Investigating the relationship between clan culture and teachers' work engagement using the PLS-SEM approach: a moderated mediation model of job autonomy and humble leadership

BACKGROUND: The mechanisms and boundary conditions through which clan culture influences teachers' work engagement remain unclear. To address this research gap, this study aims to examine the relationship between clan culture and teachers' work engagement based on the social information processing theory, revealing the mediating role of job autonomy and the moderating role of humble leadership. METHODS: Data were collected from 1,056 primary and secondary school teachers in China. Data analysis was performed using PLS-SEM and the bias-corrected percentile Bootstrap method. RESULTS: The results indicate that clan culture was significantly and positively correlated with both teachers' work engagement and job autonomy. Job autonomy was also significantly and positively associated with teachers' work engagement. Job autonomy mediated the relationship between clan culture and teachers' work engagement. Humble leadership not only positively moderated the relationship between job autonomy and teachers' work engagement but also positively moderated the mediating effect of job autonomy between clan culture and teachers' work engagement. CONCLUSIONS: Theoretically, this study examines the mechanisms and boundary conditions through which clan culture influences teachers' work engagement, revealing the mediating role of job autonomy and the moderating role of humble leadership, thereby enriching the existing literature on teacher work engagement. Practically, these findings provide school administrators with strategies, including the establishment of a clan culture grounded in mutual trust and cooperation, empowering teachers to enhance their job autonomy, and elevating leaders' levels of humble leadership, ultimately promoting teachers' work engagement.