Dual pathways of leader humor to employee creativity: testing a serial mediation model

Purpose Creativity is essential in the workplace as it drives innovation and organizational growth. Although leader humor has been identified as an important antecedent of employee creativity, the psychological mechanisms through which it operates remain insufficiently understood. Grounded in Cognitive Evaluation Theory, this study proposes a serial mediation model to elucidate the pathways through which leader humor influences followers' creativity. We posit that leader humor enhances followers' intrinsic motivation through improved leader–member exchange (LMX) quality and positive affect, and that this heightened intrinsic motivation, in turn, fosters followers' creativity. Design/methodology/approach This study used four-wave data from 357 employees in the USA, providing strong support for our hypotheses. Findings The findings indicate that leader humor influences followers' creativity indirectly through two distinct serial mediation pathways: a relational–motivational pathway, wherein leader humor enhances LMX quality, which subsequently fosters intrinsic motivation, and an affective–motivational pathway, wherein leader humor elicits positive affect that functions as an informational signal enhancing intrinsic motivation – both pathways ultimately promoting creativity. Originality/value Our contribution introduces a comprehensive model to explore how leader humor influences followers' creativity.