In service contexts, leaders’ efforts to maintain and enhance employees’ service quality are vital to organizational performance. However, few studies have investigated the mechanisms underlying the relationship between transformational leadership (TFL) and employees’ service quality across levels. Based on the theory of planned behavior, this study investigated the multilevel impacts of TFL on employees’ service quality and the multilevel mechanisms mediating this relationship. Data were collected from 208 managers and 1,431 employees at 223 branches (chain restaurants) of a large catering corporation in southern China. The results showed that stronger TFL significantly improved employees’ service quality at both individual and branch level. Affective commitment and psychological empowerment partially mediated the relationship between individual-level TFL and employees’ service quality. Branch-level service climate fully mediated the relationship between branch-level TFL and employees’ service quality.

PurposeThis study examines the link between ethical leadership and innovative work behavior. Also, drawing on the substitute for leadership theory, this study investigates the role of a follower's proactive personality in the relationship between ethical leadership and innovative work behavior (IWB). Similarly, this study further explores the role of psychological safety in this relationship.Design/methodology/approachThe data for this study were collected from software development companies based in Islamabad, Pakistan. A total of 240 employees and their immediate supervisors were asked to participate in this study. Processes Macro and Amos were used to assess study hypotheses.FindingsUsing data from software companies in Pakistan, this study found that ethical leadership can be effective to enhance IWB in followers whose proactive personality is low, while this effect is limited in high proactive individuals. Furthermore, psychological safety mediates the main effect of ethical leadership on IWB as well as the interactive effect between ethical leadership and follower's proactive personality on IWB.Originality/valueThis study is among the first to investigate the moderating role of employees' proactive personality in the relationship between ethical leadership and followers' IWB. Secondly, draws on the substitute for leadership perspective, this study explains that how the role of ethical leadership can be less effective for high proactive individuals or how individual characteristics can substitute leadership behavior. Thirdly, this study deepens our understanding of the mechanisms linking ethical leadership to IWB by exploring the role of psychological safety as a mediator. Finally, our research is based on data collected from Pakistan might also add some new insights to the existing west-dominated literature.

A 2 time-point survey was used to examine the mediating mechanism and boundary conditions through which proactive personality affects graduate students' innovative behavior. Results revealed that a proactive personality positively affected the innovative behavior of the students; feedback seeking mediated the influence of proactive personality on innovative behavior, and academic self-efficacy moderated the relationship between proactive personality and innovative behavior through feedback seeking. Namely, when graduate students' academic self-efficacy is high, for those with a proactive personality there is a stronger positive influence on their innovative behavior through feedback seeking. When graduate students' academic self-efficacy is low, a proactive personality has a weaker positive impact on their innovative behavior through feedback seeking. In this study we have, therefore, established a new mediating mechanism and boundary conditions through which proactive personality influences innovative behavior and have expanded existing innovation theory. Finally, we proposed management recommendations for ways to enhance and increase graduate students' innovative behavior.

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