From inspiration to depletion: the curvilinear effect of spiritual leadership on employee role-based performance

Purpose Drawing on the too-much-of-a-good-thing (TMGT) effect and conservation of resources (COR) theory, this study aims to investigate the direct and indirect curvilinear effects of spiritual leadership (SL) on employee role-based performance (RBP). Design/methodology/approach This study used a multi-study design combining an experimental study with 136 participants and a time-lagged, multisource field survey of 216 hospitality sector employees. Findings Findings collectively demonstrate that SL exhibits an inverted U-shaped curvilinear relationship with employee RBP, both directly and indirectly through employee resilience. Practical implications Theoretically, the “sweet spot” of SL challenges linear resource–performance assumptions, suggesting that TMGT and CORs theory must account for how resilience shapes the point at which SL ceases to enhance employee RBP. In practice, hospitality managers should calibrate SL to a level that strengthens employee resilience and supports effective performance across their roles. Beyond an optimal level, increasing leadership intensity may weaken these benefits, thus highlighting the importance of balanced leadership and resilience-supportive practices in hospitality management. Originality/value The study advanced hospitality leadership literature by integrating two complementary designs and providing novel evidence of the curvilinear effects of SL on employee RBP as well as the underlying psychological mechanism through which these nonlinear effects occur, thus presenting a multidimensional outcome rarely examined in SL research.