How Mentoring Cultivates the Craftsman Spirit of Protégés—A Moderated Mediation Model

Abstract

The craftsman spirit of employees has a direct impact on the core competitiveness of enterprises. As a popular talent development program, can mentorship help cultivate the craftsman spirit of employees? The purpose of this paper is to reveal the positive effect of mentoring on protégé craftsman spirit, as well as its mechanism. Based on mentoring theory, we explored the intermediary role of protégé deliberate practice and investigated the relevant boundary condition. Using a three-stage questionnaire survey, we collected data from employees in Chinese enterprises. Finally, 370 questionnaires were effectively obtained. We utilized data analysis software such as Mplus and SPSS to test the hypotheses. The empirical results showed that mentoring has a significant positive effect on protégé craftsman spirit. Deliberate practice of protégés mediates the relationship between mentoring and protégé craftsman spirit. Mentor advice-seeking behavior can reinforce the positive effect of mentoring on protégé deliberate practice and strengthen the mediating effect of deliberate practice between mentoring and craftsman spirit. In conclusion, we provide a theoretical explanation for mentoring to cultivate the craftsman spirit of employees, as well as relevant management insights for talent management practices within enterprises.