PARENTAL LEADERSHIP, HUMILITY, AND EMPLOYEE INNOVATION: A MODERATION STUDY IN CHINESE STARTUPS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14456/aamr.2025.53Keywords:
Parental Leadership, Leadership Humility, Employee Innovative Behavior, New Ventures, Organizational BehaviorAbstract
New ventures in dynamic economies, particularly in China, critically rely on employee innovation to sustain performance and achieve competitive advantage. Understanding how leadership styles influence this innovative behavior, especially within the context of paternalistic leadership prevalent in Asian cultures, is crucial. This study explores the impact of parental leadership (benevolent, authoritative, and virtuous) on employee innovative behavior, examining leadership humility as a moderating variable. Grounded in Social Cognitive Theory and Social Exchange Theory, a quantitative research design utilizing moderation models was employed. Data were collected from 426 employees across various emerging startups in Henan Province, China. The findings reveal that leadership humility significantly strengthens the positive effect of benevolent leadership on employee innovative behavior. Conversely, humility significantly attenuates the negative impact of authoritative leadership. However, humility does not significantly moderate the relationship between ethical leadership and employee innovation, suggesting that ethical leadership inherently embodies core moral attributes, rendering humility's additional influence statistically redundant. Overall, the study refines the understanding of leadership-innovation dynamics in entrepreneurial settings, highlighting leadership humility as a strategic interpersonal asset. These insights offer practical implications for managers in high-risk, fast-changing new ventures, advocating for a nuanced, context-sensitive leadership approach to foster employee creativity and adaptability.
Downloads
References
Bai, J., & Sun, X. (2025). Expansion of the Psychological Contract: Unlocking the Code of Innovation Behavior in Open Innovation Community. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 55(9), 744-758.
Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc.
Call, M., Nyberg, A., & Thatcher, S. (2015). Stargazing: An integrative conceptual review, theoretical reconciliation, and extension for star employee research. Journal of Applied Psychology, 100(3), 623-640.
Carmeli, A., Atwater, L., & Levi, A. (2011). How leadership enhances employees’ knowledge sharing: the intervening roles of relational and organizational identification. The Journal of Technology Transfer, 36, 257-274.
Chen, C., Xu, Y., Zhong, Q., Li, Y., Cheng, Y., & Li, Q. (2018). Correlation of temperature with galvanic corrosion behaviour of copper alloys based on wire beam electrode. Corrosion Engineering, Science and Technology: The International Journal of Corrosion Processes and Corrosion Control, 53(5), 331-339.
Chiang, J., Chen, X., Liu, H., Akutsu, S., & Wang, Z. (2020). We have emotions but can’t show them! Authoritarian leadership, emotion suppression climate, and team performance. Human Relations, 74(7), 1082-1111.
Davis, D., Hook, J., Worthington, E., van Tongeren, D., Gartner, A., Jennings, D., & Emmons, R. (2011). Relational humility: Conceptualizing and measuring humility as a personality judgment. Journal of Personality Assessment, 93(3), 225-234.
Duah-Boateng, E. (2024). Exploring the impact of transformational leadership on organizational innovation: A case study of Ghana Revenue Authority. Master’s Thesis, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
Dughera, S. (2022). The evolution of workplace control leadership, obedience and organizational performance. Journal of Evolutionary Economics, 32(2), 399-421.
Elidemir, S., Ozturen, A., & Bayighomog, S. (2020). Innovative behaviors, employee creativity, and sustainable competitive advantage: A moderated mediation. Sustainability, 12(8), 3295.
Exline, J., & Geyer, A. (2004). Perceptions of Humility: A Preliminary Study. Self and Identity, 3(2), 95-114.
Fagley, N., & Adler, M. (2012). Appreciation: A spiritual path to finding value and meaning in the workplace. Journal of Management, Spirituality & Religion, 9(2), 167-187.
Frank, F. (2023). The Power of Humility in Leadership: Influencing as a Role Model. New York: Productivity Press.
Gu, Q., Tang, T., & Jiang, W. (2015). Does moral leadership enhance employee creativity? Employee identification with leader and leader–member exchange (LMX) in the Chinese context. Journal of Business Ethics, 126, 513-529.
Hicks, D. (2018). Leading with Dignity: How to create a culture that brings out the best in people. Connecticut: Yale University Press.
Huang, J. (2022). Does benevolent leadership consistently lead to employees' voluntary behaviors?. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 43(8), 1234-1251.
Klonek, F., Twemlow, M., Tims, M., & Parker, S. (2024). It’s About Time! Understanding the Dynamic Team Process-Performance Relationship Using Micro- and Macroscale Time Lenses. Group & Organization Management, 50(5-6), 1660-1702.
Lam, C., van der Vegt, G., Walter, F., & Huang, X. (2011). Harming high performers: A social comparison perspective on interpersonal harming in work teams. Journal of Applied Psychology, 96(3), 588-601.
Li, C., Makhdoom, H., & Asim, S. (2020). Impact of Entrepreneurial Leadership on Innovative Work Behavior: Examining Mediation and Moderation Mechanisms. Psychology Research and Behavior Management, 13, 105-118.
Maina, J. (2022). Parenting as an Antecedent to Ethical Leadership: A Review of Literature. Journal of Human Resource & Leadership, 6(1), 80-97.
Nazir, S., Qun, W., Hui, L., & Shafi, A. (2018). Influence of social exchange relationships on affective commitment and innovative behavior: Role of perceived organizational support. Sustainability, 10(12), 4418.
Ngamcharoen, P., Sakdapat, N., & Bhanthumnavin, D. (2025). Research and Development of a Cultural Intelligence Measurement Instrument for People in World Heritage Sites. Scientific Culture, 11(2), 64-83.
Owens, B., & Hekman, D. (2012). Modeling how to grow: An inductive examination of humble leader behaviors, contingencies, and outcomes. Academy of Management Journal, 55(4), 787-818.
Pellegrini, E., & Scandura, T. (2008). Paternalistic Leadership: A Review and Agenda for Future Research. Journal of Management, 34(3), 566-593.
Pieterse, A., van Knippenberg, D., Schippers, M., & Stam, D. (2010). Transformational and transactional leadership and innovative behavior: The moderating role of psychological empowerment. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 31(4), 609-623.
Sakdapat, N., & Ngamcharoen, P. (2025). Correlation Analysis on Educational Level and Community Participatory Behavior in Grassroots Economy Promotion. Espacio Tiempo y Educación, 12(2), 1-27.
Silvia, P., Wigert, B., Reiter-Palmon, R., & Kaufman, J. (2012). Assessing creativity with self-report scales: a review and empirical evaluation. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 6(1), 19-34.
Smith, C., Smith, J., & Shaw, E. (2017). Embracing digital networks: Entrepreneurs' social capital online. Journal of Business Venturing, 32(1), 18-34.
Staniewski, M., Nowacki, R., & Awruk, K. (2016). Entrepreneurship and innovativeness of small and medium-sized construction enterprises. International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, 12, 861-877.
Tang, X., Mai, S., Wang, L., & Na, M. (2025). The Influence of Organizational Fairness, Identity and Empowerment on Employee Creativity: Mediating Role of Corporate Social Responsibility. Sage Open, 15(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440251328475.
van Tongeren, D., Davis, D., & Hook, J. (2014). Social benefits of humility: Initiating and maintaining romantic relationships. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 9(4), 313-321.
Wiley, J., & Kowske, B. (2011). RESPECT: Delivering results by giving employees what they really want. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Yao, L., Chen, X., & Wei, H. (2023). How do authoritarian and benevolent leadership affect employee work–family conflict? An emotional regulation perspective. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 40, 1525-1553.
Yuan, F., & Woodman, R. (2010). Innovative behavior in the workplace: The role of performance and image outcome expectations. Academy of Management Journal, 53(2), 323-342.
Zaech, S., & Baldegger, U. (2017). Leadership in start-ups. International Small Business Journal: Researching Entrepreneurship, 35(2), 157-177.
Zhang, G., Zhang, X., & Wang, Y. (2024). Perceived insider status and employees' innovative behavior: the role of knowledge sharing and organizational innovation climate. European Journal of Innovation Management, 27(2), 589-607.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Mengfang ZHANG, Chanchai BUNCHAPATTANASAKDA
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
.png)
