The Influence Of Humble Leadership On Innovative Work Behavior Of Knowledge Workers

With the continuous progress of scientific and technological innovation ability,enterprises are increasingly demanding knowledge workers to achieve self-development and actively carry out innovative work behavior.The original authoritarian leadership and paternalistic leadership limited workers to a high power atmosphere of obedience and awe,and limited workers’ feedback and independent innovation activities.In recent years,more and more attention has been paid to the study of "humble leadership" at home and abroad,either based on religious belief or cultural inheritance.In the era of science and technology driven innovation,Chinese management experts are also paying more and more attention to the study of "humility" localization.In combination with the humble concept of Chinese traditional culture,it is necessary to cultivate and develop humble leadership in the development of contemporary enterprises.This is the way of respecting the higher self-development aspirations and the characteristics of independent pursuit of high-value innovative work behavior of knowledge workers in order to improve the competitiveness and scientific and technological innovation ability of enterprises.Based on the theoretical and practical background,this study raises the following research questions:(1)Does humble leadership affect innovative work behavior of knowledge workers?(2)What is the process of the influence of humble leadership on innovative work behavior of knowledge workers?(3)What is the boundary condition of the influence of humble leadership on innovative work behavior of knowledge workers?In order to answer the above research questions,this study takes knowledge workers in Chinese enterprises as research objects.Specifically,on the basis of relevant theories and literature,this study explores the connotation and dimensions of core constructs and summarizes the logical relationship between constructs by selecting four enterprises with innovative development as the goal for case study.Based on motivation theory,social information processing theory and social identity theory,the theoretical model of "humble leadership-upward feedback/knowledge sharing-innovative work behavior of knowledge workers" is constructed,and the goal orientation is preset as the moderator in the theoretical model.Then,based on the theoretical model and literature research,this study puts forward research hypotheses.Through the pretest of small sample and survey of large sample questionnaire,599 effective questionnaires were finally obtained.SPSS 22.0 and Amos 22.0 statistical software were used to test the consistency,reliability,validity,confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation model of the collected effective data,and the results of the research hypothesis were obtained.A total of 14 research hypotheses were proposed in this study,all of which passed the hypothesis test.Based on the above process,this study discusses the relationship between variables and puts forward the final research conclusion.This study draws conclusions by using research methods of theoretical analysis,case study and empirical tests:(1)Humble leadership has a significant positive impact on the innovative work behavior of knowledge workers;(2)Humble leadership have a positive impact on the innovative work behavior of knowledge workers through upward feedback;(3)Humble leadership has a positive impact on the innovative work behavior of knowledge workers through explicit knowledge sharing;(4)Humble leadership has a positive impact on the innovative work behavior of knowledge workers through tacit knowledge sharing;(5)Goal orientation positively moderates the positive relationship between humble leadership and the innovative work behavior of knowledge workers;(6)Goal orientation positively moderates the positive relationship between humble leadership and the innovative work behavior of knowledge workers through upward feedback;(7)Goal orientation positively moderates the positive relationship between humble leadership and innovative work behavior of knowledge workers through explicit knowledge sharing;(8)Goal orientation positively moderates the positive relationship between humble leadership and innovative work behavior of knowledge workers through tacit knowledge sharing.In conclusion,this study reveals the impact mechanism of humble leadership on the innovative work behavior of knowledge workers.The research finds that humble leadership acts on the upward feedback,explicit knowledge sharing and implicit knowledge sharing of knowledge workers,and then acts on the innovative work behavior of knowledge workers.Goal orientation moderates the mediating effects of upward feedback,explicit knowledge sharing and implicit knowledge sharing between humble leadership and innovative work behavior of knowledge workers.This study has certain theoretical contributions and innovations.Through the construction of the theoretical model,the analysis and test of the empirical model,the research provides a new path and analytical thinking for the research on the impact of workers’ perceived humble leadership on innovative work behavior of knowledge workers,and puts forward the theoretical contribution of the research from the perspective of workers’ perceived leadership style and individual pursuit of innovative work.Theoretically,it extends the research on achievement pursuit and goal realization in motivation theory;It enriches the research of self motivation behavior in self-determination theory;It adds the research context of leaders and workers in social information processing theory;It deepens the research of the theory of intra group relations in the theory of social identity.This study achieves innovation in the following four aspects:(1)This study builds a theoretical research model of the impact of humble leadership on the innovative work behavior of knowledge workers through case study,which lays a foundation for revealing the impact of humble leadership on the innovative work behavior of knowledge workers,enriches the relevant research models of humble leadership,and expands the research scope of innovative work behavior of knowledge workers.The existing literature research lacks the supporting research process of case study.At the same time,the existing literature lacks the basis for building the theoretical model of this study.(2)This study found and verified the mediating effect mechanism between humble leadership and innovative work behavior of knowledge workers,revealed the "black box" of the influence of humble leadership on innovative work behavior of knowledge workers,and provided a new perspective for the relevant research of humble leadership.Upward feedback is influenced by leadership behavior.Feedback is generated based on the interaction of interpersonal relationships.Both sides of the interaction may benefit from feedback behavior.Research provides evidence for mutual benefit based on feedback behavior.In the interaction between humble leadership and knowledge workers,the pursuit of self-development and achievement of knowledge workers is not limited by the organization.Instead,with the support of humble leaders,knowledge sharing among workers is promoted,and group motivation is formed to achieve innovative work practices.(3)This study explored and verified the moderating effect mechanism of goal orientation,revealed the way of establishing relationship with humble leadership,and expanded the relevant research on individual innovative work behavior in enterprise organizations.The research provides evidence for the theoretical explanation of the moderated mediating effect of related variables.High goal orientation guides knowledge workers to feed back work plans related to innovative ideas and innovative working methods to leaders in order to obtain support from leaders for self-development,so as to obtain innovative resources.High goal orientation enables knowledge workers to focus their attention and energy on their active work behavior,so that they can optimize their original innovative thinking and innovative methods according to the new knowledge and new resources obtained from knowledge sharing,and carry out further innovative work behavior.(4)Through multi group analysis,this study found that the influence of humble leadership on innovative work behavior of knowledge workers was differentiated in terms of age and post groups,which deepened its practical significance for enterprise management.In the era of knowledge economy,innovation drives economic development,and young knowledge workers tend to adopt adaptive behavior to improve their innovation ability.Unlike other positions,knowledge workers in the enterprise’s technology R&D department are more likely to be recognized and supported by humble leadership.