Do core self‐evaluations mitigate or exacerbate the self‐regulation depletion effect of leader injustice? The role of leader‐contingent self‐esteem

Abstract This study investigates how an employee's core self‐evaluation (CSE) affects their self‐regulation depletion in response to leader injustice. To reconcile the conflicting predictions of CSE reported in the existing leadership and justice literature, we propose and test a self‐esteem contingency model for CSE, drawing on the self‐determination theory (SDT) account of the self‐regulatory process. We hypothesize that when an employee's CSE is heavily contingent on the leader's approval and recognition (denoted as high‐level leader‐contingent self‐esteem), CSE facilitates a controlled form of self‐regulation in response to leader injustice, leading to self‐regulation depletion. Conversely, when one's CSE is less contingent on the leader's approval (denoted as low‐level leader‐contingent self‐esteem), self‐regulation facilitated by CSE in the presence of leader injustice is less of controlled, reducing the likelihood of self‐regulation depletion. Our results and implications from three studies consistently supported our main hypothesis regarding the three‐way interaction of leader injustice, CSE and leader‐contingent self‐esteem, as well as highlighting the potential downside of a follower's self‐esteem being overly reliant on their leader's treatment.