Humble leadership and career success: a moderated mediation analysis

Purpose This study aims to examine the impact of humble leadership on both objective (salary) and subjective (career satisfaction) measures of career success and to investigate the mediating role of innovative work behavior in this relationship. Furthermore, this study also explores the moderating role of affective commitment to the supervisor (ACS) in the relationship between humble leadership and innovative work behavior. Design/methodology/approach Sample for this study consisted of 220 employees who were selected from four food and beverage companies based in Pakistan. The research hypotheses were tested through multiple regression analyses, moderated regression analyses and the bootstrapping procedure. Findings Results showed that innovative work behavior fully mediated the effects of humble leadership on salary, while it partially mediated the effects of humble leadership on career satisfaction. In addition, it was found that ACS moderates the relationship between humble leadership and innovative work behavior such that the relationship is stronger when ACS is high. Finally, results revealed that ACS also moderates the indirect effect of humble leadership on salary and career satisfaction. Originality/value This is the first study, which has examined the effects of humble leadership on both objective and subjective measures of career success. In addition, by exploring the mediating role of innovative work behavior and moderating role of ACS, this research sheds light on how and when humble leadership is most effective in facilitating employees' career success.