How does leaders' information-sharing behavior affect subordinates' taking charge behavior in public sector? A moderated mediation effect

Introduction

Taking charge behavior (TCB) of civil servants is an important part of individual innovation performance, which is not only a key step for innovation in the public but also a real need for high-quality cadres construction in the public sector in the new era. Therefore, it is necessary to carry out an in-depth discussion on civil servants' taking charge behavior. Based on the theory of planned behavior, this paper constructs the framework of"cognition-motivation-behavior" to deeply explore the relationship between public sector leaders' information-sharing behavior and subordinates' taking charge behavior, as well as the mediating and moderating effects of subordinates' public service motivation and emotional trust.

Method

This study collected 200 civil servants' questionnaires by online survey, and conducted regression analysis through SPSS/AMOS/PROCESS.

Result and discussion

The empirical study finds that the information-sharing behavior of leaders in the public sector can significantly affect the TCB of subordinates; the public service motivation partially mediates the relationship between them; emotional trust positively moderates the mediation effect of public service motivation in the relationship between leaders' information-sharing behavior and subordinates' TCB in the public. This study not only enriches the research on civil servants' TCB theoretically but also provides meaningful enlightenment for promoting civil servants' taking charge behavior.

Discretion: Whether and How Does It Promote Street-Level Bureaucrats' Taking Charge Behavior?

The extant pieces of literature on discretion has mainly focused on its effect on policy implementation and public service delivery, but few studies have looked at its influence on street-level bureaucrats' work behavior, such as taking charge behavior (TCB), which is of great importance for government reforms, especially in developing and transitional countries. Based on the self-determination theory, this study examines whether and how discretion promotes street-level bureaucrats' TCB. Two studies were conducted among street-level bureaucrats in China. First, a survey experiment (n = 355) suggests that discretion positively predicts street-level bureaucrats' TCB. Then, a survey questionnaire study (n = 442) shows that discretion is positively related to TCB through the mediator of public service motivation (PSM). We concluded with implications for theory and practice.

Authentic Leadership and Taking Charge Behavior: A Moderated Mediation Model of Psychological Capital and Occupational Calling

To achieve sustainable development goals, it is necessary to establish a positive organization so that employees can pay attention to their strengths and talents and engage in more proactive behaviors, such as taking charge behavior. Taking charge behavior involves the voluntary and constructive effort of employees to make organizationally functional change, which may consume more scarce resources of employees. Previous studies have shown that support from leaders can promote employees' taking charge behavior, but most of them are from the perspective of social exchange. By drawing on the conservation of resources theory, we develop a theoretical model in which authentic leadership can provide employees with more positive resources and guide them into gain spiral of resources. We conducted two-wave questionnaire surveys to collect data from 199 employees and their supervisors at 16 companies in China. The results showed that authentic leadership was positively associated with employee taking charge via the mediation role of psychological capital. Furthermore, the direct and indirect relationship between authentic leadership and employee taking charge was demonstrated to be stronger when employees have a higher stage of occupational calling. This study provides a new explanation for the mechanism of authentic leadership and clarifies the boundary conditions of authentic leadership effectiveness.

Green Transformational Leadership and Employees' Taking Charge Behavior: The Mediating Role of Personal Initiative and the Moderating Role of Green Organizational Identity

The green transformation of organizations requires employees not only to achieve environmentally friendly workflows within their duties, but also to go beyond their own current work and take personal initiative to realize the organizational goals. Employees’ taking charge behavior is a type of extra-role behavior that influences organizational change through constructive efforts. How can leaders increase employees’ environmental responsibility and efficiently promote their taking charge behaviors to help organizations make green changes? Based on self-determination theory and related research on green transformational leadership, this study explores the mechanisms and boundary conditions of how green transformational leadership influences employees’ taking charge behavior. Data were obtained through two-stage questionnaire surveys from 429 employees in Chinese manufacturing enterprises. The results show that green transformational leadership has a significantly positive impact on employees’ taking charge behavior and that personal initiative plays a mediating role. Furthermore, green organizational identity moderates the positive influence of green transformational leadership on employees’ personal initiative, and consequently, their taking charge behavior. These findings have theoretical implications for the green transformational leadership literature and managerial implications for practitioners.

The Relationship Between Employee's Status Perception and Organizational Citizenship Behaviors: A Psychological Path of Work Vitality

Purpose

Studies have shown that status-based rankings exist within almost every human social group and influence most aspects of organizational life. However, few studies have discussed the relationship between employees’ status and organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs). Based on social cognitive theory, this paper explores the relationship between employees’ status perception and two types of OCBs: challenging and affiliative, as well as the mechanism underlying this relationship by introducing work vitality as the mediator and dominance motivation as the moderator.

Methods

We collected the empirical data from different enterprises located in major cities in China following a two-stage sampling procedure. The final sample consists of 330 employees. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis was used to test the hypothesis.

Results

Employee status perception is positively related to work vitality (b = 0.103, p = 0.027), challenging OCBs (b = 0.160, p < 0.001) and affiliative OCBs (b = 0.105, p = 0.006). Work vitality mediates the relationship between employee status perception and challenging OCBs with 95% bias-corrected confidence intervals [0.004, 0.063], and it also mediates the relationship between employee status perception and affiliative OCBs with 95% bias-corrected confidence intervals [0.004, 0.049]. The interaction of status perception and dominance motivation is significantly related to work vitality (b = 0.121, p = 0.041). Specifically, when dominance motivation is at low level, the effect of status perception on work vitality is −0.008 (non-significant); when dominance motivation is high level, the effect is 0.175 (p = 0.005).

Conclusion

The result suggests that employees’ perceptions of status are positively and significantly related to their challenging and affiliative OCBs, and employee’s work vitality mediates this relationship. It further indicates that dominance motivation moderates the relation between status perception and work vitality. Specifically, the positive relationship between employee status perception and work vitality is stronger when an employee has high dominance motivation than low dominance motivation.

Influence of Authentic Leadership on Employees' Taking Charge Behavior: The Roles of Subordinates' Moqi and Perspective Taking

How to motivate employees to break through the role constraints and show more initiative determines the success or failure of a company's future development. Taking charge behavior refers to the behavior where individuals influence the change of organizational function through voluntary and constructive efforts, which is a challenging organizational citizenship behavior. This study investigates the underlying mechanism and boundary condition of authentic leadership (AL) on employees' taking charge behavior based on the role identity theory and literature concerning perspective taking. Matched data were collected from a multi-source sample that included 146 direct supervisors and 328 subordinates in mainland, China. The empirical results indicate that AL has a positive influence on the employees' taking charge behavior, and subordinates' moqi mediates the relationship between them. In addition, the employees' perspective taking positively moderated the positive relationship between AL and subordinates' moqi, as well as the mediating effect of subordinates' moqi in the relationship between AL and employees' taking charge behavior. Compared with the low levels of perspective taking, high levels of that made the influence of AL on subordinates' moqi stronger, so is the whole indirect effect. This study is the first to explore the influencing mechanism of AL on employees' taking charge behavior from the perspective of the role identity theory, thereby enriching the relevant studies and providing practical insights for organizational leaders regarding on how to foster employees to take charge.