How leaders' workplace interpersonal capitalization promotes subordinates' proactive behavior: a self-expansion perspective

Purpose We examine how leaders' workplace interpersonal capitalization affects subordinates' proactive behavior, focusing on subordinates' self-expansion and attribution. Design/methodology/approach A mixed-methods approach, including an experimental study (n = 200 participants from China) and an online survey (n = 277 participants from the USA), was used. Proposed hypotheses were tested via ANOVA, path analysis, and bootstrapping methods. Findings Leaders' workplace interpersonal capitalization positively affects subordinates' proactive behavior, mediated by subordinates' self-expansion. Subordinates' attribution of leaders' performance promotion motives moderates the relationship between leaders' workplace interpersonal capitalization and self-expansion and the mediating effect of self-expansion among US participants. Practical implications Organizations can encourage leaders to share positive work events to boost subordinates' proactive behavior. Managers should encourage self-development and provide supportive leadership to strengthen collaboration. Originality/value This study is among the first to explore interpersonal capitalization within supervisor–subordinate dyads, introduce self-expansion as a novel mechanism, and identify subordinates' performance promotion attribution as a boundary condition.