Do core self-evaluations mitigate or exacerbate the self-regulation depletion effect of leader injustice? The role of leader-contingent self-esteem

Abstract

This study investigates how an employee's core self-evaluation (CSE) affects their self-regulation depletion in response to leader injustice. To reconcile the conflicting predictions of CSE reported in the existing leadership and justice literature, we propose and test a self-esteem contingency model for CSE, drawing on the self-determination theory (SDT) account of the self-regulatory process. We hypothesize that when an employee's CSE is heavily contingent on the leader's approval and recognition (denoted as high-level leader-contingent self-esteem), CSE facilitates a controlled form of self-regulation in response to leader injustice, leading to self-regulation depletion. Conversely, when one's CSE is less contingent on the leader's approval (denoted as low-level leader-contingent self-esteem), self-regulation facilitated by CSE in the presence of leader injustice is less of controlled, reducing the likelihood of self-regulation depletion. Our results and implications from three studies consistently supported our main hypothesis regarding the three-way interaction of leader injustice, CSE and leader-contingent self-esteem, as well as highlighting the potential downside of a follower's self-esteem being overly reliant on their leader's treatment.