Although empowering leadership is generally considered to be a desirable leadership approach, its effectiveness has been questioned and the response is mixed. Integrating the “Too-Much-of-a-Good-Thing” effect and dual task processing, this study examines the relationship between empowering leadership and task performance. Specifically, we suggest a curvilinear relationship between empowering leadership and employee task performance. Further, applying a leadership contingency perspective, we propose that the curvilinear relationship between empowering leadership and employee task performance is moderated by employee learning orientation. Using survey data from 137 supervisor–subordinate dyads, our results show that the inverted U-shaped relationship between empowering leadership and employee task performance is moderated by employee learning orientation. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.