Authentic leadership, proactive goal regulation and help-seeking behavior: a multilevel moderated mediation

PurposeBased on self-regulation theory, this study aims to investigate the relationship between authentic leadership and help-seeking behavior, as well as the mediating effect of proactive goal regulation and the moderating effect of leader identification.Design/methodology/approachWe conducted a questionnaire survey on 489 employees from 94 teams and tested our research model through multi-level pathway analysis.FindingsThe analysis results suggest that (1) authentic leadership positively relates to employees’ proactive goal regulation; (2) employees’ proactive goal regulation positively relates to their autonomous (dependent) help-seeking behavior; (3) employees’ proactive goal regulation plays an intermediary role between authentic leadership and help-seeking behavior; (4) leader identification positively moderates the influence of authentic leadership on employees’ proactive goal regulation and (5) leader identification positively moderates the indirect relationship between authentic leadership and employees’ help-seeking behavior through employees’ proactive goal regulation.Practical implicationsBased on the findings of this study, organizations should foster authentic leadership in workplace to promote employees’ help-seeking behavior. In addition, managers should also attach importance to proactive goal regulation in promoting help-seeking behavior and leader identification in enhancing the positive influence of authentic leadership on employees’ proactive goal regulation.Originality/valueThis study finds that proactive goal regulation plays a key mediating role between authentic leadership and help-seeking behavior, and reveals the role of leader identification in reinforcing the positive impact of authentic leadership on help-seeking behavior.