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Other-caring or other-critical? A contagious effect of leaders’ emotional triads on subordinates’ performance

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  • Yolanda N. Li

    (The Chinese University of Hong Kong)

  • Kenneth S. Law

    (The Chinese University of Hong Kong)

  • Ming Yan

    (Jinan University)

Abstract

We focus on two other-focus emotional triads: contempt, anger, and disgust (CAD) and empathy, sympathy, and pity (ESP) to investigate how supervisors’ CAD and ESP affect their subordinates’ performance, including task proficiency, adaptivity, proactivity, and counterproductive work behaviors (CWBs). Based on emotional contagion theory, we argue that supervisors’ CAD and ESP are contagious to subordinates by stimulating their CAD and ESP, respectively, and then influence their performance, an effect contingent on leader prototypicality. A field study of 317 supervisor-subordinate dyads supports the contagious influences of supervisors’ emotional triads on employees’ performance after controlling for both supervisors’ and subordinates’ positive and negative affectivity. We find that the effect of supervisors’ CAD on subordinates’ performance only works through subordinates’ CAD, while the effect of supervisors’ ESP on subordinates’ performance only works through subordinates’ ESP. Moreover, the contagious effect of supervisors’ CAD is found to be stronger for leaders with high prototypicality, while the contagious effect of supervisors’ ESP is only significant for high prototypical leaders but not for low prototypical leaders.

Suggested Citation

  • Yolanda N. Li & Kenneth S. Law & Ming Yan, 2019. "Other-caring or other-critical? A contagious effect of leaders’ emotional triads on subordinates’ performance," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 36(4), pages 995-1021, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:kap:asiapa:v:36:y:2019:i:4:d:10.1007_s10490-018-9617-5
    DOI: 10.1007/s10490-018-9617-5
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. van Knippenberg, Daan & van Knippenberg, Barbara & van Dijk, Eric, 2000. "Who Takes the Lead in Risky Decision Making? Effects of Group Members' Risk Preferences and Prototypicality," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 83(2), pages 213-234, November.
    2. Glomb, Theresa M. & Hulin, Charles L., 1997. "Anger and Gender Effects in Observed Supervisor-Subordinate Dyadic Interactions," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 72(3), pages 281-307, December.
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