How and when does humble leadership affect employee helping behavior: a perspective of cognitive–affective personality system theory

Purpose This study investigates how and when humble leadership influences employee helping behavior by drawing on cognitive–affective personality system (CAPS) theory. It explores both cognitive and affective pathways and examines the moderating role of self-serving attribution. Design/methodology/approach The research hypotheses were empirically tested using two-wave survey data collected from 480 employees in technology-based enterprises in China. Findings Results indicate that humble leadership influences helping behavior through two distinct pathways. It reduces helping behavior by enhancing employees’ sense of power, while promoting helping behavior by increasing relational energy. Self-serving attribution strengthens the effect of humble leadership on sense of power but weakens its effect on relational energy, although the moderated mediation effect through sense of power was not significant. Practical implications The findings provide actionable insights for leadership development. Organizations should recognize that humility may generate both constructive and constraining effects and adapt leadership practices to align with employees’ individual characteristics in order to foster helping behavior. Originality/value This study advances humble leadership research by applying CAPS theory to simultaneously capture cognitive and affective mechanisms, offering a more nuanced understanding of its effects. It also identifies self-serving attribution as a boundary condition, highlighting the importance of employee traits in leadership outcomes.