Does Authoritarian‐Benevolent Leadership Promote Teachers' Voice Behaviour? The Mediating Role of Teachers' Self‐Efficacy and Trust in Their Principal

ABSTRACT The mechanisms through which authoritarian‐benevolent leadership influences teacher voice behaviour remain underexplored. To address this gap, this study adopts a social exchange theory framework to examine the mediating roles of teacher self‐efficacy and trust in principals. Data were collected from 4023 primary and secondary school teachers in China, and structural equation modelling was conducted to analyse the data. The results showed that authoritarian‐benevolent leadership was significantly and positively associated with teachers' promotive voice, prohibitive voice, self‐efficacy, and trust in principals. Teachers' self‐efficacy and trust in principals were significantly and positively associated with both their promotive voice and prohibitive voice. Moreover, teachers' self‐efficacy and trust in principals mediated the relationships between authoritarian‐benevolent leadership and both promotive voice and prohibitive voice. This study enhances understanding of how authoritarian‐benevolent leadership promotes teacher voice behaviour and offers theoretical foundations and empirical insights for school management practices.