IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/pal/palcom/v12y2025i1d10.1057_s41599-025-04519-2.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

How can crisis leadership encourage civil servant performance? the mediating role of knowledge sharing, trust and public service motivation

Author

Listed:
  • Qingduo Mao

    (Ocean University of China
    Shandong University)

  • Yashu Zhang

    (Ocean University of China)

  • Cong Fan

    (Ocean University of China)

Abstract

Knowledge sharing, trust and public service motivation (PSM) are crucial for facilitating the relationship between leadership and civil servant performance. This paper examines how leadership impacts the performance of civil servants in the public sector during crisis events. The authors have developed a theoretical model and empirically tested it using survey data from 306 civil servants in the public sector related to epidemic response in China. Additionally, a structural equation model (SEM) was employed to examine the pathways through which leadership influences performance. This study reveals that crisis leadership does not directly influence civil servant performance. However, knowledge sharing and PSM play a positive mediating role between crisis leadership and civil servant performance. The findings suggest that leaders can promote knowledge sharing and boost employees’ PSM through various management strategies, so as to effectively manage crises and improve personal performance of civil servants.

Suggested Citation

  • Qingduo Mao & Yashu Zhang & Cong Fan, 2025. "How can crisis leadership encourage civil servant performance? the mediating role of knowledge sharing, trust and public service motivation," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 12(1), pages 1-10, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:palcom:v:12:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1057_s41599-025-04519-2
    DOI: 10.1057/s41599-025-04519-2
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1057/s41599-025-04519-2
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1057/s41599-025-04519-2?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:pal:palcom:v:12:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1057_s41599-025-04519-2. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.nature.com/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.