Does subordinate moqi affect leadership empowerment?

Abstract

Purpose

The present study aims to ascertain the relationships between subordinate moqi and leader behaviors, by primarily discussing how and when subordinate moqi is associated with leadership empowerment.

Design/methodology/approach

A self-report study was conducted by recruiting 334 employees from 13 firms. All concepts were rated on a seven-point Likert-type response scale. Linear regression analysis (conducted in MPLUS 7) was conducted to verify the hypotheses.

Findings

First, subordinate moqi showed positive association with empowerment. Second, trust-in-supervisor mediated the relationships between subordinate moqi and empowerment. Third, subordinates' power distance orientation (PDO) could moderate the subordinate moqi – leader empowerment relationship. When subordinates reported higher PDO, the relationships between subordinate moqi and empowerment were more robust; likewise, subordinate moqi would have more significantly indirectly impacted empowerment via trust-in-supervisor.

Originality/value

Though researchers have discussed the impacts of subordinate moqi on subordinates' outcomes, the impact of subordinate moqi on supervisors' attitudes or behaviors remains unclear. The relationships between subordinate moqi and supervisor empowerment behaviors are empirically ascertained by emphasizing the leader-subordinate dyadic process. The findings here suggested that subordinate moqi boosted subordinates' trust-in-supervisor, and moqi would also predict the behaviors of leader empowerment. This study extended the PDO literature by identifying the moderating role of PDO in the subordinate moqi – leader empowerment behavior relationship.

Citation

Li, L., Zheng, X., Sun, S. and Diaz, I. (2020), "Does subordinate moqi affect leadership empowerment?", Leadership & Organization Development Journal, Vol. 41 No. 8, pp. 1015-1034. https://doi.org/10.1108/LODJ-08-2019-0351