Abstract:

As an effective management tool, in recent years, leader humor has received extensive attention from organizational scholars and practitioners. After reviewing leader humor’s conception, consequences, and mechanisms, we summarize several theoretical mechanisms: the relational process, social exchange theory, social information processing theory, relational identification, positive emotion, stress relief, and leadership styles. Future research should explore the consequences of leader humor from the perspective of interaction and structure, and focus on the mechanism of leader humor based on social information processing theory.

Key words: humor, leader humor, theoretical perspective, consequences