Effect of Self-Sacrificial Leadership on Organizational Identity and Employee Retention During Crisis: A Mixed Method Investigation

This mixed-method investigation forays into the influence mechanism of self-sacrificial leadership on employees’ retention intention in exhibition enterprises under crises. In study 1 (the qualitative inquiry), in-depth interviews with 20 employees were conducted, and a process mechanism model was constructed on how self-sacrificial leadership affects employee retention intention, following a story line of “action strategy→phenomenon→result.” In study 2 (the quantitative research), we use social exchange theory and social identity theory to build a structural equation model, which verifies the positive impact of self-sacrificial leadership on employee retention intention through 404 valid questionnaires, and tests the mediating role of organizational identification. In addition, political capital is found to strengthen the relationship between self-sacrificial leadership and employee organizational identification, while employee job insecurity plays an inverted U-shaped moderating role that first strengthens but subsequently weakens during the process of self-sacrificial leadership. In conclusion, this study reveals the functional mechanism of self-sacrificial leadership in exhibition enterprises under crises, verifies the boundary conditions of self-sacrificial leadership, and provides practical implications for sustainability and human capital development for exhibition enterprises under crises.