Originality/valueThis research offers a new global view of how corporate governance practices and board structures shape sustainability performance. It builds on existing work by showing that board attributes interact with their structural context. The study reveals how board attributes matter differently across structures, explaining why past studies produced mixed results.
PurposeLeaders, as rule enforcers and organizational representatives, engage in pro-social rule-breaking behavior (PSRB) that can yield ambiguous outcomes for employees. Based on social learning theory, this study explores the trickle-down effect and its two underlying psychological mechanisms to better understand how leader PSRB affects employee PSRB.Design/methodology/approachAdopting a cross-sectional supervisor-subordinate matched questionnaire, data were collected from 102 leaders and 486 employees from 5 enterprises in China.FindingsResults show that leader PSRB positively affects employee PSRB, and leader trust and perceived acceptability of norm violation mediate this relationship. Supervisor-subordinate communication moderates the positive associations between leader PSRB, leader trust, and perceived acceptability of norm violation, and also functions as a moderated mediator.Practical implicationsTo effectively manage the trickle-down effect of PSRB, organizations should enhance leaders' self-awareness of their role-modeling impact, proactively set cognitive boundaries for acceptable norm violations, responsibly foster leader trust, and maintain transparent supervisor-subordinate communication.Originality/valueThe internal mechanisms driving the trickle-down effect of leader PSRB remain an unresolved theoretical gap. Drawing on social learning theory, this study establishes a dual-pathway framework, demonstrating how employees process leader PSRB through simultaneous affective (leader trust) and cognitive (perceived acceptability) lenses to theoretically explain this downward transmission.
PurposeDrawing on upper echelon theory, this study investigates how the psychological characteristics of the top management team (TMT) drive the strategic choice to adopt AI-enabled market intelligence to achieve service personalization. It positions leadership not as reactive to market pressures, but as a proactive force in organizational technological transformation.Design/methodology/approachA multi-source, time-lagged survey design was employed. Data were collected from 151 tourism and hospitality firms in Pakistan, with separate surveys administered to first-line managers, TMT members and customers. The data were aggregated to the firm level and analyzed using structural equation modeling in SmartPLS 4.FindingsThe results confirm that a TMT's risk tolerance and strategic vision are primary catalysts for achieving service personalization. Furthermore, AI-enabled market intelligence mediates this relationship, and competitive intensity amplifies the effect of TMT characteristics on the adoption of AI-enabled market intelligence.Practical implicationsThe findings offer managers a clear leadership development and strategic roadmap: cultivating a TMT with high risk tolerance and a strong strategic vision is essential for navigating digital transformation and building a sustainable competitive advantage through personalized service.Originality/valueThis research presents a novel extension of upper echelon theory by demonstrating that in high-uncertainty contexts, directly measurable psychological traits of leaders are potent drivers of strategic change. It clarifies the "black box" between TMT characteristics and organizational outcomes by identifying AI-enabled market intelligence as a tool for achieving strategic differentiation.
PurposeBuilding upon transformational leadership theory, psychological empowerment, and leader-member exchange frameworks, this research seeks to investigate the relationship between transformational leadership and employees' innovative readiness, while concurrently assessing the parallel mediating effects of psychological empowerment and trust in leadership within this dynamic. Design/methodology/approachThe study conducted a comprehensive survey, collecting 400 responses from employees across various tiers of the organizational hierarchy in Delhi (National Capital Region of India). A mixed-methods approach was employed to test the model, incorporating partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA). FindingsPLS-SEM results indicate that transformational leadership positively influences employees' innovative readiness, with psychological empowerment and trust in leadership serving as significant parallel mediators. Complementary fsQCA findings reveal four configurations fostering innovation readiness: (P1) individualized consideration and intellectual stimulation, (P2) psychological empowerment and trust in leadership, (P3) psychological empowerment and charismatic leadership and (P4) trust in leadership and intellectual stimulation. Together, these results highlight that transformational leadership enhances innovation readiness through multiple, reinforcing pathways, demonstrating the complementary value of PLS-SEM and fsQCA in uncovering both symmetrical and configurational relationships within organizational contexts. Research limitations/implicationsThe study conducted an importance-performance map analysis to identify the most influential drivers of employees' innovative readiness. Based on these insights, the theoretical, managerial and practical implications have been carefully customized to enhance employee engagement, foster a culture of innovation, and improve organizational strategies for supporting innovative readiness. Originality/valueThe research presents a strong methodological contribution by combining linear (PLS-SEM) and nonlinear (fsQCA) methods, demonstrating that both approaches help to better grasp the issue and offer a clearer insight into the patterns of preceding factors. PLS-SEM determines the net impacts of psychological empowerment and trust in leadership, whereas fsQCA uncovers many equally sufficient combinations of these elements that can foster creativity.
