The influence of leader humor on subordinate organizational citizenship behavior and creativity: the role of positive emotion and LMX

Purpose Leader humor scholars rarely included subordinate creativity and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) as outcome variables in their research. Drawing on the broaden-and-build theory and leader-member exchange (LMX), this study investigates whether and how leader humor expression influences subordinate OCB and creativity. Design/methodology/approach We employed a two-sample design, collecting data from working professionals in China and the USA to examine the mediating role of positive emotion in both cultural contexts. The moderating role of LMX and the moderated mediation model were tested in the USA. Findings The results show that subordinate positive affect mediated the relationship between supervisor’s humor expression, subordinate OCB, and creativity. In addition, LMX moderated the relationship that subordinate positive emotion had with subordinate two outcomes, such that LMX had stronger positive effects on follower outcomes when subordinate positive emotion was higher rather than lower. Originality/value This study contributes to a better understanding of leader humor, a complex psychological and contextual phenomenon. It helps practitioners better manage leader humor to improve subordinate OCB and creativity.