The Connection Between Leadership Style and Thriving at Work: Exploring the Role of Stability as a Mediator and Bianzhi as a Moderator
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.70339/dsphn024Abstract
This study explores the relationship between leadership styles and thriving at work, with a focus on the mediating role of job stability and the moderating effect of bianzhi, a unique job security system in China. Grounded in situational leadership theory, the research examines how delegating, coaching, supporting, and directing leadership styles influence employees' thriving, characterized by vitality and learning. Using a correlational design, data were collected from 323 Chinese employees, including those with and without bianzhi. Results indicate that all four leadership styles positively relate to thriving at work, with job stability partially mediating this relationship. However, bianzhi did not significantly correlate with job stability, possibly due to recent policy changes and shifting perceptions of its benefits. The study highlights the importance of adaptive leadership and contextual factors like bianzhi in fostering employee well-being and productivity. Limitations and future research directions are discussed, emphasizing the need for longitudinal and multi-source data to further validate these findings.
References
Bazzoli, A., & Probst, T. M. (2023). Psychometric properties of the shortened and rescaled versions of the Job Security Index and Job Security Satisfaction scale. Applied Psychology, 72(2), 832–848. https://doi.org/10.1111/apps.12397
Cruz-Castro, L., & Sanz-Menéndez, L. (2010). Mobility versus job stability: Assessing tenure and productivity outcomes. Research Policy, 39(1), 27–38. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2009.11.008
Edin, M. (2003). Remaking the Communist Party-State: The Cadre Responsibility System at the Local Level in China. China: An International Journal, 1(1), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1353/chn.2005.0013
Greenhalgh, L., & Rosenblatt, Z. (1984). Job Insecurity: Toward Conceptual Clarity. The Academy of Management Review, 9(3), 438. https://doi.org/10.2307/258284
Guberina, T., & Min Wang, A. (2021). Entrepreneurial Leadership Impact on Job security and Psychological Well-being during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A conceptual review. International Journal of Innovation and Economic Development, 6(6), 7–18. https://doi.org/10.18775/ijied.1849-7551-7020.2015.66.2001
He, C., Feng, T., Xiong, J., & Wei, H. (2023). The relationship between negative workplace gossip and thriving among Chinese kindergarten teachers: The roles of psychological contract breach and bianzhi. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, 1198316. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1198316
He, C., & Wei, H. (2022). Negative workplace gossip and turnover intention among Chinese rural preschool teachers: The mediation of ego depletion and the moderation of bianzhi. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 1034203. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1034203
Hur, H. (2022). Job security matters: A systematic review and meta-analysis of the relationship between job security and work attitudes. Journal of Management & Organization, 28(5), 925–955. https://doi.org/10.1017/jmo.2019.3
Jang, S., Yoo, S., Lee, J., & Lee, Y. (2023). Serving for thriving: A moderated mediation analysis of the relationship between servant leadership and thriving at work. Personnel Review, 52(5), 1345–1361. https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-08-2021-0602
Jiang, L., & Lavaysse, L. M. (2018). Cognitive and Affective Job Insecurity: A Meta-Analysis and a Primary Study. Journal of Management, 44(6), 2307–2342. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206318773853
Porath, C., Spreitzer, G., Gibson, C., & Garnett, F. G. (2012). Thriving at work: Toward its measurement, construct validation and theoretical refinement. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 33(2), 250–275. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.756
Rabiul, M. K., Karatepe, O. M., Karim, R. A., & Panha, I. (2023). An investigation of the interrelationships of leadership styles, psychological safety, thriving at work, and work engagement in the hotel industry: A sequential mediation model. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 113, 103508. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2023.103508
Rai, A., Kim, M., & Pereira, V. (2024). How supportive and challenging behaviors of leaders promote employees’ thriving at work: An examination of underlying mechanisms. Journal of Business Research, 172, 114439. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2023.114439
Schmitt, A., Den Hartog, D. N., & Belschak, F. D. (2016). Transformational leadership and proactive work behavior: A moderated mediation model including work engagement and job strain. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 89(3), 588–610. https://doi.org/10.1111/joop.12143
Spreitzer, G., Sutcliffe, K., Dutton, J., Sonenshein, S., & Grant, A. M. (2005). A Socially Embedded Model of Thriving at Work. Organization Science, 16(5), 537–549. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.1050.0153
Wang, Z. (2021). The Elusive Pursuit of Incentive Systems: Research on the Cadre Management Regime in Post-Mao China. Journal of Chinese Political Science, 26(3), 573–592. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11366-021-09745-4
Wang, Z., Li, C., & Li, X. (2017). Resilience, Leadership and Work Engagement: The Mediating Role of Positive Affect. Social Indicators Research, 132(2), 699–708. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-016-1306-5
Xinhuanet.com. (2018, December 30). Authorized release of “The Civil Servant Law of the People’s Republic of China.” (受权发布)中华人民共和国公务员法. http://www.xinhuanet.com/politics/2018-12/30/c_1123927123.htm
Xinhuanet.com. (2019, August 15). The Chinese Communist Party Central Committee releases “Working Regulations on the Chinese Communist Party Institutional bianzhi.” 受权发布)中共中央印发《中国共产党机构编制工作条例》. http://www.xinhuanet.com/politics/2019-08/15/c_1124881047.htm
Yasin Ghadi, M., Fernando, M., & Caputi, P. (2013). Transformational leadership and work engagement: The mediating effect of meaning in work. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 34(6), 532–550. https://doi.org/10.1108/LODJ-10-2011-0110
Zhang, C., Zha, D., Yang, G., & Wang, F. (2022). The effect of differential leadership on employees’ thriving at work in China: A moderated mediating model. Chinese Management Studies, 16(1), 45–61. https://doi.org/10.1108/CMS-02-2020-0044
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Xinyi Zhang (Author)

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.