Supervisor’s positive humor and follower’s intrinsic motivation: roles of emotion and relationship quality

Kiho Jun and Joonghak Lee

Evidence-based HRM, 2025, vol. 14, issue 3, 556-571

Abstract: PurposeThe primary aim of this research is to examine the impact of leader humor on followers’ intrinsic motivation. The study addresses a gap in the existing literature by focusing on how leader humor affects intrinsic motivation within the workplace.Design/methodology/approachThis study utilized a survey of 346 employees from various business organizations. The research was guided by affective event theory and leader–member exchange theory to analyze how leader humor affects followers’ intrinsic motivation.FindingsThe results show that followers’ positive emotion mediates the link between leader humor and intrinsic motivation. Furthermore, the effect of positive emotion on motivation is stronger when the quality of the leader–member relationship is high.Originality/valueThis research introduces new insights by demonstrating the role of leader humor in boosting followers’ intrinsic motivation through positive emotions and quality leader–follower relationships, blending affective event and leader–member exchange theories.

Keywords: Leadership; Leader humor; Positive emotion; Intrinsic motivation; Leader–member exchange (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eme:ebhrmp:ebhrm-01-2025-0009

DOI: 10.1108/EBHRM-01-2025-0009

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