Leadership Research Summary:
- Building on attribution theory, this study applied regression analysis and explored the double-edged sword effect of leader self-sacrifice behavior on employee work outcomes, thus revealing the potential negative impacts of such behavior. Specifically, when leadership self-sacrifice was met with low employee authenticity attribution, we found that employees tended to perceive leadership as hypocritical, thus reducing their organizational citizenship behavior. By contrast, when leaders’ self-sacrifice behavior was met with high employee authenticity attribution, employees tended to trust the leader and improve their task performance. Given these findings, the study challenges the general scholarly consensus on leadership self-sacrifice behavior, enrich the current literature on leadership self-sacrifice, and emphasize the important role of employee attribution in the relevant leadership process.
Leadership Research Implications and Findings:
- It is the first time to explore the positive and negative impacts of leaders’ self-sacrifice behavior on employees’ work outcomes to promote and enrich the research on this type of behavior. In the traditional cognition field and previous related research, scholars have generally posited that leadership self-sacrifice behavior can effectively motivate and inspire employees, thereby inducing good work results (Yang F. et al., 2022). However, this view seems to be one-sided as leadership self-sacrifice behavior not only involves leaders themselves but is also subjected to employees’ attributions and interpretations (Dasborough and Ashkanasy, 2002). Taking the perspective of followers through attribution theory, this study investigated the negative side of leadership self-sacrifice behavior, with a focus on employees’ attributions of its overall authenticity, thus revealing a double-edged sword effect. Moreover, this study also constitutes a response to Martinko et al. (2011), who called for more research involving the subordinate perspective on attribution in the organizational context.
- Second, the study found important boundary conditions to the influence of leadership self-sacrifice behavior on employees. In this regard, our findings emphasize that employee attributions play a critical role in the process by which leaders influence their subordinates. This also adds new evidence to the literature as scholars have only recently begun to explore how leadership behavior impacts employees from the perspective of employee attribution (Qin et al., 2020; Xing et al., 2021). For example, some scholars have explored how leader humility impacts employee work outcomes from the perspective of employee impression management attribution (Bharanitharan et al., 2021). Although Bolino and Turnley (1999)reported that individual self-sacrifice behavior constitutes an impression management strategy when dividing the individual impression management dimension, this may easily arouse suspicions about behavioral authenticity. Choi and Mai-Dalton (1998) similarly suggested that leaders’ self-sacrifice behavior may be inauthentic. However, researchers know of no previous studies that have investigated leader self-sacrifice behavior from the perspective of employee authenticity attribution.
- The study proposes that the impact of leadership self-sacrifice behavior on employees depends on employees’ attributions of authenticity to this leadership behavior. It is precisely due to different attribution results that employees experience the two different psychological states of trusting leadership and perceiving leadership hypocrisy, which, in turn, affects their subsequent work results. This means that the drivers behind the leadership of self-sacrifice behavior need to be considered.
- Third, under different levels of authenticity attribution, the study found that perceptions of leader hypocrisy and trust in leaders mediated the relationship between leader self-sacrifice behavior and employee work results. While scholars have made some progress pertaining to the dark side of leadership, the research on leader hypocrisy has not yet aroused widespread concern or discussion. In particular, no studies have explored the relationship between leader self-sacrifice and leader hypocrisy. From the perspective of subordinates’ authenticity attributions of leadership behavior, this study revealed the mediating role of leader hypocrisy, thus enriching the literature on that factor. Based on social exchange theory, some scholars have explored how trust in leadership mediates the relationship between leader self-sacrifice and employee work outcomes (Chen et al., 2020), but they have not tested employees’ perceptions and attributions of leadership behavior. The study addressed this omission by explaining and clarifying the mediating role of trust in leaders from different perspectives.
- From the perspective of employee attribution, this study explored the potential negative impact of leaders’ self-sacrificial behavior and its double-edged sword effect. The study’s findings have practical significance for managers who aim to understand leaders’ self-sacrificial behavior. First, this study holds that although displays of leaders’ self-sacrifice can be used to motivate and inspire employees, it should not be abused. Since it is an uncommon behavior, frequent use of self-sacrifice can place psychological and work pressure on employees (Choi and Mai-Dalton, 1998), may take on the form of the moral coercion of employees, and may induce employees to doubt leaders’ authenticity. Therefore, the study suggests that leaders take the lead but that they do not demonstrate self-sacrifice frequently, only when facing difficulties or at critical moments.
- Second, it must be considered that since leaders sometimes deliberately show self-sacrifice in order to manipulate employees, employees could also perform impression management through the display of self-sacrifice behavior (Bonner et al., 2017). We believe that this possibility exists, even in management practice. Therefore, researchers propose that leaders should privately praise employees who show self-sacrifice behavior, as appropriate, but should not encourage or publicize them because self-sacrifice implies a denial of self-subjectivity, which means that collective interests need to be above self-interest. Vigorously promoting and encouraging this behavior can put additional pressure on other employees, which is unfair to them.