Purpose: The present study aimed to examine the relationship between humble leadership (HL) and employee adaptive performance by testing the mediating role of self-determination and the moderating role of employee attributions of HL.Design/methodology/approach: A three-wave, two-source design was used to collect quantitative data from 301 employees and 45 direct supervisors of mainland Chinese enterprises. Testing the hypotheses was conducted through multiple regression analysis and moderated regression analysis.Findings: Results showed that HL was positively related to employee adaptive performance. Additionally, the relationship between HL and employee adaptive performance was mediated by self-determination. Furthermore, this positive effect of HL on self-determination was minimized among employees who attribute HL to impression management motives but is insignificant for employees who attribute HL to performance improvement motives.Originality/value: It has been widely concerned that the traditional “top-down” leadership styles are associated with employee adaptive performance; however, the role of bottom-up leadership styles on employee adaptive performance has only been sporadically examined. The present study introduced HL, a typical bottom-up leadership style and developed a moderated mediation model to investigate the potential effect of HL on employee adaptive performance. Moreover, by confirming the mediating role of self-determination, the authors further uncover how HL facilitates employees' adaptive performance. Meanwhile, the moderating role of employee attributions of HL found in this study offers new insights into the understanding of the effectiveness of HL.

The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) has led to dramatic changes in the learning environment and living conditions of college students, who face enormous psychological challenges in the ubiquitous AI environment. Modern student-management research has focused on developing mechanisms for enhancing life satisfaction, alleviating emotional anxiety, and improving self-confidence. This study aims to investigate the influence of participation in cultural and artistic activities on college students’ life satisfaction. Through a questionnaire survey and data analysis of 708 college students, this study found a significant positive relationship between participation in cultural and artistic activities and college students’ life satisfaction. Further mediation analysis showed that positive psychological capital played a mediating role between participation in cultural and artistic activities and life satisfaction. Additionally, emotional intelligence was found to play a moderating role in this relationship, and college students with higher emotional intelligence had a more significant effect on positive psychological capital in terms of participation in cultural and artistic activities. The results of this study herein provide a new understanding of life satisfaction research among college students and offer practical guidance for promoting college students’ mental health and psychological well-being. This research also demonstrates the importance of participation in cultural and artistic activities and encourages college students to be active therein to enhance their psychological capital and improve life satisfaction. Furthermore, the cultivation and enhancement of emotional intelligence is emphasized as a key factor for college students to improve their psychological well-being through cultural and artistic activities.

Amid AI-driven organizational transformation, employees’ subjective evaluations of AI technologies—referred to as AI awareness—have become a critical psychological factor influencing innovation behavior. This study aims to uncover how AI awareness affects employee innovation performance through behavioral pathways and examines the moderating role of individual achievement motivation in this process. Grounded in Cognitive Appraisal Theory and the Dual Pathway Model, we construct a dual-path mediation model, in which proactive and withdrawal behaviors act as mediators, and achievement motivation serves as a boundary condition. Based on a two-wave survey of 413 knowledge workers in China’s high-tech sector, the proposed model was empirically tested using moderated mediation analysis (PROCESS macro). The results reveal that AI awareness has a significant dual-path effect on innovation behavior: on the one hand, it promotes innovation by stimulating proactive behavior; on the other hand, it may suppress innovation by inducing withdrawal behavior. Moreover, achievement motivation plays a crucial moderating role in this mechanism by strengthening the positive mediating effect of proactive behavior and weakening the negative mediating effect of withdrawal behavior. This study conceptualizes AI awareness as a psychological input encompassing both perceived opportunity and perceived threat, clarifies the behavioral response mechanisms of employees facing AI, and highlights the boundary-regulating role of individual motivation in organizational adaptability. Practically, the study suggests designing differentiated HR interventions based on employees’ cognitive appraisals and motivational profiles to enhance human–AI collaboration, foster innovation resilience, and improve organizational adaptability amid digital transformation.

Entrepreneurial networks are important for the identification of entrepreneurial opportunities and development in the context of social media. This exploratory research investigates the relationships in entrepreneurial networks, by considering decision-making, and entrepreneurial opportunities, and focusing on the role of decision-making in the relationship between entrepreneurial networks and entrepreneurial opportunities. Using data from 512 Chinese entrepreneurial firms, hierarchical regression analyses and structural equation modeling are employed to create a mediation model that links entrepreneurial networks to entrepreneurial opportunities through decision-making. Our findings are as follows: (1) heterogeneous networks are positively related to innovative opportunities, and homogeneous networks are positively related to imitative opportunities; (2) heterogeneous networks positively affect non-linear decision-making (non-linear DM) while homogeneous networks positively influence linear decision-making (linear DM); (3) positive relationships exist between non-linear DM and innovative opportunities and between linear DM and imitative opportunities; and (4) non-linear DM fully mediates between heterogeneous networks and innovative opportunities, and linear DM partially mediates between homogeneous networks and imitative opportunities. This paper contributes to literature on entrepreneurship by broadening understanding of the mechanisms of entrepreneurial opportunity formation in emerging markets and provides important insights for entrepreneurs and policymakers.

Objective: In recent years, faced with a complex economic development environment and the evolving dynamics of the Chinese workplace, talent has become a precious resource that is invaluable yet scarce for every enterprise. As Generation Z employees have gradually entered the labor market, they contribute new perspectives and energies to various enterprises and pose unique challenges. The traditional step-by-step approach no longer meets the needs of today’s businesses. Companies require more proactive talents to drive superior performance. Individuals with proactive behavior can effectively plan their career paths and are better equipped to fulfill core organizational tasks. Therefore, it is crucial for organizations to effectively mitigate the perceived negative impacts of proactive behavior, encouraging individuals to exhibit more positive proactive actions.Methods: Based on the proactive motivation model, this study investigates the effects of mentoring, balanced psychological contract, proactive behavior, and agreeableness on the proactive behaviors of new employees. The research surveyed 417 new employees from Guangdong Province, China, who had graduated within the last three years, with a gender distribution of 49.4% male and 50.6% female.Results: Structural Equation Modeling was used for data analysis, and the following results were obtained: First, mentoring positively affected the balanced psychological contract and new employees’ proactive behavior. Second, mentoring positively affected the new employees’ proactive behavior through the balanced psychological contract. Third, agreeableness played a moderating role in the relationship between mentoring and new employees’ proactive behavior, and in the relationship between mentoring and the balanced psychological contracts. Finally, the positive indirect effect of mentoring through the balanced psychological contract on new employees’ proactive behavior is positively moderated by agreeableness.Conclusion: The results of this study offer new insights into mentoring research for new employees and provide practical guidance for fostering the balanced psychological contract and proactive behavior among new employees. This research enriches the existing literature on mentoring for new employees by demonstrating the integral roles of agreeableness and a balanced psychological contract in fostering proactive behavior, offering valuable insights for organizational practices aimed at enhancing employee proactivity.

Introduction: With women's advancement in education and status, they drive corporate and social progress. However, traditional gender roles burden female employees with more family responsibilities, challenging work-life balance and affecting job performance. Organizations should supporting female employees to address these challenges. Thriving at work, a core aspect of positive work engagement, helps maintain enthusiasm and efficiency. This study explores the impact of family-supportive supervisor behavior (FSSB) on the thriving at work of female employees in China, considering generational differences in their work-family balance needs and the mediating mechanisms involved.Methods: The methodology adopted in this study utilized Amos 26.0 and SPSS 25.0 to analyze data obtained from a sample of 279 female employees in China. Specifically, the study examined the direct impact of FSSB on thriving at work, alongside the mediating influence of work-family balance. Moreover, the research aimed to discern variations in these effects across different generational cohorts.Results: This study highlights the direct impact of FSSB on female employees' thriving at work across different generational cohorts. Notably, the “post-90s” generation displayed the strongest direct effect of FSSB on thriving at work. Additionally, the impact of FSSB on work-family balance varied by generation, with the “post-90s” generation showing the weakest effect. Furthermore, the mediating role of work-family balance differed among generations, with complete mediation observed in the “post-80s” generation but no mediating effect in the “post-90s” generation, reflecting their distinct work-life balance priorities and needs.Discussion: This study uses a generational difference perspective to explore the main and mediating effects of FSSB on thriving at work, enriching the theoretical research on generational differences and providing valuable insights for future research. Practically, organizations should focus on the needs of different generations while encouraging FSSB, fostering a supportive work environment and enhancing outcomes.