The effect of daily leader secure-base support on employees' daily performance:an attachment theory perspective

Drawing on attachment theory, the present study develops a theoretical model to explore whether, how, and when daily leader secure-base support impacts employees' daily in-role and extra-role performance. To test this model, we employed an experience-sampling method and collected daily diary data over 3 weeks. Results of multilevel path analysis indicated that daily leader secure-base support was positively related to both employees' daily in-role and extra-role performance. Moreover, we found that daily leader secure-base support indirectly influenced employees' in-role performance via their self-esteem, whereas it indirectly influenced employees' extra-role performance via their gratitude. Finally, attachment anxiety moderated the within-person relationship between daily leader secure-base support and employees' self-esteem as well as the indirect effect of daily leader secure-base support on employees' subsequent in-role performance via their self-esteem. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of these findings, as well as future research directions.