Authentic leadership and organizational sustainability: the moderated mediation of knowledge sharing and proactive personality

Purpose Although extensive research has explored the relationship between knowledge sharing and leadership, the intersection of this relationship with individual characteristics and behaviors remains underexamined. Grounded in the theoretical frameworks of positive psychology and the theory of planned behavior, this study aims to investigate the relationship between authentic leadership and organizational sustainability, with a particular focus on the mediating role of knowledge sharing. Specifically, this paper highlight how proactive personality, as an individual characteristic, fosters positive attitudes toward knowledge sharing, which subsequently influence knowledge-sharing behaviors and contribute to organizational sustainability. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from 229 employees in a sales industry in South Korea. The study then used Model 6 of Hayes’ PROCESS hierarchical regression. Findings The results show that authentic leadership enhances both knowledge sharing and organizational sustainability. Knowledge sharing also positively influences sustainability. Moreover, proactive personality moderates the mediation effect, such that the indirect impact of authentic leadership on sustainability through knowledge sharing is stronger among employees with lower proactive personality. Originality/value This research contributes to the prior theory on the well-known relationship between leadership and knowledge sharing by taking a dyadic perspective that centers on the moderating role of personality, thereby illuminating how these dynamics can ultimately bolster organizational sustainability.