Creative Performance and Conflict through the Lens of Humble Leadership: Testing a Moderated Mediation Model

Haiou Liu; Syed Jameel Ahmed; Abdul Samad Kakar; Dilawar Khan Durrani

doi:10.3390/bs13060483

Creative Performance and Conflict through the Lens of Humble Leadership: Testing a Moderated Mediation Model

Behav Sci (Basel). 2023 Jun 7;13(6):483. doi: 10.3390/bs13060483.

Authors

Haiou Liu¹, Syed Jameel Ahmed¹, Abdul Samad Kakar², Dilawar Khan Durrani³

Affiliations

¹ School of Economics and Management, Yanshan University, Qinhuangdao 066004, China.
² Department of Management sciences, University of Loralai, Loralai 84800, Pakistan.
³ Institute of Management Sciences, University of Balochistan, Quetta 83700, Pakistan.

Abstract

This study developed and tested a moderated mediation model by examining the relationships between humble leadership (HL), emotional intelligence, employee conflict (EC), and creative performance (CP), using resource-based theory as the theoretical foundation. We conducted a cross-sectional survey of 322 employees and their immediate supervisors (n = 53) from the telecom sector in Pakistan. The data was analyzed using AMOS 21 and SPSS 26. The results demonstrate that HL has a positive effect on creative performance and a negative relationship with employee conflict. Furthermore, employee conflict has a negative impact on CP and mediates the impact of HL on CP. Moreover, a leader's emotional intelligence moderates the negative relationship between HL and EC. Finally, this study reveals that EI moderates the indirect effects of HL on CP. The conclusions and implications are discussed at the end of this paper.

Keywords: creative performance; emotional intelligence; employee conflict; humble leadership; moderated mediation.

Grants and funding

This research was supported by the Project of National Social Science Foundation (21BTQ081), Project of Philosophy and Social Sciences in Xiongan New Area (XASK20222701), Project of Humanities and Social Sciences in Colleges and Universities of Hebei Province (JCZX2023013), 333 Talent Project of Hebei Province (202103011), Project of Culture, Art, and Tourism Science of Hebei (HB22-ZD001), Project of Science and Technology of Qinhuangdao (202004A155).