• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.67-88
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• 2023

Purpose - This study examined the effect of empowering leadership on adaptive performance and verified the mediating effect of job challenge in the relationship between empowering leadership and adaptive performance. Additionally, this study investigated the moderating effect of agentic and communal traits in the relationship between supervisor's empowering leadership and adaptive performance of subordinates. Design/methodology/approach - This study used data collected from 279 participants via an online platform. Multiple regression analysis, bootstrapping, hierarchical regression analysis, and simple slope test were used to analyze the data. Findings - First, supervisor's empowering leadership had a positive effect on adaptive performance. Second, job challenge was found to mediate the relationship between supervisor's empowering leadership and adaptive performance. Third, the agentic trait showed a moderating effect on strengthening the relationship between supervisor's empowering leadership and adaptive performance. However, communal trait did not show a moderating effect. Research implications or Originality - This study examined the moderating effect of agentic traits in the relationship between empowering leadership and adaptive performance, which has not been investigated before.