Leader Behavioral Integrity and Employee In-Role Performance: The Roles of Coworker Support and Job Autonomy.

Yongjun Choi,David Yoon,Dongkyu Kim

doi:10.3390/ijerph17124303

Abstract

The positive relationship between leader behavioral integrity and an employee’s in-role performance is well-established, but explanations for why this effect exists are still in a nascent stage. Drawing upon leader behavioral integrity theory and job-demands resources theory, the authors explain how leader behavioral integrity facilitates employee in-role performance and the boundary conditions influencing the relationship between leader behavioral integrity and employee in-role performance. Using multisource data from 209 employee-manager dyads in South Korea, this paper found support for the mediating effect of coworker support in the positive relationship between leader behavior integrity and employees’ in-role autonomy. Furthermore, compared to those who perceive low job autonomy, the positive indirect effect of leader behavioral integrity on in-role performance via coworker support was stronger for employees who perceive high job autonomy. The findings emphasize the importance of a leader’s individual difference (i.e., leader behavioral integrity) and job resources (i.e., job autonomy) facilitating the receipt of team members’ supporting behaviors which, in turn, energize employee in-role performance. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Highlights

Employee vitality is integral for sustainable employee performance at work
Because job autonomy encourages employees to seek out resources to better perform their jobs [52,53], the current study argues that the extent to which employees receive coworker support as a result of leader behavioral integrity may vary depending on their job autonomy
The moderating variable in the hypothesized model, it is positively related to leader behavioral integrity (r = 0.33, p < 0.001) and coworker support (r = 0.29, p < 0.001), but it has no significant relationship with in-role performance (r = 0.02, n.s.)

Summary

Introduction

Employee vitality is integral for sustainable employee performance at work. To build healthier and more productive workforce in dynamic and challenging business environments, it is crucial for leaders to ensure and even stimulate employee vitality [1]. For sustainable growth and viability of organizations, to stimulate employee viability, a growing body of research calls for leaders with integrity [2]. The special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health about “The vital worker: Towards sustainable performance at work” in 2019 greatly extended the current understanding of vital employees and sustainable performance in organizations, relatively little attention has been paid to the roles of leaders, especially the leaders with integrity. The seminal works by Simons [7,8]

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