Decoding the influence of humble leadership: a moderated mediation model of follower-attributed motives for humble leadership and prosocial behavior

Purpose This study aims to investigate the relationship between humble leadership and followers' prosocial behavior to examine the mediating role of followers' prosocial motivation and the moderating effect of follower-attributed motives (prosocial and impression management) toward humble leaders. Design/methodology/approach Based on social learning theory and attribution theory, this study proposes a moderated mediation model. A multisource, two-wave dyadic design was adopted, and data were collected using a convenience sampling method. The final sample comprised 278 employees and 97 supervisors from 57 organizations in Taiwan. Followers assessed humble leadership, prosocial motivation, and the attributes of leader motives, whereas supervisors evaluated followers' prosocial behavior. Path analysis was conducted using Mplus to test all the hypotheses. Findings Followers' prosocial motivation mediates the relationship between humble leadership and prosocial behavior. Moreover, follower-attributed prosocial motives toward humble leaders strengthened the indirect impact of humble leadership on followers' prosocial behavior through followers' prosocial motivation. However, impression management motives toward humble leaders weaken the indirect impact of humble leadership on followers' prosocial behavior through followers' prosocial motivation. Originality/value By incorporating follower attribution into the social learning framework, this study advances the theoretical understanding of humble leadership and provides a more nuanced account of when and why humble leadership promotes follower prosocial behavior.