Employee Constructive Voice and Humble Leadership: The Moderating Role of Power Distance Orientation and the Mediating Role of Felt Obligation for Constructive Change

Humble leadership differs from traditional leadership styles mainly in how leaders perceive and present themselves. In particular, humble leadership carries bidirectional implications in interactions with team members. While existing research has mainly focused on how humble leadership can promote employee voice, this study seeks to explore whether employees' constructive voice can encourage leaders to value their opinions and adopt learning-oriented leadership behaviors. Therefore, this study investigates the relationship between employee constructive voice and humble leadership, focusing on the mediating role of felt obligation for constructive change and the moderating role of power distance orientation. This study tested the proposed relationships using data from 83 team leaders. The results revealed that constructive voice was positively related to humble leadership, and felt obligation for constructive change mediated the relationship. Importantly, as the relationship between constructive voice and felt obligation for constructive change depended on leader power distance orientation, the mediated relationship was effective only under low leader power distance orientation. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.