ORIGINAL RESEARCH

published: 10 November 2021

doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.755513

Distributed Leadership and New

Generation Employees’ Proactive
Behavior: Roles of Idiosyncratic
Deals and Meaningfulness of Work
Shuhui Xu 1, Haomin Zhang 1*, Yi Dai 1 ,2, Jun Ma 1 and Ledi Lyu 1

 School of Management, Shanghai University, Shanghai, China, 2 Business School, Shanghai Dianji University, Shanghai,
1

China

New generation employees have become the main force of the organization, and their
proactive behavior directly affects the organization’s future development. How to effectively
stimulate the proactive behavior of new generation employees has become a hot topic
in the field of organizational management. Based on the integrated perspective of social
exchange and self-enhancement, we constructed a multistep mediation model to explore
the influence mechanism of distributed leadership on the proactive behavior of new
Edited by: generation employees. We  designed a three-stage research method of supervisor-
Matteo Cristofaro,
University of Rome Tor Vergata, Italy employee pairing to collect data from 26 supervisors and 304 new generation employees
Reviewed by: in a new energy vehicle company in East China. Results indicated that (a) distributed
Joaquín Navajas Adán, leadership is positively related to proactive behavior of new generation employees; (b)
Centro de Investigaciones
Energéticas, Medioambientales y
idiosyncratic deals and meaningfulness of work mediated the linkage between distributed
Tecnológicas, Spain leadership and new generation employees’ proactive behavior; (c) idiosyncratic deals and
Ishtiaque Arif, meaningfulness of work play a multistep mediation role between distributed leadership
Putra Business School, Malaysia
and new generation employees’ proactive behavior. These findings have theoretical
*Correspondence:
Haomin Zhang implications for the proactive behavior literature and managerial implications for practitioners.
[email protected]
Keywords: distributed leadership, idiosyncratic deals, meaningfulness of work, proactive behavior, multistep
mediation
Specialty section:
This article was submitted to
Organizational Psychology,
a section of the journal INTRODUCTION
Frontiers in Psychology

Received: 09 August 2021 New generation employees born in the “post 1980s” and “post 1990s” have gradually become
Accepted: 11 October 2021 the backbone and protagonist of a company, and their proactive behavior directly affects the
Published: 10 November 2021 company’s future development (Fang et  al., 2019). In this vein, organizations enhance the
Citation: requirement of employees’ proactive behavior. Managers expect employees to break the work
Xu S, Zhang H, Dai Y, Ma J and limits, and independently identify, analyze, and solve problems, to help organizations resist
Lyu L (2021) Distributed Leadership external risks and maintain a competitive advantage (Riivari et  al., 2020). However, with the
and New Generation Employees’
economic development of society and changes in work methods, the traditional authoritative
Proactive Behavior: Roles of
Idiosyncratic Deals and
style of leadership can no longer adapt to the psychological characteristics of new generation
Meaningfulness of Work. employees, who use new work concepts, techniques, and social rules (Fang et  al., 2019).
Front. Psychol. 12:755513. Therefore, how to effectively managing new generation employees and fully inspiring their
doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.755513 proactive behavior has become a new challenge for the organization managers.

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Xu et al. Distributed Leadership and Proactive Behavior

Parker et  al. (2010) argue that proactive behavior refers to collecting scattered and professional knowledge, but also a
changes made by individuals, which needs organizational and means for further cultivating talent and tapping the potential
individual power and support. The motivation for new generation of organizations. Obviously, previous studies have neglected
employees’ proactive behavior largely depends on the leadership the mediating role of idiosyncratic deals between distributed
style of the leader (Fang et  al., 2019). Distributed leadership leadership and proactive behavior. According to social exchange
is based on the concept of “respect and empowerment” in theory, individuals will repay the value obtained from social
organizational management and it can adapt to the independent interaction by positive behaviors that are beneficial to the
needs of new generation employees. Distributed leadership counterparty. Therefore, in terms of the “can do” path, we propose
differs from other types of leadership where it emphasizes the path of “distributed leadership influences proactive behavior
leadership as a practice that focuses on influence and agency through idiosyncratic deals.”
through interpersonal interactions rather than formal roles, Second, according to self-enhancement theory, individuals
responsibilities, and actions, which has significant advantages generally have the demand for self-enhancement (Alicke and
in optimizing organizational decision-making (Quek et  al., Sedikides, 2009; Hepper et  al., 2010), that is, the psychological
2021). Distributed leadership means that leaders and employees motivation to construct and maintain positive self-intentions
can exchange roles according to the characteristics of tasks at (Kwang and Swann, 2010; Vecchione et  al., 2013). Generally,
different stages, and individuals with heterogeneous knowledge meaningful work can be  understood as a fundamental human
and skills could dynamically assume and replace leadership need, which all persons require to satisfy their inescapable
functions (Bolden, 2011). interests in freedom, autonomy, and dignity (Yeoman, 2014).
There are many studies regarding the results of distributed In reality, new generation employees have special pursuits for
leadership. In education research, scholars have found that meaningfulness of work tasks and positive self-recognition
distributed leadership positively affects teachers’ attitudes and (Mihelič and Aleksić, 2017). In this vein, distributed leadership
behaviors (e.g., teachers’ job satisfaction, self-efficacy, and stimulates intrinsic motivation by enhancing employees’ positive
organizational commitment; Sun and Xia, 2018; Liu and Werblow, awareness and affirmation of meaningfulness of work (Carton,
2019). In organizational management research, scholars have 2018), inducing them to engage in proactive behavior. Scholars
proven that distributed leadership has positive impacts on have explored the measurement methods of the meaningfulness
individuals, teams, and organizations (e.g., it promotes employees’ of work (Lysova et  al., 2019), dimensions (Steger et  al., 2012),
taking charge behavior, team performance, and organizational influencing factors (such as decent work and hope; Allan et al.,
change; Wang et al., 2014; Butler and Tregaskis, 2018; Canterino 2019a,b), and consequences (such as happiness, exhaustion,
et  al., 2020). Despite these encouraging findings (Crant, 2000; and engagement Martela and Pessi, 2018; Bailey et  al., 2019;
Den Hartog and Belschak, 2012; Lan et  al., 2020; Bohlmann Vogel et  al., 2020). Some scholars are concerned that the
and Zacher, 2021), a notable omission is the proactive behavior meaningfulness of work as a boundary condition affects the
of new generation employees. Therefore, the first goal of this impact of context on employee’ positive behavior (Sa’nchez-
research is to explore how distributed leadership can effectively Cardona et al., 2020; Sawhney et al., 2020). However, empirical
promote the proactive behavior of new generation employees. research on the role of meaningfulness of work as mediating
Parker et  al. (2010) pointed out that an individual mainly role between distributed leadership and new generation
considers two motivational states (“can do” and “reason to”) employees’ proactive behavior is very rare. Therefore, in terms
when deciding whether to implement proactive behavior. Based of the “reason to” motivational state, we  propose the path of
on the proactive behavior incentive model, the second goal “distributed leadership influences proactive behavior through
of this study was to analyze the influence mechanism of meaningfulness of work.” Furthermore, idiosyncratic deals are
distributed leadership on new generation employees’ proactive not only channels for exchanging important resources with
behavior. First, in the workplace, new generation employees employers, but may also create greater sense of value and
generally have needs for self-growth and development, which meaningfulness (Ding and Chang, 2020). Because social exchange
means they need a condition for interacting with leaders and is an established approach to studying idiosyncratic deals,
organization contexts. In this vein, idiosyncratic deals, as work we predict incremental effects of the self-enhancement approach:
agreements reached by employees and leaders through negotiation “distributed leadership influences proactive behavior through
(Huang and Chen, 2021), play an important role motivating idiosyncratic deals and meaningfulness of work.” The third
employees’ initiative (Hornung et  al., 2010). Idiosyncratic deals goal of this research is to test a multistep mediation model.
embody employee-oriented leadership behaviors (Hornung et al., We used empirical research methods to carry out research
2011), and are affected by social culture, organizational flexibility, work, and found that distributed leadership positively influenced
and active family support for employees’ work (Tang and new generation employees’ proactive behavior through
Hornung, 2015; Liao et  al., 2016; Tuan, 2016). In addition, idiosyncratic deals and meaningfulness of work. In summary,
idiosyncratic deals also affect employees’ attitudes and behaviors this research has made contributions in three aspects. First,
(Wang et  al., 2018; Ding and Chang, 2020; Kong et  al., 2020). we have contributed to the literature about distributed leadership
Liao et  al. (2016) proposed that leadership style affects the by studying the proactive behavior of new generation employees.
negotiation of idiosyncratic deals. In the context of distributed We  promoted the theoretical research of distributed leadership
leadership, each member plays an important and unique role in organizational management research. Second, we  conducted
(Torres, 2019). Distributed leadership is not only a tool for theoretical analysis and testing on the mediating roles of

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Xu et al. Distributed Leadership and Proactive Behavior

idiosyncratic deals and meaningfulness of work. We  provided open and self-organized leadership style increases the extra
insights into how managers can stimulate the proactive behavior work engagement of new generation employees, providing the
of new generation employees through the two paths of “can necessary prerequisites for their proactive behavior (Chiaburu
do” (sign agreements) and “reason to” (create and enhance et  al., 2014). Therefore, we  propose the following hypothesis:
meaningfulness). Third, we  explored the multistep mediation
role of idiosyncratic deals and meaningfulness of work between Hypothesis 1: Distributed leadership has a positive
distributed leadership and new generation employees’ proactive impact on new generation employees’ proactive behavior.
behavior through the integrated perspective of social exchange
and self-enhancement. Our research enriches and expands the
content of previous research on the proactive behavior incentive
model, and provides guidance for managers to promote the Distributed Leadership and Idiosyncratic
proactive behavior of new generation employees from the two Deals
paths of “can do” and “reason to.” Social interaction will bring individuals benefit and value,
enhancing their sense of identity, degree of attachment, and
willingness to maintain an autonomous relationship with the
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK AND counterparty of social interaction (Gouldner, 1960). When an
RESEARCH HYPOTHESES organization is willing to invest in the growth of employees,
employees will make corresponding efforts in return for the
Distributed Leadership and New organization. Idiosyncratic deals are non-standardized work
Generation Employees’ Proactive Behavior agreements reached by employees and organizations based on
According to social exchange theory, distributed leadership allows voluntary negotiation (e.g., development idiosyncratic deals and
new generation employees to assume leadership functions flexible idiosyncratic deals; Rousseau et  al., 2006), including
dynamically based on their heterogeneous knowledge and skills, special training opportunities, flexible work schedules,
which generates a basis for reciprocity for the organization and telecommuting opportunities, and tailored compensation
employees. This positive leadership style, in turn, promotes new packages. Previous research has shown that social exchange
generation employees’ proactive behavior. First, the “principle of theory can effectively explain the myth of idiosyncratic deals
reciprocity” in social exchange theory emphasizes that employees (Hornung et  al., 2010; Rosen et  al., 2013). In this study,
who are recognized and supported by the organization will have distributed leadership meets the social exchange norms of
a sense of reward, making positive behaviors to achieve bilateral leadership (leader and employees), interaction (mobility
organizational goals (Gouldner, 1960). Previous studies have shown to assume leadership responsibilities in a dynamic context),
that new generation employees prefer to actively undertake tasks and reciprocity (meeting the needs of leaders and employees).
rather than blindly accept a superior’s orders (Fang et  al., 2019). Therefore, we  expect to explain that distributed leadership can
This makes the role exchange of leaders and employees affect promote mutually beneficial idiosyncratic deals between leaders
new generation employees’ job satisfaction and positive work and employees from the perspective of social exchange theory,
attitudes (Liu et  al., 2013; Sun and Xia, 2018). Positive work and further induce new generation employees’ proactive behavior.
attitudes are conducive to promoting positive behaviors, and new Distributed leadership implies “actively brokering, facilitating,
generation employees will make an effort to burden proactive and supporting the leadership of others” (Harris, 2013). This
behavior, which can improve the organizational environment to research believes that distributed leadership is conducive to
repay the psychological benefits gained from the organization. the achievement of idiosyncratic deals. First, in a distributed
Furthermore, because new generation employees who advocate context, the leader provides resources (leadership) to employees,
freedom and equality prefer a relaxed, free, and active working and employees give back resources (professional knowledge and
atmosphere, distributed leadership emphasizing shared goals skills) to the leader. According to social exchange theory, this
and responsibilities will create an organizational atmosphere exchange relationship will evolve into trust, loyalty, and mutual
of trust, respect, and cooperation for members, enhancing new commitment over time (Cropanzano and Mitchell, 2005), and
generation employee’ perceived organizational support (Yang shape an open and trusting organizational culture (Heikka et al.,
and Yang, 2020). It is worth noting that perceived organizational 2013), which provides a basis for the relationship and culture
support is an important condition for stimulating employees’ for leaders and employees to equally negotiate idiosyncratic
proactive behavior (Parker et  al., 2006). According to social deals. Second, Johnson (2004) pointed out that distributed
exchange theory, new generation employees with a high sense leadership can be  regarded as an organizational resource, but
of organizational support will actively perform the “reciprocal a pure organizational perspective can easily fall into “new
obligation” and actively undertake proactive behavior to improve managerialism” and reduce organizational efficiency. It is also
the organizational environment (Liu et  al., 2013). Finally, new necessary to realize the organization’s daily operation from the
generation employees pursue self-direction and self-management, perspective of individuals (agents). Therefore, the interaction
emphasizing their value in career development. At the same between leaders and followers in the context of the situation
time, a distributed leader will focus on the value of each is crucial to the practice of distributed leadership. When leaders
member, and encourage members to use their knowledge and are supportive and considerate, employees are more likely to
skills to identify and deal with organizational problems. An successfully negotiate idiosyncratic deals regarding career

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Xu et al. Distributed Leadership and Proactive Behavior

development opportunities and scheduling flexibility (Hornung flexibility and controllability, reduce work pressure, and promote
et  al., 2011). Third, Woods (2004) pointed out that distributed employees’ proactive tendency and work participation.
leadership is democratic, and democratic leadership can use In summary, social exchange theory suggests that employees
individual potential to serve the organization. The new generation who obtain value and benefits from the organization will engage
of employees in a democratic atmosphere is more likely to in proactive behavior conducive to achieving organizational
believe that their ideas and suggestions will be  more easily goals. Thus, this study believes that distributed leadership has
accepted and adopted by the organization or the leader (Frese an impact on new generation employees’ proactive behavior
et  al., 1997). In other words, distributed leadership provides through idiosyncratic deals, proposing the following hypothesis:
space for the implementation of idiosyncratic deals. Finally, in
“distributed” practice, organizations and managers need to strive Hypothesis 3: Idiosyncratic deals will mediate the effect
to achieve higher efficiency, flexibility, and competitiveness of distributed leadership on new generation employees’
(Thorpe et al., 2011). Faced with the above pressure, Chernyak-Hai proactive behavior.
and Rabenu (2018) proposed that organizations should adapt
to the diversified labor force of the “new era” and introduce Distributed Leadership and
a unique human resource management approach that can Meaningfulness of Work
consider different employee preferences and abilities. Previous Previous studies have widely argued that the meaningfulness of
organizations have implemented idiosyncratic deals to adapt work includes “bipartite value” (subjectivity and objectivity;
to the individual situation of their employees (Rousseau et  al., Yeoman, 2014), and three dimensions (positive meaning at work,
2006). Thus, we  propose the following hypothesis: meaning creation at work, and strong friendly motivation; Steger
et  al., 2013). In this study, we  formally define “meaningfulness
Hypothesis 2: Distributed leadership has a positive of work” as employees’ beliefs that their work has at least one
impact on idiosyncratic deals. distinct purpose that they also consider personally significant.
Self-enhancement depicts that people generally have a tendency
Mediating Role of Idiosyncratic Deals to maximize their good experience and make positive evaluation
Idiosyncratic deals not only meet the personalized psychological of their experiences (Alicke and Sedikides, 2009), which not
needs of new generation employees (Hornung et  al., 2008), but only enhances individuals’ psychological benefits (Kurman, 2003),
also improve their precepted organization image and evaluation but also affects individuals’ self-conception (Hideg and Ferris,
(Ng and Feldman, 2010), and ultimately encourage them to 2014), attitudes, and emotions (Dufner et  al., 2019). According
undertake proactive behavior (Huo et  al., 2014). For example, to self-enhancement theory (Korman, 2012), an employee’s self-
in terms of psychological needs, idiosyncratic deals enhance enhancement motivation is most likely when he  or she is in a
employees’ competence, autonomy, and relationship satisfaction, work environment that provides both the opportunity and the
and promote employees’ proactive professional behaviors. For encouragement to attain goals that reflect positive self-feelings
the perception of organizational image and evaluation, idiosyncratic and individual effort. For new generation employees, distributed
deals can promote employees’ proactive behavior through perceived leadership is conducive to evaluating the importance and value
organizational support and organizational-based self-esteem (Liu of their work, enhancing their sense of meaningfulness of work.
et  al., 2013). Considering the autonomous work values of new First, new generation employees have a psychological need
generation employees, this study believes that the contextual for self-vale (Yang and Yang, 2020). Distributed leadership
characteristics of distributed leadership (bilateral, interactive, and behavior indirectly shows that the organization is confident
reciprocal) are conducive to the negotiation of idiosyncratic deals that the employee can apply his or her new skills/knowledge
between leaders and new generation employees, which in turn for the betterment of the organization. This kind of affirmation
stimulates new generation employees’ proactive behavior. and respect from the organization will make new generation
First, the organization signs idiosyncratic deals with a new employees believe that they are individuals with independent
generation employee, indicating that the organization respects meanings, increasing their meaningfulness of work. Second,
the subjective preference of the employee for work content, affected by the development of the internet and the Chinese
and accepts that the employee makes more efforts in the one-child policy, new generation employees often have a relatively
direction of their own identity (Strauss et  al., 2012). In other vague job role position after entering the workplace (Zhu and
words, this kind of work autonomy is conducive to promoting Warner, 2018). Distributed leadership helps employees establish
new generation employees’ proactive behavior for improving a clear career development direction. As new generation
themselves. Second, for an organization, idiosyncratic deals employees’ sense of work direction and purpose continues to
are low-cost incentives that can indirectly motivate employees be  clear, their subjective feelings and psychological experience
who advocate the organization’s vision (Owens and Hekman, of work will be  more positive, which indirectly promotes the
2012), and inspire employees to engage in positive behaviors improvement of meaningfulness of work. Finally, new generation
to improve the organizational environment. Finally, idiosyncratic employees yearn for a positive working relationship and gain
deals allow employees to reorganize and configure various work the trust and understanding of those around them (Xu et  al.,
tasks and resources, providing organizational support for 2020). In this vein, distributed leadership can establish an
employees’ proactive behavior. For example, Hornung et  al. atmosphere of trust between leaders and employees, encouraging
(2010) mentioned that idiosyncratic deals could improve work new generation employees to actively cooperate, communicate,

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Xu et al. Distributed Leadership and Proactive Behavior

and share with each other. This positive working relationship positive in evaluating their value in the desired characteristic
is more likely to increase new generation employees’ dimension (Cai et al., 2011). Organizational context and work
meaningfulness of work (Bailey et  al., 2019). Thus, we  propose forms are important exogenous factors affecting individuals’
the following hypothesis: self-enhancement (Ajzen, 2002; Korman, 2012). In this research,
we  believe that idiosyncratic deals, as a representation of a
Hypothesis 4: Distributed leadership has a positive new work form, positively impact the psychological perception
impact on meaningfulness of work. of new generation employees’ work significance.
Idiosyncratic deals can bring positive work results to organizations
Mediating Role of Meaningfulness of Work (Singh and Vidyarthi, 2018), enhancing the meaningfulness of
Self-enhancement theory suggests that when employees perceive work for new generation employees. First, flexibility idiosyncratic
themselves as important and of valuable positive signals from deals refer to special arrangements for work schedules (Hornung
the organization, they may become more engaged and motivated et  al., 2010), which provides a space for coordination of work-
to actively solve organizational problems (Liu et  al., 2013). As family related issues and reduces work-family conflicts (Hornung
a psychological experience of new generation employees, et  al., 2014). In other words, flexible idiosyncratic deals can meet
meaningfulness of work has a positive predictive effect on the needs of new generation employees for work-life balance,
their proactive behavior. First, individuals can better obtain and enhance their positive experience of meaning in life. Second,
resources from the environment to achieve their goals and as for the formation mechanism of meaningfulness of work, job
values when environmental attributes can better meet their design is an important influencing factor of meaningfulness of
psychological needs (Kristof-Brown et  al., 2005). Employees work, and optimized work design methods can create more rewards
who perceive positive psychological meanings from their work and meaning (Hornung et  al., 2019). Idiosyncratic deals, as a
will respond positively to the environment (Lam et  al., 2016). supplement and adjustment to traditional “top-down” and
Second, the meaningfulness of work and life is always inseparable, “bottom-up” work design methods (Grant and Parker, 2009;
and work is an important source of meaning in life (Steger Hornung et  al., 2010), are bound to affect individuals’ perception
et  al., 2013). To be  able to incorporate the meaningfulness of of meaningfulness of work. Finally, self-enhancement theory shows
work into our lives, we must become valuers, that is, cocreators that individuals with self-enhancement motives will always attract
of values and meanings. Previous studies have shown that group members that are friendly to them. In the workplace, being
work can help individuals deepen their understanding of kind to others often leads to positive working relationships, which
themselves and the world around them, promote their growth, may influence members’ meaningfulness of work (Bailey et  al.,
and provide psychological capital for changing the environment 2019). Therefore, idiosyncratic deals have an impact on
and themselves (Allan et  al., 2016). Finally, new generation meaningfulness of work for new generation employees.
employees have a strong and friendly motivation. They always Based on the above discussion, we  believe that there is a
try to achieve their greater value and make broader contributions multistep process “distributed leadership→ idiosyncratic deals-
to undertake positive behavior, such as introducing new working meaningfulness of work→ proactive behavior.” Therefore,
methods, improving work processes, actively seeking feedback, we  propose the following hypothesis:
and influencing organizational strategies (Furstenberg et al., 2020).
In summary, distributed leadership promotes new generation Hypothesis 6: Idiosyncratic deals will enhance new
employees’ proactive behavior by increasing their meaningfulness generation employees’ proactive behavior both directly
of work. On the one hand, distributed leadership is open and and indirectly through increased meaningfulness of work.
equal to each team member’s suggestions and ideas, which
prompts employees to believe that they are individuals with
independent meaning, thereby generating higher intrinsic MATERIALS AND METHODS
motivation and actively engaging in work (Tu et  al., 2020).
On the other hand, distributed leadership respects the value Sample and Procedure
and contribution of each team member. Employees will have The samples in this study were from the same one company.
a strong sense of identity and belonging when they are respected And the differences between units within the company were
in the work environment. In turn, new generation employees small. Therefore, we  obtained data through cluster sampling
will show repay for the organization in positive behavior. technique. To minimize the impact of common method variance
Therefore, we  propose the following hypothesis: (CMV) on the research conclusions (Podsakoff et  al., 2003),
this research designed a supervisor-employee paired
Hypothesis 5: Meaningfulness of work will mediate the questionnaire, using a three-point survey method to ensure
effect of distributed leadership on new generation that the research reached a scientific and reliable conclusion.
employees’ proactive behavior. At the same time, based on previous studies (Fida et al., 2018),
there is a 1-month interval between each data collection. Before
the formal survey, the research team negotiated with the research
A Multistep Mediation Model company to explain the research details. This survey was
Self-enhancement is a common need in individuals (Dufner anonymous, the research results were only used for scientific
et  al., 2019), which reflects that individual will be  more research, and we  promised to keep the information obtained

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Xu et al. Distributed Leadership and Proactive Behavior

in the research strictly confidential. Finally, we  two parties RESULTS

communicated the time for data collection. First, we  marked
the code for supervisors and new generation employees; then, Data Analysis
they filled out the paper questionnaire, and only those who According to the research of Naz et  al. (2021), PLS-SEM can
completed the previous survey could enter the next survey. be  used as an effective technique for evaluating models, while
Finally, the completed questionnaire was placed in a sealed avoiding the problems of data normality and sample size. Therefore,
envelope and collected by the staff. In the end, the sample of we used Smart PLS 3 to test the hypothesis. In addition, we also
this study included 304 new-generation employees and 26 used PLS algorithm and bootstrapping method to test internal
supervisors, and the effective recovery rates of the two were consistency reliability, path coefficients, and mediation effects.
87.61 and 83.33%, respectively. At time 1, new generation
employees filled out the basic information and distributed
leadership questionnaire; at time 2, new generation employees
Common Method Variance Test
We used the CMV test to avoid possible bias. First, we adopted
filled in the personalized work agreement and work meaning
the method of supervisor-employee pairing in the research
questionnaire; and at time 3, supervisors evaluated the proactive
design, and tracked the questionnaire data longitudinally at
behavior of new generation employees. Among the 304 new
three-time points. Second, we  conducted a confirmatory factor
generation employees, 65.37% were women, 58.05% were aged
analysis by applying the Harman single-factor test. The result
18–25  years, 55.12% had a college degree, and 68.29% had
shows that the variance contribution rate explained by the
worked less than 3years.
first principal component was 15.859%, which did not exceed
the standard 40%. Third, according to research design of
Measures Podsakoff et al. (2003), we further controlled for an unmeasured
To improve the accuracy of expression, based on existing latent “method” factor to confirm Harman’s single-factor test.
research (Brislin, 1970), each measurement item of key variables Finally, according to the research of Kock (2015), existing work
has been carefully modified in accordance with the translation attempts to estimate CMV by the variance inflation factor
and back-translation procedures. In this survey, new generation (VIF) calculated by the complete collinearity test. When the
employees assessed three variables (i.e., distributed leadership, VIF score is higher than 3.3, it means that the estimation
idiosyncratic deals, and meaningfulness of work), and supervisors model may be  accompanied by CMV problems. The results
assessed new generation employees’ proactive behavior. A five- of this study showed that the VIF scores of the four potential
point Likert scale was used for the four variables scales, ranging variables were all lower than 3.3, thus claimed that the data
from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). were not contaminated by the errors of CMV. As shown in
Distributed leadership was measured through a 20-item scale Table  1, the four-factor model provided a better model fit
(Hairon and Goh, 2015). A sample items is “My leader cares than any other competition model, indicating that CMV was
about the opinions of subordinates.” Cronbach’s α was 0.876. A within an acceptable range.
six-item scale was adapted to measure idiosyncratic deals (Hornung
et  al., 2008). A sample items is “The start and the end time
of work can be  adjusted flexibly.” Cronbach’s α was 0.857. The Confirmatory Factor Analysis
meaningfulness of work was measured with a five-item scale Table 1 shows the results of confirmatory factor analysis. Among
(Bunderson and Thompson, 2009). A sample items is “The work them, the four-factor model has the best model fit: χ2/df = 1.683;
I  do is important.” Cronbach’s α was 0.890. The supervisors GFI  =  0.846; RMSEA  =  0.058; RMR  =  0.044; CFI  =  0.937;
were required to evaluate the new generation employees’ proactive NNFI  =  0.928; TLI  =  0.928; IFI  =  0.938; and SRMR  =  0.048.
behavior through seven-item scale (Frese et  al., 1997). A sample Therefore, the four-factor model has a good discriminative validity,
item is “I actively solve problems.” Cronbach’s α was 0.929. which provides favorable support for further hypothesis testing.

Control Variables Descriptive Statistics and Correlations

Following previous studies (e.g., Fang et al., 2019), we controlled Table  2 presents all the variables’ descriptive statistics and
for demographic variables, such as participants’ gender, age, correlations. According to the previous research (Fornell and
education, and job tenure that may influence proactive behavior. Larcker, 1981; Naz et  al., 2020), all the square roots of AVE

TABLE 1 |  Analysis of confirmatory factors of competition model.

Model χ2/df GFI RMSEA RMR CFI TLI IFI SRMR

Four factors (DL. ID. MW. PB) 1.683 0.846 0.058 0.044 0.937 0.928 0.938 0.048
Three factors (DL + ID. MW. PB) 2.872 0.694 0.096 0.066 0.796 0.780 0.798 0.068
Two factors (DL + ID + MW. PB) 3.405 0.649 0.109 0.075 0.737 0.717 0.739 0.077
Single factor (DL + ID + MW + PB) 3.721 0.623 0.115 0.079 0.701 0.680 0.704 0.081

N = 304. “+” represents two factors merged into one. DL, distributed leadership; ID, idiosyncratic deals; MW, meaningfulness of work; and PB, proactive behavior.

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Xu et al. Distributed Leadership and Proactive Behavior

TABLE 2 |  Statistical table of mean, SD, and correlation coefficient.

Variable 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Gender
Age −0.043
Education 0.117* −0.009
Job tenure −0.079 0.604** −0.305**
DL −0.032 −0.015 0.009 −0.041 0.732
DI −0.083 −0.023 0.025 −0.030 0.658** 0.715
MW −0.075 0.131* −0.061 0.073 0.615** 0.589** 0.812
PB −0.059 0.086 0.061 −0.002 0.710** 0.612** 0.681** 0.739
M 1.652 2.529 3.333 2.147 3.517 3.334 3.493 3.627
SD 0.478 0.827 0.678 1.382 0.721 0.737 0.853 0.687

N = 304. The diagonally bolded number is the square root value of AVE. DL, distributed leadership; ID, idiosyncratic deals; MW, meaningfulness of work; and PB, proactive behavior.
*p<0.05; **p<0.01 (two-sided detection).

TABLE 3 |  Results of hierarchical regression model.

DI MW PB

Model 1 Model 2 Model 3 Model 4 Model 5 Model 6 Model 7 Model 8 Model 9

Constant 3.508** 1.066** 3.615** 0.961* 3.424** 0.968** 0.715* 0.666* 0.560*
Gender −0.136 −0.100 −0.115 −0.075 −0.093 −0.057 −0.033 −0.033 −0.023
Age −0.014 −0.024 0.161 0.150 0.103 0.093 0.098 0.046 0.054
Education 0.032 0.034 −0.083 −0.081 0.050 0.053 0.045 0.078 0.071
Tenure −0.010 0.010 −0.029 −0.008 −0.033 −0.014 −0.016 −0.011 −0.013
DL 0.671** 0.729** 0.674** 0.515** 0.445** 0.383**
DI 0.237** 0.131*
MW 0.314** 0.279**
R2 0.009 0.438 0.026 0.404 0.018 0.518 0.554 0.609 0.619
Adjust R2 −0.011 0.424 0.006 0.389 −0.002 0.506 0.541 0.597 0.605
F value 0.446 30.868** 1.316 26.846** 0.892 42.516** 40.814** 51.045** 45.400**

N = 304. DL, distributed leadership; ID, idiosyncratic deals; MW, meaningfulness of work; and PB, proactive behavior.
*p<0.05; **p<0.01 (two-sided detection).

for the constructs are bigger than the off-diagonal elements employees’ gender, age, and job tenure, thus supporting hypothesis
or coefficients in the relative columns, hence, confirming an 2 and hypothesis 4.
indication of discriminant validity. The results in Table 2 proved Hypothesis 3 and hypothesis 5 suggested that idiosyncratic
the satisfactory discriminant validity. As predicted distributed deals and meaningfulness of work will mediate the influence
leadership is significantly correlated with idiosyncratic deals of distributed leadership on new generation employees’ proactive
(r  =  0.658, p  <  0.01), meaningfulness of work (r  =  0.615, behavior. As shown in Table 3, the positive effect of distributed
p  <  0.01), and proactive behavior and proactive behavior leadership on proactive behavior has been weakened, but it
(r  =  0.710, p  <  0.01). Concerning control variables, distributed is still significant after adding idiosyncratic deals (Model 7:
leadership was correlated with education. Otherwise, idiosyncratic β  =  0.237, p  <  0.01). Similarly, the positive effect of distributed
deals and meaningfulness of work were correlated with job tenure. leadership on proactive behavior has been weakened, but it
is still significant after adding meaningfulness of work (Model 8:
Hypotheses Testing β  =  0.314, p  <  0.01). hypothesis 3 and hypothesis 5
To test our hypotheses, we used a hierarchical regression model received support.
in MPLUS 7.8. As shown in Table  3, distributed leadership Following the Hayes PROCESS macro (Hayes, 2017),
positively correlated with new generation employees’ proactive we  applied bootstrapping (bootstrap sample size  =  10,000) to
behavior (Model 6: β  =  0.674, p  <  0.01) after controlling for obtain the bias-corrected CI to establish the significance of
participants’ gender, age, education, and job tenure, thus the mediation. Bootstrap results are shown in Table  4. The
supporting hypothesis 1. indirect effect of idiosyncratic deals is significant (B  =  0.088,
As displayed in Table  3, we  determined that distributed CI  =  [0.117, 0.162]), and the indirect effect of meaningfulness
leadership had a positive direct relationship with idiosyncratic of work is significant (B  =  0.132, CI  =  [0.080, 0.275]). Finally,
deals (Model 2: β  =  0.671, p  <  0.01) and meaningfulness of the effect of distributed leadership on new generation employees’
work (Model 4: β  =  −0.729, p  <  0.01), after controlling for proactive behavior mediated by idiosyncratic deals and

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Xu et al. Distributed Leadership and Proactive Behavior

TABLE 4 |  Analysis results of multi-chain mediation.

Path Direct effect Indirect effect

Effect size 95% CI Effect size 95% CI

LL UP LL UP

Path 1: DL→DI→PB 0.383** 0.265 0.502 0.088** 0.117 0.162

Path 2: DL→MW→PB 0.132** 0.080 0.275
Path 3: DL→DI→MW→PB 0.071** 0.047 0.177

DL, distributed leadership; ID, idiosyncratic deals; MW, meaningfulness of work; PB, proactive behavior; LL, lower level; UL, upper level; and CL, confidence interval.
*p<0.05; **p<0.01 (two-sided detection).

TABLE 5 |  Comparative analysis of competitive models.

Model χ2/df RMSEA RMR GFI CFI NFI IFI AIC BIC

M1 1.943 0.079 0.021 0.977 0.966 0.965 0.971 60.000 60.120

M2 6.921 0.435 0.068 0.920 0.878 0.878 0.879 96.921 97.030
M3 4.765 0.357 0.430 0.943 0.918 0.917 0.918 85.765 85.874
M4 5.425 0.638 0.148 0.856 0.738 0.738 0.739 99.425 99.534
M5 5.398 0.248 0.026 0.971 0.960 0.960 0.961 70.398 70.506
M6 3.178 0.273 0.026 0.965 0.952 0.952 0.952 81.178 81.287
M7 5.883 0.244 0.039 0.971 0.962 0.961 0.962 68.883 68.991

meaningfulness of work is significant (B  =  0.071, CI  =  [0.047, exchange theory and self-enhancement theory. The empirical
0.177]), hypothesis 6 received support. results showed that distributed leadership was positively related
to new generation employees’ proactive behavior, which was
Competitive Models Analysis mediated by idiosyncratic deals, meaningfulness of work, and
This study used a competitive model strategy to verify further their multistep mediation. First, distributed leadership had a
verify the adaptability of the research data and the theoretical positive impact on employee behavior, which was consistent
model, and six competitive models were obtained, of which with the research of Canterino et  al. (2020). Moreover,
M1 is the initial theoretical model of this research. As shown we focused our research samples on new generation employees.
in Table  5, the initial model M1 has the highest model fit. Fang et  al. (2019) explored the impact of inclusive leadership
First, the load values of each factor in M1 were all >0.6 and on new generation employees’ innovative behavior, but they
<0.9, reaching a significant level (p  <  0.01). Second, x2/ did not pay enough attention to distributed leadership. To
df = 1.943 < 3, RMSEA = 0.079 < 0.1, and RMR = 0.021 < 0.05, a certain extent, we  provided a supplement to the previous
indicating that M1 fits well. Third, GFI  =  0.977, CFI  =  0.966, conclusions. Second, previous studies focused on the impact
NFI = 0.965, and IFI = 0.971, all >0.9; review index, AIC = 60.000, of idiosyncratic deals on employees’ attitudes and behaviors
and BIC  =  60.120, which is smaller than the corresponding (Liao et  al., 2017; Singh and Vidyarthi, 2018), while ignoring
value of any other competition model. Overall, all the hypotheses the effect of idiosyncratic deals in the relationship between
of this study have been supported. leadership styles and new generation employees’ behavior.
PLS-SEM can better handle measurement errors and provide We  provided fresh inspiration for research literature related
a more accurate evaluation of intermediary relationships. In to idiosyncratic deals. Third, meaningfulness of work was
addition, PLS path analysis enables itself to fully meet the one of the psychological paths that the distributed leadership
needs of application solutions, and it is relatively more style effected new generation employees’ proactive behavior.
advantageous to use in complex research (Naz et  al., 2020). This conclusion was basically consistent with Liu et al. (2013).
We  used the software Smart PLS 3 to draw Figure  1. As Recently, some scholars have paid attention to the modular
shown in Figure  1, we  drew a path diagram of the multistep meaning and mediating role of meaningfulness of work
mediation model. (Landells and Albrecht, 2019; Schnell and Hoffmann, 2020).
However, they did not discuss the role of meaningfulness of
work between leadership style and employee proactive behavior.
DISCUSSION In fact, new generation employees could effectively recognize
their unique value through voluntary, equal and reciprocal
We developed a multistep mediation model to examine how work agreements, and then enhance the meaningfulness in
distributed leadership influences new generation employees’ their work. Finally, idiosyncratic deals and meaningfulness
proactive behavior through the integrated perspective of social of work played a multistep mediation role between distributed

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Xu et al. Distributed Leadership and Proactive Behavior

FIGURE 1 |  Diagram of the path coefficients of the multistep mediation model. N = New generation employees; S = Supervisor. T1 = Time 1; T2 = Time 2; and
T3 = Time 3. *p < 0.05; **p < 0.01 (two-sided detection).

leadership and new generation employees’ proactive behavior. the mediation of idiosyncratic deals. Previous studies have
This conclusion extends the research of Hornung et al. (2011). confirmed the impact of idiosyncratic deals on employees’
And it supports the view that signing idiosyncratic deals attitudes and behaviors from the perspective of social exchange
between leaders and employees would not only help (Liao et  al., 2017; Singh and Vidyarthi, 2018; Wang et  al.,
organizational members improve their own behavior, but 2019). In terms of behavior, scholars are mainly concerned
also  help employees build positive self-concepts as with voice behavior (Ng and Feldman, 2015), organizational
independent individuals. citizenship behavior (Huo et  al., 2014), and creativity (Wang
et  al., 2018). Empirical analysis of the proactive behavior of
Theoretical Implications new generation employees is not sufficient. In addition, a few
This study provides several theoretical contributions. First, our scholars have examined the mediation of job characteristics,
findings point to the positive effect of distributed leadership social exchange, and self-improvement between idiosyncratic
in predicting new generation employees’ proactive behavior. deals and proactive behavior (Hornung et  al., 2010; Liu et  al.,
Previous studies regarding distributed leadership mainly focus 2013). However, they have ignored the transmission effect of
on education management (Liu et  al., 2021; Or and Berkovich, idiosyncratic deals between distributed leadership and new
2021). Gradually, it is being favored by scholars in the field generation employees’ proactive behaviors. This research enriched
of organization management (Lumby, 2013), with a positive and expanded the literature on the relationship between
impact on individuals’ proactive behavior (Butler and Tregaskis, distributed leadership and new generation employees’ proactive
2018; Amels et al., 2020; Canterino et al., 2020), team behavior behavior by adding a substantial intermediary variable.
(Mehra et  al., 2006; Wang et  al., 2014), and organization Third, this research responded to the viewpoint of Hornung
performance (Liu and Werblow, 2019). Furthermore, previous et  al. (2019) which based on the “micro-emancipatory” actions
studies have mostly explored the influence of servant leadership employees engage in, “bottom-up” processes create more
(Song et  al., 2021) and authentic leadership (Hu et  al., 2018) rewarding and meaningful work experiences. It further confirmed
on employees’ proactive behavior. The empirical research on the conclusion that idiosyncratic deals were always related to
the influence of distributed leadership on employees’ behavior a positive work experience (e.g., meaningfulness of work).
is very insufficient. It is worth noting that Fang et  al. (2020) Previous research mainly used intermediary mechanisms, such
discussed the influence of leadership style on the behavior of as organizational-based self-esteem (Wu et  al., 2019),
the new generation of employees, he  focused on the negative psychological capital (Hu et  al., 2018), and autonomous
behavior (resignation behavior) of new generation employees, psychological needs (Chen et al., 2021) to study the intermediary
not positive behavior (proactive behavior). Our research has mechanism of leadership or organizational context on employee
found the antecedents of the new generation of employees’ behavior. However, from the perspective of self-enhancement,
proactive behavior (distributed leadership) from the leadership this research provided a new idea for explaining the proactive
style, and provided a new perspective for inspiring the new behavior of new generation employees. Distributed leadership
generation of employees’ proactive behavior. stimulates the intrinsic motivation of new generation employees
Second, we  explored how distributed leadership influenced by exchanging leadership with new generation employees,
the proactive behavior of new generation employees from the enhances their self-worth and sense of work meaning, and
perspective of social exchange, which helped us better understand then promotes their proactive behavior. This discovery not

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Xu et al. Distributed Leadership and Proactive Behavior

only opened the black box of the new generation of employees’ culture, working environment, and benefits related to decent
proactive behavior from the perspective of employee psychological work. At the same time, the organization should adjust and
experience, but also cleverly responded to emphasis of Parker improve the internal work design, give employees the necessary
et  al. (2010) on the “reason to” and “can do” of the proactive work autonomy, and appropriately enhance the challenges brought
behavior motivation model. about by work tasks, which can effectively enhance the sense
of accomplishment of employees, and cultivate and intervene
in the meaningfulness of work for new generation employees.
Practical Implications
Our study advances the idea that it is important to practice
distributed leadership to enhance new generation employees’ Limitations and Future Research
idiosyncratic deals, meaningfulness of work, and proactive Directions
behavior. First, our research clearly illustrates the influence of Although our research has certain theoretical contributions
distributed leadership on the proactive behavior of new generation and practical implications, there are some associated limitations
employees. Therefore, organizations should focus on cultivating that might be  addressed by future research.
distributed leadership and exerting the effectiveness of this First, this research relied only on one Chinese new energy
leadership style in management practice. For organizational vehicle company, which may reduce the external validity of
managers, the direction of leadership distribution should research conclusions. Although data support all research
be carefully analyzed. Especially in the period of organizational hypotheses, this research model may not be applicable to other
change, managers can use distributed leadership as a strategic countries’ organizations. In the future, we  should add research
choice, which can help overcome the shortcomings of the samples from Western countries with cultural differences and
pyramidal leadership structure, and better tap and release the perform a cross-cultural study to make the research conclusions
management potential of their subordinates. At the same time, universal worldwide.
managers should also create an organizational atmosphere of Second, this research only explored the multistep mechanism
openness, trust, and cooperation, and explore democratic and and no moderating roles were considered, which obviously
equal participation and decision-making mechanisms, such as ignored the influence of contextual factors. Employees’ responses
brainstorming and discussion methods. Therefore, organizations to distributed leadership may vary significantly when they work
should cultivate and value the positive effects of distributed in different social culture and organizational culture. Future
leadership internally. research needs to examine the impact of social and cultural
Second, idiosyncratic deals directly or indirectly affected boundary conditions on distributed leadership and new
the relationship between distributed leadership and new generation employees’ proactive behavior.
generation employees’ proactive behavior. In other words, Third, there may be many specific forms of proactive behaviors
organizations should reasonably use the advantages of in the workplace. This research did not focus on one specific
idiosyncratic deals in attracting, retaining, and motivating talent. proactive behavior, such as proactive change behaviors, proactive
For new generation employees, they had a psychological need innovation behaviors, and helping behaviors. Future researches
for autonomy and respect. Managers could use idiosyncratic might specifically examine how distributed leadership affects
deals to promote and improve the resolution of complex other certain forms of new generation employees’ proactive
problems, such as arranging personalized career development contribution, which could effectively deepen the conclusions
training for new generation employees, or regularly renegotiating of this research.
work benefits with new generation employees. In addition,
new generation employees pay attention to the cultivation of
personal interests and work-life balance, and managers could CONCLUSION
allow new generation of employees to work remotely through
negotiation. In particular, it was necessary to give play to the The motivation for new generation employees’ proactive behavior
role of distributed management in promoting idiosyncratic largely depends on the leadership style of the leader. This
deals, thereby enhancing the proactive behavior of new study provides new insight into the relationship between
generation employees. distributed leadership and the proactive behavior of new
Third, distributed leadership influenced the proactive behavior generation employees and helps us better understand the impact
of new generation employees through the meaningfulness of of distributed leadership on proactive behavior. First, based
work. Organizations should pay attention to this discovery, on the integrated perspective of social exchange and self-
encourage leaders and employees to exchange roles, assume part enhancement, we constructed a multistep mediation theoretical
of the power and responsibilities within the team, and scientifically model to explore the influence mechanism of distributed
and reasonably play the role of distributed leadership in enhancing leadership on the proactive behavior of new generation employees.
the significance of new generation employees. New generation In China’s organizational context, we  find that distributed
employees have the basic needs of pursuing the meaning of leadership has a positive effect on proactive behavior of new
work. They can enhance their sense of work meaning by gaining generation employees. Second, idiosyncratic deals play a positive
freedom, autonomy, and dignity in the organization. Therefore, role in the relationship between distributed leadership and
organizations should provide employees with organizational proactive behavior of new generation employees. This finding

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Xu et al. Distributed Leadership and Proactive Behavior

further deepens our understanding of the “can do” path between for this study in accordance with the national legislation and
distributed leadership and proactive behavior of new generation the institutional requirements.
employees. Third, in addition to “can do” path, meaningfulness
of work lies in integrating the cognitive and evaluation aspects
and plays a positive role in the relationship between distributed AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS
leadership and proactive behavior of new generation employees.
This finding further deepens our understanding of the “reason SX and HZ designed the study and wrote the paper. YD
to” path between distributed leadership and proactive behavior collected the data and wrote the paper. LL analyzed the data.
of new generation employees. SX and JM revised and edited the manuscript. All authors
contributed to the article and approved the submitted version.

DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT

FUNDING
The raw data supporting the conclusions of this article will
be  made available by the authors, without undue reservation. This study was supported by National Natural Science Foundation
of China (grant no. 71872111) and Humanities and Social
Science Research Planning Fund Project of the Ministry of
ETHICS STATEMENT Education (grant no. 16YJA630036).

The studies involving human participants were reviewed and

approved by The studies involving human participants were ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
reviewed and approved by the Ethics Committee of Shanghai
University. All participants provided active informed consent. We would like to appreciate Nianqi Deng, who provided good
Written informed consent for participation was not required comments and revision suggestions of the article.

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Song, Y., Tian, Q.-T., and Kwan, H. K. (2021). Servant leadership and employee the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be  construed
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jmp-02-2020-0077
Steger, M. F., Dik, B. J., and Duffy, R. D. (2012). Measuring meaningful work: Publisher’s Note: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the
the work and meaning inventory (wami). J. Career Assess. 20, 322–337. doi: authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations,
10.1177/1069072711436160 or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may
Steger, M. F., Littman-Ovadia, H., Miller, M., Menger, L., and Rothmann, S. be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is
(2013). Engaging in work even when it is meaningless: positive affective not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
disposition and meaningful work interact in relation to work engagement.
J. Career Assess. 21, 348–361. doi: 10.1177/1069072712471517 Copyright © 2021 Xu, Zhang, Dai, Ma and Lyu. This is an open-access article
Strauss, K., Griffin, M. A., and Parker, S. K. (2012). Future work selves: how distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY).
salient hoped-for identities motivate proactive career behaviors. J. Appl. The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the
Psychol. 97, 580–598. doi: 10.1037/a0026423 original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original
Sun, A. N., and Xia, J. G. (2018). Teacher-perceived distributed leadership, publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice.
teacher self-efficacy and job satisfaction: a multilevel SEM approach using No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with
the 2013 TALIS data. Int. J. Educ. Res. 92, 86–97. doi: 10.1016/j.ijer.2018.09.006 these terms.

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