Dimensional Role of Inclusive Leadership on Task Performance
The Intervening Effect of Thriving at Work
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17344320Abstract
Abstract Views: 451
The study offers a novel perspective on the mechanism by which thriving at work bridges the relationship between inclusive leadership and task performance, using self-determination theory. The current study examines the dimensional impact of inclusive leadership (Uniqueness, Belongingness) on task performance through thriving at work in the relatively understudied public healthcare sector of AJK, Pakistan, utilising three waves of data collection using a purposive sampling technique. Confirmatory factor analysis, validity and reliability assessment for 250 responses were conducted on AMOS. Hypotheses testing was done using Hayes Macro on SPSS. Results revealed a significant effect of both uniqueness and belongingness on employees' task performance through the mediation of thriving at work. The study offers insightful implications for healthcare by highlighting belongingness and uniqueness as crucial dimensions of inclusive leadership, enabling thriving at work and achieving desired task performance.
Keywords:
Belongingness, Inclusive leadership, Task performance, Thriving at work, UniquenessReferences
Arif, S. M. W. K., & Bannian, B. (2023). E-3: Governance and administration: the emergence and scope of women’s right to adequate health in Azad Jammu and Kashmir. International Journal of Islamic Business, Administration and Social Sciences (JIBAS), 3(3), 45-56.
Bartram, T., Cooper, B., Cooke, F. L., & Wang, J. (2023). Thriving in the face of burnout? The effects of wellbeing-oriented HRM on the relationship between workload, burnout, thriving and performance. Employee Relations: The International Journal, 45(5), 1234-1253. https://doi.org/10.1108/ER-06-2022-0273
Biswakarma, G., & Subedi, K. (2025). The mediating role of employee engagement on the relationship between learning culture and employee performance in service sector. The Learning Organization, 32(2), 259-281. https://doi.org/10.1108/TLO-09-2023-0178
Burhan, Q. U. A., & Khan, M. A. (2024). Empowering leadership ripple effect: improving employee engagement, performance and knowledge sharing through relational energy and autonomy. European Business Review, 36(3), 392-409. https://doi.org/10.1108/EBR-08-2023-0239
Carmeli, A., Reiter-Palmon, R., & Ziv, E. (2010). Inclusive leadership and employee involvement in creative tasks in the workplace: The mediating role of psychological safety. Creativity research journal, 22(3), 250-260. https://doi.org/10.1080/10400419.2010.504654
Ceschel, F., Bianchini, V., Homberg, F., & Di Marcantonio, M. (2025). What role does HRM system strength play in Italian healthcare organizations? A post COVID-19 snapshot. International Journal of Public Sector Management, 38(2), 259-276. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPSM-07-2023-0227
Deci, E. L., Olafsen, A. H., & Ryan, R. M. (2017). Self-determination theory in work organizations: The state of a science. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 4, 19-43. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-032516-113108
Elahi, N. S., Abid, G., Arya, B., & Farooqi, S. (2020). Workplace behavioral antecedents of job performance: Mediating role of thriving. The Service Industries Journal, 40(11-12), 755-776. https://doi.org/10.1080/02642069.2019.1638369
Fatima, U., & Khan, M. A. (2025). How spiritual leader fuels internal whistle blowing and knowledge sharing behavior: The bridging role of employee empathy. Journal of Business and Management Research, 4(1), 366-393.
Fornell, C., & Larcker, D. F. (1981). Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. Journal of Marketing Research, 18(1), 39-50. https://doi.org/10.1177/002224378101800104
Gagné, M., Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2018). Self-determination theory applied to work motivation and organizational behavior. The SAGE handbook of industrial, work & organizational psychology: Organizational psychology, 2, 97-121.
Gerbasi, A., Porath, C. L., Parker, A., Spreitzer, G., & Cross, R. (2015). Destructive de-energizing relationships: How thriving buffers their effect on performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 100(5), 1423.
Gong, L., Zhang, S., & Liu, Z. (2024). The impact of inclusive leadership on task performance: a moderated mediation model of resilience capacity and work meaningfulness. Baltic Journal of Management, 19(1), 36-51. https://doi.org/10.1108/BJM-01-2023-0029
Gong, L., Zhang, S., Guang, J., Liu, Z., & Fu, L. (2025). Where does individual ambidexterity come from under digital work context? Inclusive leadership, team knowledge acquisition, and team knowledge sharing. Journal of Knowledge Management, 29(4), 1162-1190. https://doi.org/10.1108/JKM-05-2024-0621
Gürbüz, S., Van der Heijden, B., Freese, C., & Brouwers, E. P. (2024). “Follow the leader”: how inclusive leaders inspire followers to perform well through strengths use. Career Development International, 29(7), 788-810. https://doi.org/10.1108/CDI-11-2023-0393
Hair, J. F., Gabriel, M., & Patel, V. (2014). AMOS covariance-based structural equation modeling (CB-SEM): Guidelines on its application as a marketing research tool. Brazilian Journal of Marketing, 13(2).
Huang, D., & Zhou, H. (2024). Self-sacrificial leadership, thriving at work, workplace well-being, and work–family conflict during the COVID-19 crisis: The moderating role of self-leadership. BRQ Business Research Quarterly, 27(1), 10-25. https://doi.org/10.1177/23409444231203744
Huang, H., Zhang, X., Tu, L., Peng, W., Wang, D., Chong, H., ... & Chen, H. (2025). Inclusive leadership, self-efficacy, organization-based self-esteem, and intensive care nurses’ job performance: A cross-sectional study using structural equation modeling. Intensive and Critical Care Nursing, 87, 103880. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iccn.2024.103880
Hussain, M., Luu, T. T., & Marjoribanks, T. (2025, January). Linking paternalistic leadership and service behaviours through perceived support from supervisor and organisation: empirical evidence from the Pakistani healthcare sector. In Evidence-based HRM: a Global Forum for Empirical Scholarship. Emerald Publishing Limited. https://doi.org/10.1108/EBHRM-06-2024-0196
Jha, I. N., Pal, D., & Sarkar, S. (2024). Thriving in diversity: the role of inclusive leadership and workplace inclusion in enhancing satisfaction with life among Indian IT employees. Journal of Management Development, 43(5), 663-689. https://doi.org/10.1108/JMD-09-2023-0269
Jiang, X., & Wei, Y. (2024). Linking servant leadership to followers' thriving at work: self-determination theory perspective. Frontiers in Psychology, 15, 1384110. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1384110
Kim, H., Im, J., & Shin, Y. H. (2023). Relational resources for promoting restaurant employees’ thriving at work. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 35(10), 3434-3452. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCHM-05-2022-0571
Kim, H., Shin, Y. H., & Severt, K. (2024). Inclusive leadership and positive outcomes through hotel employees' perceptions of inclusion. International Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Administration, 1-21. https://doi.org/10.1080/15256480.2024.2377151
Kim, R. C., & Scullion, H. (2025). Inclusive leadership in a turbulent global world: A systematic review and future research directions. Advances in Global Leadership, 16, 151-166. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1535-120320250000016017
Korkmaz, A. V., Van Engen, M. L., Knappert, L., & Schalk, R. (2022). About and beyond leading uniqueness and belongingness: A systematic review of inclusive leadership research. Human Resource Management Review, 32(4), 100894. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hrmr.2022.100894
Liu, J. X., Goryakin, Y., Maeda, A., Bruckner, T., & Scheffler, R. (2017). Global health workforce labor market projections for 2030. Human Resources for Health, 15(1), 11. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12960-017-0187-2
Liu, X., Guo, P., & Zhao, J. (2025). From adaptation to transformation: how to stimulate leaders’ change-oriented organizational citizenship behaviors in project-based temporary organizations. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 38(1), 204-229. https://doi.org/10.1108/JOCM-07-2024-0390
Mahmood, S., Sequeira, R., Siddiqui, M. M. U., Herkenhoff, M. B. A., Ferreira, P. P., Fernandes, A. C., & Sousa, P. (2024). Decentralization of the health system–experiences from Pakistan, Portugal and Brazil. Health Research Policy and Systems, 22(1), 61. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12961-024-01145-3
Malik, M. F., Burhan, Q. U. A., & Khan, M. A. (2023). The role of HEXACO in the development of authentic leadership and its consequences on task performance. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 44(1), 52-71. https://doi.org/10.1108/LODJ-08-2022-0356
Man, S., & Fan, J. (2025). Unveiling the impact of inclusive leadership on innovative behavior among female employees with two children: evidence from China. Scientific Reports, 15(1), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-01311-9
Manfreda, A., Kulichyova, A., & Ting, A. (2025). “Thriving at Work” in tourism and hospitality: An integrative Systematic Literature Review and Research Agenda. Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 19389655251318535. https://doi.org/10.1177/19389655251318535
Martínez-Cabezas, S., Díaz del Castillo, A., Linares-García, J., Niño-Machado, N., Idrovo, J., Rodríguez, M., & González-Uribe, C. (2025). The invisible frontline: experiences of public health workers during the COVID-19 pandemic and health emergencies in Colombia. Frontiers in Public Health, 13, 1589091. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2025.1589091
Mehmood, S., Nazir, S., Fan, J., Nazir, Z., & Nazir, S. (2025). Investigating the Moderating Effect of COVID-19 on Pakistan's Healthcare Sector. Health Policy and Technology, 101040. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hlpt.2025.101040
Mehmood, S., Sajid, M. A., Mehmood, T., Bano, A., Ullah, A., & Ashraf, S. (2021). Workplace incivility and employee performance, mediating role of psychological well-being: Study of health sector in AJ&K, Pakistan. International Journal of Management (IJM), 12(6), 166-180.
Merlini, K. P., Moon, N. A., McKenzie-James, A. A., Caylor, J. R., Redmond, A., Nguyen, D., & Richardson, P. (2025). An Unmet goal? A Scale Development and Model test of the role of Inclusive Leadership. Journal of Business and Psychology, 40(2), 333-357. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869-024-09955-6
Okros, N., & Vîrgă, D. (2025). From social support to thriving at work via psychological capital: the role of psychosocial safety climate in a weekly study. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 40(1), 52-66. https://doi.org/10.1108/JMP-07-2023-0409
Podsakoff, P. M., MacKenzie, S. B., Lee, J. Y., & Podsakoff, N. P. (2003). Common method biases in behavioral research: a critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88(5), 879.
Podsakoff, P. M., Podsakoff, N. P., Williams, L. J., Huang, C., & Yang, J. (2024). Common method bias: It's bad, it's complex, it's widespread, and it's not easy to fix. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 11(1), 17-61. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-110721-040030
Porath, C. L., Gibson, C. B., & Spreitzer, G. M. (2022). To thrive or not to thrive: Pathways for sustaining thriving at work. Research in Organizational Behavior, 42, 100176. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.riob.2022.100176
Porath, C., Spreitzer, G., Gibson, C., & Garnett, F. G. (2012). Thriving at work: Toward its measurement, construct validation, and theoretical refinement. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 33(2), 250-275. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.756
Ramos-Villagrasa, P. J., Barrada, J. R., Fernández-del-Río, E., & Koopmans, L. (2019). La evaluación del desempeño en el trabajo con escalas de autoinforme breves: el cuestionario de desempeño laboral individual. Revista de Psicología del Trabajo y de las Organizaciones, 35(3), 195-205. https://dx.doi.org/10.5093/jwop2019a21
Randel, A. E. (2025). Inclusion in the workplace: A review and research agenda. Group & Organization Management, 50(1), 119-162. https://doi.org/10.1177/10596011231175578
Randel, A. E., Galvin, B. M., Shore, L. M., Ehrhart, K. H., Chung, B. G., Dean, M. A., & Kedharnath, U. (2018). Inclusive leadership: Realizing positive outcomes through belongingness and being valued for uniqueness. Human Resource Management Review, 28(2), 190-203. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hrmr.2017.07.002
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist, 55(1), 68. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066x.55.1.68
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2024). Self-determination theory. In Encyclopedia of quality of life and well-being research (pp. 6229-6235). Cham: Springer International Publishing.
Shafaei, A., & Nejati, M. (2024). Creating meaningful work for employees: The role of inclusive leadership. Human Resource Development Quarterly, 35(2), 189-211. https://doi.org/10.1002/hrdq.21512
Shakil, H., & Butt, I. A. (2023). Impact of stress on employees’ performance in health sector of Azad Kashmir: Mediating role of burnout. Journal of Development and Social Sciences, 4(2), 394-404. https://doi.org/10.47205/jdss.2023(4-II)35
Sherwani, K., Bala, H., & Khatoon, G. (2023). Perceived organizational support and employee loyalty as mediators in the relationship between leadership effectiveness and task performance: A study of nurses in Erbil City. PREPRINT at Research Square. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-3436512/v1
Siyal, S. (2023). Inclusive leadership and work engagement: Exploring the role of psychological safety and trust in leader in multiple organizational context. Business Ethics, the Environment & Responsibility, 32(4), 1170-1184. https://doi.org/10.1111/beer.12556
Spreitzer, G., Sutcliffe, K., Dutton, J., Sonenshein, S., & Grant, A. M. (2005). A socially embedded model of thriving at work. Organization Science, 16(5), 537-549. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.1050.0153
Zeng, H., Zhao, L., & Zhao, Y. (2020). Inclusive leadership and taking-charge behavior: roles of psychological safety and thriving at work. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 62. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00062
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 International Journal of Trends and Innovations in Business & Social Sciences

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

