Humility harmonized? Exploring whether and how leader and employee humility (in)congruence influences employee citizenship and deviance behaviors
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Negative affect mediates the link between supervisor-employee congruence in humility and employee OCB.
“Qin et al. (2019) found that negative affect mediates the links between supervisor-employee congruence in humility and employee OCB.”
From Humble leadership and its outcomes: A meta-analysis (2022) · cites this paper as Qin et al., 2019
Cites
Self-regulation and depletion of limited resources: Does self-control resemble a muscle?
Muraven, M., & Baumeister, R. F. (2000) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/0033-2909.126.2.247 · Cited by 4,510 · see citing works
Progress on a cognitive-motivational-relational theory of emotion
Lazarus, R. S. (1991) · American Psychologist · doi:10.1037/0003-066x.46.8.819 · Cited by 3,272 · see citing works
A Critical Review and Best‐Practice Recommendations for Control Variable Usage
Bernerth, J. B., & Aguinis, H. (2016) · Personnel Psychology · doi:10.1111/peps.12103 · Cited by 1,731 · see citing works
EDWARDS, J. R., & PARRY, M. E. (1993) · Academy of Management Journal · doi:10.2307/256822 · Cited by 1,534 · see citing works
Emotional distress regulation takes precedence over impulse control: If you feel bad, do it!
Tice, D. M., Bratslavsky, E., & Baumeister, R. F. (2001) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.80.1.53 · Cited by 1,361 · see citing works
Fox, J. (1991) · doi:10.4135/9781412985604 · Cited by 1,008 · see citing works
Expressed humility in organizations: Implications for performance, teams, and leadership
Owens, B. P., Johnson, M. D., & Mitchell, T. R. (2013) · Organization Science · doi:10.1287/orsc.1120.0795 · Cited by 927 · see citing works
Self-citationGiving in to Feel Good: The Place of Emotion Regulation in the Context of General Self-Control
Tice, D. M., & Bratslavsky, E. (2000) · Psychological Inquiry · doi:10.1207/s15327965pli1103_03 · Cited by 569 · see citing works
Recognizing and Utilizing Expertise in Work Groups: A Status Characteristics Perspective
Bunderson, J. S. (2003) · Administrative Science Quarterly · doi:10.2307/3556637 · Cited by 527 · see citing works
Chen, Z., Lam, W., & Zhong, J. A. (2007) · Journal of Applied Psychology · doi:10.1037/0021-9010.92.1.202 · Cited by 380 · see citing works
Please accept my sincerest apologies: examining follower reactions to leader apology
Basford, T. E., Offermann, L. R., & Behrend, T. S. (2014) · Journal of Business Ethics · doi:10.1007/s10551-012-1613-y · Cited by 133 · see citing works
Karakas, F., & Sarigollu, E. (2013) · Journal of Business Ethics · doi:10.1007/s10551-013-1691-5 · Cited by 97 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Humble leadership: A review and synthesis of leader expressed humility
Kelemen, T. K., Matthews, S. H., Matthews, M. J., & Henry, S. E. (2023) · Journal of Organizational Behavior · doi:10.1002/job.2608 · Cited by 203 · see citing works
Chandler, J. A., Johnson, N. E., Jordan, S. L., B, D. K., & Short, J. C. (2023) · The Leadership Quarterly · doi:10.1016/j.leaqua.2022.101660 · Cited by 105 · see citing works
Humble leadership and its outcomes: A meta-analysis
Luo, Y., Zhang, Z., Chen, Q., Zhang, K., Wang, Y., & Peng, J. (2022) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2022.980322 · Cited by 66 · see citing works
Leader humility and knowledge sharing intention: a serial mediation model
Nguyen, D. T. N., Teo, S. T. T., Halvorsen, B., & Staples, W. (2020) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2020.560704 · Cited by 44 · see citing works
Leader-Expressed Humility Predicting Team Psychological Safety: A Personality Dynamics Lens
Rego, A., Melo, A. I., Bluhm, D. J., Cunha, M. P. E., & dos Reis, D. R. (2020) · Journal of Business Ethics · doi:10.1007/s10551-020-04622-1 · Cited by 48 · see citing works
Qasim, M., & Laghari, A. A. (2025) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1559427 · Cited by 23 · see citing works
Ming, X., Bai, X., Fu, J., & Yang, J.-F. (2024) · Journal of Business Ethics · doi:10.1007/s10551-024-05709-9 · Cited by 22 · see citing works
“To avoid these issues, we parceled the items using the item-to-construct balance approach (Little et al., 2002), a common practice in the extant literature (e.g., Grant & Berry, 2011; Qin et al., 2021; Zheng et al., 2019).”
Guo, Q., Liu, W., Zhou, K., & Mao, J. (2020) · Leadership & Organization Development Journal · doi:10.1108/lodj-07-2019-0287 · Cited by 35 · see citing works
CEO Humility and Corporate Social Irresponsibility: Evidence Based on a New Unobtrusive Measure
Ou, A. Y., Lu, Q., Li, X., Chung, C., & Chen, G. (2024) · Organization Science · doi:10.1287/orsc.2022.17104 · Cited by 20 · see citing works
When and why proactive employees get promoted: A trait activation perspective
Zhang, Y., Wang, F., Cui, G., Qu, J., & Cheng, Y. (2022) · Current Psychology · doi:10.1007/s12144-022-04142-3 · Cited by 25 · see citing works
Cai, D., Cai, Y., Sun, Y., Ruibing, X., & Feng, B. (2020) · Applied Psychology · doi:10.1111/apps.12286 · Cited by 22 · see citing works
Leader workaholism and subordinates' psychological distress: The moderating role of justice climate
Dong, Y., & Li, Y. (2024) · Acta Psychologica · doi:10.1016/j.actpsy.2024.104288 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
Lan, J., Huo, Y., Wong, I. A., & Yuan, B. (2023) · International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management · doi:10.1108/ijchm-02-2022-0262 · Cited by 23 · see citing works
Bad time to be humble! When and why leaders should not be humble
Xu, J., Mao, J., & Zhang, Y. (2021) · Leadership & Organization Development Journal · doi:10.1108/lodj-06-2021-0254 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
Zhou, Q., & Chen, K. (2022) · Journal of Management & Organization · doi:10.1017/jmo.2022.41 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
Zhong, J., Ma, C., Chen, Z. X., Zhang, L., & Zhang, X. (2024) · Journal of Vocational Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.jvb.2024.104060 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
Liu, S., Mao, J., Li, N., & Yue, Z. (2025) · Journal of Management Studies · doi:10.1111/joms.13137 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
Hassan, S., Nasim, H., Shah, M., Ishaque, A., & Fiza, M. (2023) · Cogent Business & Management · doi:10.1080/23311975.2023.2249559 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
How Voicer Humility Influences Managerial Voice Endorsement: An Expectancy Violation Perspective
Duan, J., Wang, X., Lin, X., & Guo, Z. (2023) · British Journal of Management · doi:10.1111/1467-8551.12722 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Wu, Z., Chen, L., & Zhang, K. (2024) · Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies · doi:10.1177/15480518241290090 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Cheng, W., Wang, Z., Fang, R., Kayani, S., & Biasutti, M. (2023) · Sustainability · doi:10.3390/su15129297 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Tsai, C., & Qiao, K. (2023) · International Studies of Management and Organization · doi:10.1080/00208825.2023.2174924 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Wang, D., Ou, A. Y., & Song, L. J. (2021) · Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies · doi:10.1177/15480518211059924 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Ni, D., Liu, X., & Zheng, X. (2021) · Baltic Journal of Management · doi:10.1108/bjm-02-2021-0051 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Self-citationLeader–Follower Congruence in MD Propensity and UPB: A Polynomial Regression Analysis
Song, J., Yang, J., & He, C. (2021) · The Journal of Psychology · doi:10.1080/00223980.2021.1880359 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
“, 2012) and reducing the occurrence of unethical behaviors (Qin et al., 2019).”
BackgroundAnálise de Escalas e Medidas de Virtudes Morais: Uma Revisão Sistemática
Ames, M. C. F. D. C., Serafim, M. C., & Martins, F. F. (2022) · Revista de Administração Contemporânea · doi:10.1590/1982-7849rac2022190379.por · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Analysis of Scales and Measures of Moral Virtues: A Systematic Review
Ames, M. C. F. D. C., Serafim, M. C., & Martins, F. F. (2022) · Revista de Administração Contemporânea · doi:10.1590/1982-7849rac2022190379.en · Cited by 6 · see citing works
“…of moral virtues was observed in topics such as the relationships between buyer-seller (Donada, Mothe, Nogatchewsky, & Ribeiro, 2019); leader-led (Qin et al., 2019); managers-salespeople (Shanahan & Hopkins, 2019); the professionals’ character (Arthur et al., 2021); and responsible consumption…”
Chen, M., Zheng, X., & Wu, B. (2024) · Leadership & Organization Development Journal · doi:10.1108/lodj-06-2023-0332 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Self-citationBahmannia, S., B, D. K., van Knippenberg, D., & Lowe, K. B. (2023) · Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies · doi:10.1177/15480518231204675 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
“…of leader humility) on the relationship between leader humility and followers ’ OCB (e.g., Ding et al., 2020; Hadmar et al., 2022; Lin et al., 2019; Qin et al., 2021; Qiuyun et al., 2020; Tuan et al., 2021) and offering the richer picture of how the leader humility effect turns from positive…”
BackgroundInfluentialLuo, F., & Chen, L. (2024) · Current Psychology · doi:10.1007/s12144-024-06560-x · Cited by 6 · see citing works
“…that the polynomial effect, specifically the quadratic effect and interaction between leader and follower narcissism, predicts follower sense of psychological power above and beyond the respective baseline effect of each member’s narcissism (Parent-Rocheleau et al., 2020 ; Qin et al., 2019 ).”
InfluentialZhong, J., Wen, Q., Ma, C., Zhang, Y., & Zhang, L. (2024) · Journal of Happiness Studies · doi:10.1007/s10902-024-00780-5 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
“The practical contributions of this study are as follows: First, although an increasing number of studies and business practitioners are championing the benefits of employee humility (Qin et al., 2021; Zhong et al., 2020), our findings introduce a note of caution.”
The congruence effect of ethical values of leaders and followers on ethical climate
Azhar, S., Zhang, Z., & Simha, A. (2022) · Current Psychology · doi:10.1007/s12144-023-04920-7 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
“…by leader and followers reduce mutual conflicts (Dulebohn et al., 2012; Edwards & Cable, 2009; Meglino et al., 1989), tensions, and dissonance (Qin et al., 2021), increasing commitment (Marstand & Martin, 2019) and job satisfaction (Byza et al., 2017; Dulebohn et al., 2012) among the…”
InfluentialCommentary: letting measurement refine conceptualization
Owens, B. P. (2022) · The Journal of Positive Psychology · doi:10.1080/17439760.2022.2154700 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Self-citationCaniëls, M. C. J., HEIJDEN, B. I. J. M. V. D., & Curșeu, P. L. (2026) · European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology · doi:10.1080/1359432x.2026.2651213 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Wu, J., Zhang, L., Jin, T., & Hu, W. (2025) · Current Psychology · doi:10.1007/s12144-025-07510-x · Cited by 2 · see citing works
“This happy and balanced interaction is conducive to promoting the harmony of their relationship and thus bringing positive work results (Qin et al., 2021).”
McManus, J., Medvedev, O. N., van Zyl, L., & Weijers, D. (2024) · Current Psychology · doi:10.1007/s12144-024-05887-9 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Advancing our understanding of humble leadership in healthcare: a scoping review
Salehzadeh, R., & Ziaeian, M. (2024) · Leadership in health services · doi:10.1108/lhs-07-2023-0050 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Xiu, J., Zhang, Z., Fan, Y., & Zheng, J. (2022) · Frontiers in Public Health · doi:10.3389/fpubh.2022.863327 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
“A block variable that combined the five polynomial terms (X, Y, XY, X2, and Y2) was calculated based on their respective weights in the polynomial regression analysis (58).”
MethodSwider, B. W., Li, Y., Zhang, K.-L., & Wang, B. (2026) · Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes · doi:10.1016/j.obhdp.2026.104475 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
He, P., Anand, A., Jiang, C., & Zhou, H. (2026) · Knowledge Management Research & Practice · doi:10.1080/14778238.2026.2634401 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
“This study enriches the field research on person-supervisor fit (e.g., Astakhova, 2016; Byza et al., 2019; Kim & Kim, 2013; Qin et al., 2021; Seggewiss et al., 2019) by shedding light on the positive outcomes of mindful leadership when leaders and followers are well-matched.”
Sun, M., Liu, M., Guan, J., Zhu, F., & Zhang, Z. (2025) · Journal of Construction Engineering and Management · doi:10.1061/jcemd4.coeng-16525 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Humility breeds proactivity: the roles of task reflexivity and learning goal orientation
Wang, Y., Zhou, M., & Shi, J. (2025) · Nankai Business Review International · doi:10.1108/nbri-05-2023-0048 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Jufri, A., Tjahjono, H., Muafi, M., & Isfianadewi, D. (2025) · Intangible Capital · doi:10.3926/ic.3241 · Cited by 1
“Strengthening positive relationships in the workplace can encourage citizenship behavior and create a more harmonious work culture (Qin et al., 2020).”
InfluentialMei, W., Zhu, Y., Nong, M., & Wang, Y. (2025) · Baltic Journal of Management · doi:10.1108/bjm-07-2024-0341 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Varma, A., Hu, B., Wang, C. H., Budhwar, P. S., & Pereira, V. E. (2024) · The International Journal of Human Resource Management · doi:10.1080/09585192.2024.2389870 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
“Another way to make sure that expatriates are humble is through a mentoring program for expatriates to learn from humble leaders (Qin et al., 2021).”
Zhu, Y., Mei, W., Nong, M., & Wang, Y. (2024) · Chinese Management Studies · doi:10.1108/cms-04-2023-0159 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Zang, J., Li, H., & Chenyang, L. I. U. (2026) · Asia Pacific Journal of Management · doi:10.1007/s10490-026-10188-9
Do I feel elevated? Unraveling the emotional and value-based mechanisms behind humble leadership
Shao, J. (2026) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1847656
“Such behavior reflects a form of other-oriented leadership grounded in altruism (Argandona, 2015; Qin et al., 2021).”
From humble beginnings to a critical juncture: redirecting research on humble leadership
Lee, A., Lyubovnikova, J., Quaquebeke, N. V., Tian, A. W., & Adarves‐Yorno, I. (2026) · The Leadership Quarterly · doi:10.1016/j.leaqua.2026.101974
Zhu, Y., Lou, X., Wang, Y., & Yu, C. (2026) · Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal · doi:10.1007/s10672-026-09597-1
Zhao, R., Jia, J., Cai, Y., & Zhang, L. (2026) · Leadership & Organization Development Journal · doi:10.1108/lodj-08-2025-0698
Chen, Q., Liu, Z., & Shi, G. (2026) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-026-54395-2
“This inconsistency can lead to moral leadership behaviors that do not align with the moral personal qualities expected in their management practices 45 .”
Wu, W., Jin, M., Tao, S., & Xiao, M. (2026) · Personnel Review · doi:10.1108/pr-07-2024-0691
Yang, Y., Yang, N., Chen, H., & Wang, X.-H. F. (2026) · Leadership & Organization Development Journal · doi:10.1108/lodj-06-2025-0415
Song, J., & Yin, J. (2026) · European Management Journal · doi:10.1016/j.emj.2026.02.001
Ming, X., Liu, H., Yang, J., & Yuan, X. (2026) · Applied Psychology Health and Well-Being · doi:10.1111/aphw.70123
Shi, Y., Mao, J., Guo, L., & Zhang, G. (2025) · Journal of Managerial Psychology · doi:10.1108/jmp-03-2024-0199
Factor Structure and Reliability of A Servant Leader Humility Scale
Alsaiari, T. M. N., Panatik, S. A., & Ibrahim, A. B. (2022) · International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences · doi:10.6007/ijarbss/v12-i4/13025
“With some exceptions (e.g., Bharanitharan et al., 2021; Qin et al., 2021; Xu et al., 2022), humility is viewed as a positive influence and a desirable character trait in leaders.”
BackgroundChen, J., & Tian, Y. H. (2021) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.660987
Sultangazy, A., & Tilek, N. (2023) · Annals of Organizational Culture Leadership and External Engagement Journal · doi:10.51847/azropfuk6f · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Die Grenzen und Nachteile von Demut
Frank, F. (2021) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-662-62254-4_10 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Rethinking conscientiousness in supervisor-subordinate dynamics: impacts on employee thriving
Yu, B., Wu, L., Meng, Y., & Shen, Y. (2026) · Journal of Business Research · doi:10.1016/j.jbusres.2026.116513
- Authors
- Qin, X., Liu, X., Brown, J. A., Zheng, X., & Owens, B. P.
- Affiliations
- Sun Yat-sen University (CN)
- Renmin University of China (CN)
- Boston College (US)
- Tsinghua University (CN)
- Brigham Young University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Qin, Xin
- Venue
- Journal of Business Ethics
- Published
- 2019-08-08
- Volume
- 170
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 147-165
- ISSN
- 0167-4544 (ISSN-L)
- 1573-0697
- OpenAlex
- W2968097690
- Cited by
- 64
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 14 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 14 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 10 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 4
- FWCI
- 7.01
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Business Ethics (publishedVersion)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China (71872190, 71502179, 71771133, 71728005)
- Guangdong Province Higher Vocational Colleges & Schools Pearl River Scholar Funded Scheme (-)
- A Fulbright Scholarship, sponsored by the U.S. government (-)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management › Job Satisfaction and Organizational Behavior
- Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › Information Systems and Management › Ethics in Business and Education
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Forgiveness and Related Behaviors
- Keywords
- leader humility, organizational citizenship behavior, counterproductive work behavior, person-supervisor fit, balance theory, virtuous leadership
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
