领导向上比较感知对下属同事导向谦逊行为的影响机制研究

Leaders’ Upward Comparison Perception and Subordinates’ Colleague-Oriented Humble Behavior: The Underlying Mechanisms

摘要: 现有研究多聚焦于上下级二元关系视角，探究领导者为缩小与下属之间的差距所采取行为的内在机制。尽管这些研究为理解上下级之间的社会比较及互动机理提供了有价值的见解，但忽略了领导向上比较感知所产生的跨人际溢出效应，对领导向上比较感知如何作用于下属与团队其他同事的人际互动等关键问题尚未开展系统研究。基于此，本研究突破传统上下级二元视角，将研究重点拓展至团队成员互动视角，以保护动机理论为理论基础，系统探究领导向上比较感知与下属对其他同事谦逊行为之间的内在作用机制，重点检验下属潜在威胁感知的中介作用及下属影响力的调节效应。通过对335份三时点纵向追踪样本的分析发现：领导向上比较感知通过下属潜在威胁感知间接显著负向影响其对同事的谦逊行为；当下属影响力较高时，该间接效应被显著削弱。本研究揭示了领导向上比较感知跨人际溢出效应的内在机理与边界条件，丰富并推进了上下级之间社会比较领域的研究成果，为企业管理实践提供了重要启示。

Abstract: Existing studies have mostly focused on the dyadic superior‑subordinate perspective, exploring the underlying mechanisms of leaders’ behaviors aimed at narrowing the gap with their subordinates. Although these studies provide valuable insights into social comparison and interaction dynamics between supervisors and subordinates, they overlook the cross-interpersonal spillover effects of leaders’ upward comparison perception. Critical questions regarding how leaders’ upward comparison perception shapes subordinates’ interpersonal interactions with teammates, as well as the underlying mechanisms and boundary conditions, remain underexplored. To address this gap, the present study moves beyond the traditional superior‑subordinate dyadic lens and extends the research focus to the team member interaction perspective. Drawing on protection motivation theory, we conduct an in-depth investigation to examine the mechanism linking leaders’ upward comparison perception to subordinates’ humble behavior toward colleagues, with a particular emphasis on the mediating role of subordinates’ perceived potential threat and the moderating role of subordinate power. Based on a three-wave longitudinal sample of 335 responses, our findings reveal that leaders’ upward comparison perception has a significant negative indirect effect on subordinates’ humble behavior toward colleagues via perceived potential threat. Furthermore, when subordinate power is high, the negative indirect effect of leaders’ upward comparison perception on humble behavior via perceived potential threat is significantly attenuated. This study uncovers the underlying mechanism and boundary conditions of the cross-interpersonal spillover effect of leaders’ upward comparison perception, and thereby offers new theoretical insights into how leaders’ upward comparison perception shapes team interpersonal interaction, and provides important implications for organizational management practices.