ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Organizational Psychology
Exploring the Connection between Authoritarian-Benevolent Leadership Leadership and Craftsman Spirit: The Mediating Role of Loyalty
Provisionally accepted
Huanhuan Zhang1
Huan-huan Zhang2*- 1Xinyang Agriculture and Forestry University, Xinyang, China
- 2Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China
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Guided by social exchange theory, this study examines how the dual leadership behavior of authoritarian-benevolent leadership in mentorship affects craftsman spirit within China's manufacturing sector amidst its transformation and upgrading. A theoretical model positioning loyalty as a mediator was developed to elucidate how different configurations of benevolent and authoritarian leadership influence craftsman spirit through reciprocal social exchanges. Using polynomial regression and response surface analysis on survey data from 343 master-apprentice dyads, the findings indicate that: (1) When benevolence and authority are aligned, high levels of both yield no significant advantage over low levels of both in promoting craftsman spirit; (2) When benevolence and authority are misaligned, high benevolence coupled with low authority more effectively fosters craftsman spirit than the reverse; (3) Loyalty mediates the relationship between high benevolence-low authority leadership and craftsman spirit. These results suggest that manufacturing firms should incorporate ambidextrous leadership into master selection and training, while establishing institutionalized master-apprentice pairing mechanisms and emotional bank account management to systematically cultivate craftsman spirit.
Keywords: Benevolent leadership, Authoritarian leadership, Loyalty, Craftsman spirit, authoritarian-benevolent leadership
Received: 03 Jul 2024; Accepted: 13 Feb 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Zhang and Zhang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Huan-huan Zhang
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