Why and when do employees become more proactive under humble leaders? The roles of psychological need satisfaction and Chinese traditionality

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hui Chen ◽  
Qiaozhuan Liang ◽  
Chao Feng ◽  
Yue Zhang

PurposeDrawing on self-determination theory, this study explored how leader humility affected employees' proactive behavior through satisfying their psychological needs for autonomy, competence and relatedness. Furthermore, based on a contingency view, this paper suggested Chinese traditionality as a significant boundary condition for the effects of leader humility.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from 465 employees and 111 direct supervisors in China using a three-wave, two-source design. Hierarchical regression analyses and Hayes' PROCESS macro were applied to test the hypotheses.FindingsThe results indicated that leader humility positively affected employee proactive behavior through the mediating mechanisms of psychological need satisfaction (i.e. autonomy, competence and relatedness). Furthermore, these positive effects were stronger among employees with lower Chinese traditionality beliefs.Originality/valueAlthough prior research has examined the relationship between leadership and proactive behavior, most extant studies have focused on “top-down” leadership approaches, ignoring the effect of leader humility. Drawing on self-determination theory, the present study makes contributions to both the leader humility research and proactivity literature by identifying psychological need satisfaction as the mechanism and Chinese traditionality as the moderator.

2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 148-168 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anaïs Thibault-Landry ◽  
Richard Egan ◽  
Laurence Crevier-Braud ◽  
Lara Manganelli ◽  
Jacques Forest

The Problem Employee work passion theory offers an appraisal-based approach that explains how work passion is formulated in individuals. Self-determination theory postulates that the satisfaction of three basic psychological human needs (competence, relatedness, and autonomy) is essential for individuals to flourish and thrive at work. The role of basic psychological need satisfaction in the employee work passion appraisal process is yet to be examined. The Solution We investigated the relations between employees’ cognitive appraisals of their work environment characteristics (work cognitions), their basic psychological need satisfaction, and their work intentions. Our study provided empirical evidence showing that employees’ cognitive appraisals of work characteristics such as job autonomy, task variety, meaningful work, and performance expectations were positively related to basic psychological need satisfaction, which, in turn, positively impacted their work intentions, thus indicating the subjective experience of work passion. The Stakeholders Results suggest that organizational leaders, supervisors, and human resource development (HRD) practitioners could develop interventions that promote specific workplace characteristics and are aimed at contributing to the fulfillment of employees’ basic psychological needs. In so doing, employees and stakeholders could benefit from the individual and organizational outcomes that flow from employees experiencing greater work passion.


2015 ◽  
Vol 77 ◽  
pp. 199-204 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel Campbell ◽  
Maarten Vansteenkiste ◽  
Liesbeth M. Delesie ◽  
An N. Mariman ◽  
Bart Soenens ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mingfei Li ◽  
Shanshan Huang ◽  
Aimin Deng ◽  
Billy Bai ◽  
Shoujiang Zhou

Purpose Drawing on self-determination theory and insights from the literature on service-dominant (S-D) logic and value co-creation, this paper aims to investigate the impacts of an S-D orientation on positive customer outcomes (i.e. customer participation behaviors, customer citizenship behaviors and quality of life) and the underlying mechanisms of these effects. Design/methodology/approach Custom travel service (CTS) was chosen as the research setting. In total, 303 valid questionnaires were gathered from tourists in China. The partial least squares structural equation modeling approach was used for model estimation. Findings Tourism firms’ S-D orientation positively influences customer participation behaviors via customer psychological need satisfaction (i.e. perceived autonomy, competence and relatedness), customer citizenship behaviors via perceived relatedness and customer quality of life via perceived autonomy and perceived competence. Research limitations/implications Although the impact of S-D orientation is studied in the CTS context, this study illustrates how firms embracing S-D logic can facilitate value co-creation and customer quality of life, presenting a more precise picture for academics and practitioners. Originality/value This paper is the first attempt to empirically examine the relationships among S-D orientation, customer value cocreation and quality of life. The relevance of customer psychological need satisfaction is acknowledged in this study.


2021 ◽  
pp. 106907272110186
Author(s):  
Kelsey L. Autin ◽  
Megan E. Herdt ◽  
Roberto G. Garcia ◽  
Gabriel N. Ezema

The present study investigated relations between basic psychological need satisfaction (autonomy, relatedness, and competence), autonomous motivation, and work meaning. With a sample of 462 working adults, we used structural equation modeling to test the incremental validity of including autonomous motivation in a model predicting meaningful work from basic psychological need satisfaction. The satisfaction of autonomy and relatedness needs directly predicted autonomous motivation, while competence need satisfaction directly predicted meaningful work. Mediation analyses supported the incremental contribution of autonomous motivation in the links from autonomy and relatedness to work meaning, but not from competence to work meaning. Our findings provide novel connections between the bodies of literature on Self-Determination Theory and meaningful work. We discuss practical implications for career counselors, organizational leaders, and policymakers, as well as future research directions.


2020 ◽  
pp. 009862832097727
Author(s):  
Lauren Hensley ◽  
Robin Sayers ◽  
Anna Brady ◽  
Jessica Cutshall

Autonomy, competence, and relatedness are psychological needs that may be particularly important for instructors to address in learning-to-learn courses, which are designed to support college students’ personal development and academic success. Guided by self-determination theory, in this qualitative study we focused on the learning-to-learn context to understand psychological need satisfaction from the perspectives of college students and in their own words. We analyzed end-of-semester evaluations in 10 sections of a learning-to-learn course offered through an educational psychology program at a large public university. The findings highlighted how instructional features, intellectual experiences, and teaching practices supported autonomy, competence, and relatedness. The 10 themes emerging from the analysis can be used to understand self-determination theory in practice and guide learner-centered instruction.


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