The Distinctive Effects of Dual-Level Leadership Behaviors on Employees’ Trust in Leadership: An Empirical Study from China

Yuntao Bai, Peter Ping Li, Youmin Xi

    Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

    Abstract

    The loss of trust within and between organizations has become serious worldwide, especially in China. In this study, we seek to explain why as well as how leaders at two different levels (i.e., the top management and the supervisory levels) affect employees’ trust in leadership at the two levels distinctively, especially in the context of China as an emerging economy. Adopting the perspective of multi-level social exchanges within organizations, we develop a dual-level model with perceived organizational support and leader–member exchange as two major mediating mechanisms for the distinctive effects of transformational leadership behaviors on employees’ trust in leadership at both top management and supervisory levels, respectively. The empirical evidence based on a sample of 357 Chinese employees and their supervisors supports the proposed model. Both theoretical and practical implications of our findings are discussed.
    Original languageEnglish
    JournalAsia Pacific Journal of Management
    Volume29
    Issue number2
    Pages (from-to)213–237
    Number of pages25
    ISSN0217-4561
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2012

    Keywords

    • Trust in Leadership
    • Dual-level Effect
    • Social Exchange
    • Perceived Organizational Support
    • Leader-member Exchange
    • China

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