Core self-evaluations (CSEs) are fundamental traits that represent an individual’s appraisal of his/her self-worth and competency. CSEs have been directly linked to numerous workplace outcomes, yet less is understood about the mediating mechanisms through which CSEs are related to outcomes. In this study, we examine the process through which CSEs promote favorable outcomes by examining the mediating role of both leader-member exchange (LMX) and work engagement in the CSE—organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) relationship. Using an approach-avoidance theoretical framework, we hypothesize that the relationship between CSEs and OCBs is mediated by the quality of the individual’s relationship with their leader (i.e., LMX quality) and his/her level of work engagement. Our results provide broad support for the hypothesized multiple mediation relationships whereby CSEs are indirectly related to OCBs through both LMX quality and work engagement. A discussion of these findings and their implications for both theory and practice is provided.

核心自我评价 (CSE) 是代表个人对其自我价值和能力的评价的基本特征。CSE 与许多工作场所的结果直接相关，但对 CSE 与结果相关的中介机制知之甚少。在这项研究中，我们通过检验领导者-成员交换 (LMX) 和工作参与在 CSE 与组织公民行为 (OCB) 关系中的中介作用来检验 CSE 促进有利结果的过程。使用接近-回避理论框架，我们假设 CSE 和 OCB 之间的关系是由个人与其领导者的关系质量（即 LMX 质量）和他/她的工作投入水平所调节的。我们的结果为假设的多重中介关系提供了广泛的支持，即 CSE 通过 LMX 质量和工作参与与 OCB 间接相关。提供了对这些发现及其对理论和实践的影响的讨论。