Servant leadership and nurses' deep acting: a moderated mediation model

Purpose In drawing on the conservation of resources theory and the broaden-and-build theory, the present research investigates the dynamic of social resources (i.e. servant leadership) and personal resources (i.e. psychological empowerment and positive affect) in the determination of the nurses' optimal performance (i.e. deep acting). Design/methodology/approach The research involved collecting three waves of data on 481 frontline nurses at a large hospital in Taiwan, each a month apart. The hypotheses were tested using PROCESS mediation and moderated mediation regression models. Findings The results supported the indirect relationship between servant leadership and deep acting through psychological empowerment as well as the moderating effect of positive affect on the mediation model. Originality/value The findings shed new light on the interplay of different resources and also provide practical implications for the development of frontline supervisors and nursing staff to be compatible with a serious orientation toward the quality of their professional functioning.