Participative leadership congruence and employee task performance: the intermediate roles of person-unit fit and unit-member exchange

PurposeParticipative leadership's influence on employee task performance has garnered significant attention in a rapidly evolving organizational landscape. This study explores the multilevel dynamics of participative leadership congruence between unit managers and direct supervisors and its effects on employee task performance.Design/methodology/approachDrawing on two longitudinal studies based on the firms randomly selected from the Taiwan Economic Journal (TEJ) database, the research observes the mediating role of Person-Unit fit and the moderating influence of Unit-Member Exchange in the participative leadership-performance relationship.FindingsThe findings reveal how participative leadership congruence enhances person-unit fit, which in turn benefits employee task performance. Unit-member exchange plays a critical role in augmenting the participative leadership congruence? Person-unit fit? Employee task performance relationship.Originality/valueThe study extends leadership literature by highlighting the significance of leadership alignment across levels and the interplay between psychological and social factors in improving employee performance.