Does Leader Humility Foster Employee Bootlegging? Examining the Mediating Role of Relational Energy and the Moderating Role of Work Unit Structure.

Prior research has framed bootlegging as employees' unofficial innovation that occurs without organizational authorization or official support. In this paper, we call for bringing leadership back into the study of antecedents of bootlegging and examine the effects of leadership context, specifically leader humility, on employee bootlegging. Following the conservation of resources (COR) theory, we propose that leader humility can provide valuable endogenous resources, such as relational energy, for employee bootlegging. We also propose that work unit structure (organic versus mechanistic) can serve as a boundary condition in this relationship. We test our hypotheses in (i) a scenario-based experiment, (ii) a three-wave time-lagged study with a sample of 212 employees, and (iii) a three-wave time-lagged study with a sample of 190 employees embedded in 20 teams. The results show that leader humility positively relates to relational energy, which, in turn, causes employee bootlegging. Furthermore, an organic structure strengthens the relationship between relational energy and bootlegging, and the indirect effect of leader humility on employee bootlegging via relational energy. The paper concludes with a discussion of what these findings suggest for future research and managerial practice.

When and why proactive employees get promoted: A trait activation perspective.

Although there is a consensus that workplace proactivity is vital for both employees and organizations, little is known as whether proactivity is beneficial for employees to develop leadership capabilities. Drawing from trait activation theory, we theorize that proactive personality could enhance employee promotability through taking charge behavior. We also propose that task structure determines the odds that proactive employees might be promoted. We tested the theoretical model with data from 226 employees and their direct leaders in 26 teams at three time points. The results of multi-level path analysis indicated that the positive relationship between proactive personality and taking charge was stronger in more organic work unit, which in turn, positively related to employees' promotability. These findings provide new knowledge in understanding the impacts of proactive personality and offers important empirical practices for proactivity management for organizations.

Dealing With Negative Workplace Gossip: From the Perspective of Face.

In this study, we investigate the coping response of individuals who are being gossiped about. Drawing on face research and affective events theory, we propose that employees who are targets of negative gossip will actively respond to the gossip about them via engagement in negative gossip themselves. The findings showed that negative workplace gossip stimulated fear of losing face and led to subsequent behavioral responses, namely, engaging in negative gossip. Moreover, self-monitoring, as a moderating mechanism, mitigated the negative impacts of negative workplace gossip on the targets. We discuss theoretical implications for gossip research and note its important practical implications.

Does positive workplace gossip help socialize newcomers? A dual-pathway model based on network ties.

Researchers have been interested in discussing negative workplace gossip and its consequences, but have paid little attention to positive workplace gossip and its positive aspects in the workplace. Based on the perspective of social network, this study explores the two-path mediating mechanisms between positive workplace gossip and the socialization outcomes of newcomers. The data were collected in a multitime and multisource manner. The results show that information ties and friendship ties mediated the relationship between positive workplace gossip and the socialization outcomes of newcomers. Specifically, positive workplace gossip helped newcomers form instrumental and expressive social relationships (viz., informational ties and friendship ties), which in turn contributed to socialization outcomes (viz., role clarity and social integration). Theoretical and management implications are discussed as well.