Creative Performance and Conflict through the Lens of Humble Leadership: Testing a Moderated Mediation Model

Abstract

This study developed and tested a moderated mediation model by examining the relationships between humble leadership (HL), emotional intelligence, employee conflict (EC), and creative performance (CP), using resource-based theory as the theoretical foundation. We conducted a cross-sectional survey of 322 employees and their immediate supervisors (n = 53) from the telecom sector in Pakistan. The data was analyzed using AMOS 21 and SPSS 26. The results demonstrate that HL has a positive effect on creative performance and a negative relationship with employee conflict. Furthermore, employee conflict has a negative impact on CP and mediates the impact of HL on CP. Moreover, a leader’s emotional intelligence moderates the negative relationship between HL and EC. Finally, this study reveals that EI moderates the indirect effects of HL on CP. The conclusions and implications are discussed at the end of this paper.

Keywords

• humble leadership
• creative performance
• employee conflict
• emotional intelligence
• moderated mediation