Relational pathways to leader PsyCap: The role of follower attachment and leader power distance in a high power distance culture

This study examines how follower psychological capital (PsyCap) influences leader PsyCap through relational mechanisms and how this process is shaped by leaders’ cultural orientations towards hierarchy. Drawing on social learning theory and attachment theory, we examine whether follower PsyCap is indirectly associated with leader PsyCap through followers’ leader-specific attachment anxiety and avoidance (FLSAAA), and whether this upward influence is conditioned by leaders’ power distance orientation (LPD). Using multi-source survey data from 302 subordinates nested under 102 supervisors across various service-sector organizations in India, we employed multilevel structural equation modeling (MSEM) to test our hypotheses. Results supported the direct association between follower PsyCap and FLSAAA and showed that leaders’ power distance orientation conditioned the follower PsyCap–leader PsyCap association. However, the direct FLSAAA–leader PsyCap path was not significant; therefore, H3 was not supported as mediation under the causal-steps logic, although a small statistically significant indirect association through FLSAAA was observed and interpreted cautiously. This study contributes to cross-cultural management by validating how culturally embedded leader cognitions shape psychological exchanges in hierarchical relationships. The potential limitations, needed future research, and practical implications conclude the article.