Work engagement as a link between humble leadership and creative performance: The interactive effects of employee job autonomy

Background The growing complexity of organizational environments necessitates leadership styles that promote employee creativity and engagement. While humble leadership (HL) is a significant predictor of creative performance (CP), mechanisms like work engagement (WE) and contextual factors like job autonomy (JA) remain underexplored. This study addresses this gap by examining WE as a mediator and JA as a moderator in the HL-CP relationship. Objectives The study aimed to: (1) investigate the HL-CP relationship, (2) explore WE as a mediator, and (3) examine JA as a moderator in the HL-WE and HL-CP relationships. Methods Data from 412 employee–supervisor dyads in Pakistan’s service sector were analyzed using SPSS V.26 for mediation and moderation analyses and AMOS V.21 for confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Results WE partially mediated the positive HL-CP relationship. JA significantly moderated both the HL-WE and HL-CP relationships, enhancing the positive effects of HL. Conclusion The study highlights WE and JA as key mechanisms linking HL to CP, offering practical insights for fostering creativity through humble leadership and autonomy. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed, along with future research directions.