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Inclusive leadership and employee job performance: mediation of leader-member exchange and organizational identification

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Background: Previous studies indicated that inclusive leadership is related to a series of positive working outcomes, but the internal acting mechanism remains unclear. This study used a three-month longitudinal design to investigate the acting mechanism of inclusive leadership on individual job performance by introducing leader-member exchange and organizational identification as mediators. Methods: The data were collected through self-reported questionnaires and a leader-rated survey of 206 employees of a car battery manufacturer in central China. Results: The results revealed that inclusive leadership is positively associated with job performance, leader-member exchange, and organizational identification. A hierarchical regression and bootstrap analysis indicated that organizational identification and leader-member exchange significantly mediated the relationship between inclusive leadership and job performance, and the structural equation model supported the results. Conclusions: The findings provide significant lessons for how organizations can gain a competitive advantage in terms of employee performance by fostering inclusive leadership, leader-member exchange, and organizational identification.

Source: Frontiers in Psychology

DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1615144

Authors: Shengnan Wang, Kai Feng, Hongyan Wang, Yongxin Li

Institutions: Henan University, Henan University of Animal Husbandry and Economy

Language: English

Topic: Job Satisfaction and Organizational Behavior

Subfield: Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management

Field: Business, Management and Accounting

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Decent work and economic growth

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,801