Is subordinate’s loyalty a precondition of supervisor’s benevolent leadership? The moderating effects of supervisor’s altruistic personality and perceived organizational support.

Abstract

Based on Cheng`s differential leadership theory, we investigated the relationship between a subordinate`s loyalty to a supervisor (SLS) and the supervisor`s benevolent leadership in Chinese organizations. We also explored two moderators of this relationship, the supervisor`s altruistic personality and perceived organizational support (POS). Using survey research, we collected data from supervisor-subordinate dyads in Taiwan and made 167 valid observations. The results showed that SLS positively relates to the supervisor`s benevolent behaviours; however, this relationship is diminished by the supervisor`s altruistic personality and POS. That is, when the supervisor has a high level of altruistic personality or POS, the association of SLS with the supervisor`s benevolent leadership is weaker.