Winning rewards reciprocally: the influence of managing boss on leader empowering behavior

Purpose Limited research has explored managing boss impact on receivers. This study aims to explore the potential influence of managing boss on leader-empowering behavior. Managing boss is expected to indirectly spur leader-empowering behavior, with positive affective experience as the mediator. Further, the power distance of supervisors is expected to moderate the relationship between managing boss and leader-empowering behavior, thereby forming a moderated-mediation model. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from 289 supervisor-subordinate dyads in China using a three-wave research design, and hierarchical regression analysis was used to analyze the data. Findings The findings provided support for the propositions that managing boss predicts positive affective experience of supervisors, positive affective experience predicts leader-empowering behavior; positive affective experience mediate the managing boss – leader-empowering behavior relationship. And that the power distance of supervisors moderate the indirect relationship between managing boss and leader-empowering behavior. Originality/value This study addresses a clear research gap, as no study has examined managing boss impact on supervisors, who act as recipients of the behavior. The study is also of great value for the consequences of managing the boss and the antecedents of leader-empowering behavior.