Transformational leadership is often lauded as an ideal approach, particularly within the nonprofit sector, for motivating employees to transcend personal interests and perform beyond expectations. However, an excessive application of transformational leadership can undermine its positive effects, leading to a "too-much-of-a-good-thing" effect. This study examines the relationship between transformational leadership and employee emotional exhaustion, suggesting a curvilinear relationship between these variables. We hypothesize that workplace social capital mitigates the potential adverse consequences of transformational leadership's "too-much-of-a-good-thing" effect by promoting strong interpersonal relationships within organizations. Leveraging survey data collected from 5,620 Chinese social workers, our findings show that workplace social capital significantly moderates the curvilinear relationship between transformational leadership and emotional exhaustion. When workplace social capital is high, the potentially negative effects of transformational leadership are significantly mitigated. These findings have considerable implications for nonprofit management practice, offering insights to curtail the "too-much-of-a-good-thing" effect of transformational leadership effectively.

Wang Hui, Zhang Huan. Flattening the Curve: How Workplace Social Capital Moderate the Curvilinear Relationship of Transformational Leadership and Emotional Exhaustion in Chinese Social Workers [J]. Human Service Organizations Management Leadership & Governance, DOI: 10.1080/23303131.2026.2674643.