This study develops and tests a theoretical model, positing that, when union leader behaves humbly, union stewards will emulate the leader's humble behaviors, creating a shared interpersonal process and a mutually beneficial interaction between union and enterprise. The study applies a dyadic approach to collect data from enterprises and unions in Taiwan and test the hypotheses with hierarchical regression approach and path analysis using SPSS and Amos 21 software.
Analytical results based on 55 sets of dyadic data collected from 55 human resource supervisors and 163 union stewards show that union leader humility produces a spillover effect on union stewards and promotes collective humility. The collective humility of union stewards has a positive effect on union-enterprise guanxi, enterprise-union cooperation, and industrial relations climate, which in turn promotes a positive effect on cooperative conflict between union-enterprise and finally enhances union instrumentality.
This study contributes to the leadership literature by fostering the influence of upper echelons theory that the socio-cognitive characteristics of union leaders can influence the performance of the union. Moreover, by collecting data from the Eastern context, the study increases the generalizability of humility research from traditional Western firms to other cultural contexts. Furthermore, the research offers additional insight that the virtue of humility can mutually benefit between unions and enterprises. Overall, the study adds critical new insights to the upper echelons, industrial relations, and union literatures. Implications for practices are discussed as well.