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Cited by 84Job Satisfaction and Organizational BehaviorNursing education and managementHealthcare Education and Workforce Issues

Humble leadership and innovative behaviour among Chinese nurses: the mediating role of work engagement

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Yang, Kejian, Zhou, Longzhi, Wang, Zhen, Lin, Chen, Luo, Zhengxue·2019·Journal of Nursing Management
DOI 10.1111/jonm.12879
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Abstract

AIM: This study aimed to investigate the effect of humble leadership on innovative behaviour among Chinese nurses and to examine the mediating role of work engagement in this relationship. BACKGROUND: Nurses' innovative behaviour and work engagement are critical to the quality of health care services. Although research has established that leadership is beneficial for individuals, teams and organisations, it's less clear whether humble leadership could promote innovative behaviour and work engagement among nurses. METHODS: The data were collected in China. A sample of 377 nurses completed measures of humble leadership, innovative behaviour and the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale. Structural equation model was adopted to verify the research hypotheses. RESULTS: Humble leadership was significantly and positively related to nurses' innovative behaviour and work engagement (p < .01). And work engagement partially mediated the association between humble leadership and innovative behaviour. CONCLUSION: Humble leaders are critical to enhancing nurses' innovative behaviour, and work engagement plays an intervening mechanism explaining how humble leaders promote innovative behaviour among nurses. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: Hospital managers should pay attention to improve head nurses' humble leadership, which could lead to a higher level of innovative behaviour and work engagement among nurse.

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  • Many studies did not control any positive leadership when studying the effect of humble leadership.

    “many studies (e.g., Yang et al., 2019; Nguyen et al., 2020) did not control any positive leadership (e.g., transformational leadership).”

    From Humble leadership and its outcomes: A meta-analysis (2022) · cites this paper as Yang et al., 2019

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Yang, K., Zhou, L., Wang, Z., Lin, C., & Luo, Z.
Affiliations
  • Air Force Medical University (CN)
  • Renmin University of China (CN)
  • Department of Cardiology Xijing HospitalFourth Military Medical University Xi'An China
Corresponding author
Luo, Zhengxue
ORCID
Venue
Journal of Nursing Management
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2019-10-18
Volume
27
Issue
8
Pages
1801-1808
ISSN
  • 0966-0429 (ISSN-L)
  • 1365-2834
DOI
10.1111/jonm.12879
OpenAlex
W2976986445
Cited by
84
References
1
Citations by year
2026: 6 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 18 · 2023: 17 · 2022: 14 · 2021: 15 · 2020: 5
FWCI
11.93
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Journal of Nursing Management (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • National Natural Science Foundation of China (71272145, 71971211)
  • Humanities and Social Science Fund of Ministry of Education of China (18YJC630192)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management › Job Satisfaction and Organizational Behavior
  • Health Sciences › Nursing › Research and Theory › Nursing education and management
  • Health Sciences › Nursing › Leadership and Management › Healthcare Education and Workforce Issues
Keywords
humble leadership, innovative behavior, work engagement, nurses, nurse managers, nursing management, mediation, Chinese nurses
MeSH terms
Work Engagement, Adult, Attitude of Health Personnel, China, Female, Humans, Leadership, Male, Nurses, Organizational Innovation, Surveys and Questionnaires, Workplace

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