Can a leader's ethical leadership and abusive supervision be a gain? Workplace emotions as mediators

Purpose The main objectives of this study were to examine the congruent/incongruent effects of ethical leadership–abusive supervision (EL-AS) on employees' job performance (JP), mediated by employees' workplace emotions. Design/methodology/approach In this study, multiphase data were collected from 276 frontline employees at a large automobile manufacturing company in southwest China. The hypotheses were tested performing polynomial regression and response surface analysis. Findings The results revealed that employees in “high–high” and “high–low” EL-AS experienced more positive emotions (PE), while “low–high” EL-AS triggered more negative emotions. Furthermore, employees' workplace emotions mediate the effect of EL-AS's congruence/incongruence on employees' JP. Practical implications Leaders should notice the paradoxical effects of EL and AS and adopt ambidextrous thinking to enhance subordinates' PE. Originality/value This study enriches the literature on paradoxical leadership by exploring the complex consequences that may result from the incongruent practice of two leadership behaviors that are often considered paradoxical in nature. Furthermore, it shifts from the previous leader-centered perspective to a subordinate-centered perspective, complementing the theoretical perspectives of EL and AS research. And it deepens the understanding of the relationship between paradoxical leadership and employees' work outcomes by exploring the intrinsic affective mechanism.