The relationship between self-sacrificial leadership and employee creativity: multilevel mediating and moderating role of shared vision

Purpose Drawing on the social exchange theory, this study examines the impact of self-sacrificial leadership on employee creativity and explores the mediating role of employees' creative process engagement and shared vision, along with the multilevel moderating role of shared vision. Design/methodology/approach The data were collected from 78 R&D teams, and hierarchical linear model and bootstrapping analysis outlined by Hayes were used to test the hypotheses. Findings Self-sacrificial leadership exerted a significantly positive impact on employee creativity, employees' creative process engagement and shared vision, whereas employees' creative process engagement and shared vision mediated the relationship between self-sacrificial leadership and employee creativity, respectively. Moreover, shared vision significantly moderated the relationship between employees' creative process engagement and employee creativity, such that the higher the shared vision, the stronger the relationship between employees' creative process engagement and employee creativity. Practical implications Organizations and managers should provide leadership development training programs, such as leadership skills and abilities, to exhibit their self-sacrificing behaviors. Besides, while team leaders set an example for employees, in turn, spurring employees' creative process engagement, they should also elucidate the team/organization mission, amplify the publicity and employees' understanding of the mission. Originality/value This study advances the self-sacrificial leadership and creativity literature by establishing employees' creative process engagement and shared vision as crucial mediators and shared vision as boundary condition in the relationship between employees' creative process engagement and employee creativity, as well as stressing the theoretical research of leadership and creativity.