How Does Leader Self‐Sacrifice Lead to Subordinate Self‐Sacrifice? A Conformity Perspective

Bibliographic Data

ID19234331
AuthorsFeifan Yang (0000-0002-6599-2149, Business School Soochow University Suzhou China), Mengxi Yang (0000-0001-7082-2956, School of Economics and Management University of Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China, corresponding author), Yufei Liu (0000-0003-1423-6228, School of Business Administration Dongbei University of Finance and Economics Dalian China, corresponding author), Alexander Newman (0000-0003-1170-8947, Melbourne Business School The University of Melbourne Melbourne Australia), B Wang (0000-0002-7170-0835, Monash University), Bin Wang (0000-0002-8591-8528, Department of Management Monash University Melbourne Victoria Australia)
Year2026
Publication date2026-06-11
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Organizational Behavior (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0894-3796 • E-ISSN: 1099-1379
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/job.70102
OpenAlexW7164308421
LanguageEN
References cited74

Prior studies have typically viewed self‐sacrificing managers as “good leaders” who inspire their employees through such positive mechanisms as fostering identification with the leader and cultivating high‐quality leader–follower relationships that benefit both parties. Based on theories of conformity, we challenge the prevailing supportive view by arguing that leader self‐sacrifice (LSS) can increase subordinate self‐sacrifice through a pressure‐based mechanism. Specifically, using data from one experiment and two 3‐wave field studies, we found that LSS was positively related to subordinate self‐sacrificial pressure, which in turn prompted subordinate self‐sacrifice. Furthermore, we established that leader autonomy support mitigated these effects: When leaders provided greater autonomy support, their employees experienced lower levels of self‐sacrificial pressure induced by LSS. These findings reveal a previously overlooked, pressure‐driven mechanism through which LSS influences followers, and thus, even well‐intentioned leader behaviors can impose hidden psychological demands on subordinates

Autonomy · Conformity · Job Satisfaction and Organizational Behavior · Personality Traits and Psychology · Workplace Spirituality and Leadership

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