Self-Serving Spiritual Leadership and Adaptive Performance: The Role of Resilience and Ambivalence

Abstract

Grounded in the Conservation of Resources (COR) theory, this study examines the paradoxical role of self-serving spiritual leadership in shaping employee ambivalence, resilience, and adaptive performance within dynamic IT settings. Time-lagged data were gathered from 428 software developers in Pakistan and analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The results demonstrate that spiritual leadership increases ambivalence and is associated with reduced resilience. Spiritual leaders trigger employees’ ambivalence by conflicting moral and performance demands, while resilience is reduced by intensified emotional labor. Self-serving leadership moderates the relationship between spiritual leadership and both resilience and ambivalence. Interestingly, the coexistence of spiritual and self-serving leadership clarifies relational boundaries; in doing so, it mitigates resource strain and enhances adaptive performance via employees' resilience. This research found that, while employees’ resilience positively predicts adaptive performance, employees’ ambivalence—contrary to expectations—also shows a positive association with adaptive performance. Theoretically, the study adds to the COR theory by illustrating how spiritual leadership simultaneously depletes and activates resources. In practice, it advises managers to embrace spiritual leadership with caution and to implement monitoring policies and clear procedures to establish organizational boundaries.