Drawing on implicit leadership theory (Brown & Lord, 2001; Eden & Leviatan, 1975), we hypothesized that the relationship between participative leadership and employee performance is curvilinear (J-shaped), suggesting that participative leadership is unrelated to employee performance when participative leadership is below a moderate level (i.e., a threshold). Above this threshold, higher participative leadership is related to higher employee performance. Building on adaptive resonance theory (ART; Grossberg, 1999), a variant of implicit leadership theory, we further hypothesized that leaders' information-sharing behavior would moderate this curvilinear relationship. We tested this model using two independent samples (Study 1: office and call-center employees; Study 2: factory workers). Results from Study 1 revealed that this curvilinear relationship was particularly pronounced when leaders' information sharing was high, and it was weak when information sharing was low. Furthermore, Study 2 showed that leadership effectiveness mediated the interactive effect of participative leadership and information sharing on objective work performance.

Purpose: – The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between servant leadership, subordinates' trust in leader and job satisfaction, and whether subordinates' organizational tenure moderated the effect. Design/methodology/approach: – A structured questionnaire survey was used to collect data by 218 employees in a service-oriented private firm in the People's Republic of China. Findings: – The findings indicated that trust in leader mediated the relationship between servant leadership and subordinates' job satisfaction. Also, the positive effect of servant leadership on subordinates' trust in leader and job satisfaction was stronger for short-tenure subordinates than that for long-tenure subordinates. Originality/value: – This paper enriches the existing leadership literature and contributes to the research into how and why servant leadership may influence subordinates' attitudes.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to examine the relationships between participative leadership and employees’ work engagement and job satisfaction; and second, to determine whether the level of fun experienced at work moderates the effect of participative leadership on job satisfaction.Design/methodology/approach: The participants were 177 employees in a retailing store in Hong Kong. Hierarchical multiple regression was conducted with the control variables to ascertain the relationships among participative leadership, level of fun experienced at work, work engagement and job satisfaction.Findings: The results indicated that participative leadership was positively related to employees’ work engagement and job satisfaction. Employees’ work engagement mediated the relationship between participative leadership and job satisfaction. This positive relationship between participative leadership and job satisfaction was stronger when employees had more fun at work.Research limitations/implications: The generalizability of the data was limited, as the characteristics of participants in a retail store are distinct from others in the service industry.Practical implications: This paper’s findings imply that participative leaders can engage in role modeling by providing more fun workplace activities to employees, which will increase their work engagement and job satisfaction.Originality/value: The findings help to explain the relationship between participative leadership and job satisfaction, provide a better understanding of leadership management styles and show that participative leaders who engage employees in fun activities in the workplace can increase employees’ job satisfaction.

The study examined the impact of paternalistic leadership behaviors, including authoritarian, benevolent and moral leadership, and information sharing on employee voice and whether information sharing moderates the effects. Using a sample of 286 leader–follower dyads collected from a manufacturing firm, the results indicated that authoritarian leadership was negatively, and moral leadership positively, associated with employee voice. Also, the positive relationship between moral leadership and employee voice was stronger when employees received higher levels of information sharing. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.