Exploring the impacts of leader anger expressions on employee boundary-spanning behavior in construction projects

Purpose Despite the increasing importance of boundary-spanning behaviors in construction projects, the research on how leader anger expressions impact employees’ boundary-spanning behaviors remains unclear. This study aims to investigate the impact of leader anger expressions on employees’ boundary-spanning behaviors in construction projects while exploring the mediating effect of work hope and the moderating effect of power distance orientation through the lens of social information processing theory. Design/methodology/approach The empirical data were collected from a questionnaire survey of 235 employees in construction projects, and the hypotheses were tested using the PROCESS program developed by Hayes. Findings This study demonstrated that leader anger expressions negatively affect employees’ work hope, and work hope mediates the relationship between leader anger expressions and employees’ boundary-spanning behaviors. Besides, the stronger the employees’ power distance orientation, the stronger the negative relationship between leader anger expressions and employees’ work hope, and the above mediating effect was also stronger. Research limitations/implications The use of cross-sectional data was unable to entirely infer a causal relationship between leader anger expressions and employees’ boundary-spanning behaviors. Additionally, the reliance on self-reported data inevitably introduced some common method bias. Originality/value Applying social information processing theory, this paper enriches the discourse on factors influencing employees’ boundary-spanning behaviors in construction projects. It also offers valuable insights for leaders in construction projects to manage their teams effectively.