Self-Deprecating Humor and Supervisor-Subordinate Guanxi: A Relational Process Model Perspective

Humor, as an effective tool in social communication, plays a significant role in shaping interpersonal relationships. Although research has acknowledged the role of leader humor in fostering dyadic leader-follower relationship quality, its underlying mediating mechanisms remain empirically underexplored. This study investigated the relationship between leader self-deprecating humor and the quality of Supervisor-Subordinate Guanxi (SSG). Drawing upon Cooper’s (2008) relational process model of humor, I proposed that leader self-deprecating humor is positively associated with SSG through four parallel mediating mechanisms: hierarchical salience, self-disclosure, similarity-attraction, and affect-reinforcement. Additionally, I examined follower positive affectivity as a first-stage moderator in the indirect relationships mediated by follower self-disclosure, perceived similarity, and leader-triggered positive emotion. Data were collected from a three-wave, multi-source survey of 421 matched supervisor-subordinate dyads in China. The results support all four mediating mechanisms. Additionally, follower positive affectivity moderated the indirect associations mediated by perceived similarity and leader-triggered positive emotion but not self-disclosure. This study contributes to the literature on leader humor and SSG, and provides practical insights for supervisor-subordinate relationship management practices.