The impact of department chair leadership identity on faculty thriving in comprehensive university reform: the cross-level moderating role of work arrangement flexibility

Introduction: As universities undergo intensifying reform pressures, department chairs face the challenge of balancing administrative duties with academic mentorship; how they internalize their leadership role-their leadership identity-may critically shape faculty outcomes, yet this internal driver remains underexplored. Methods: Using a multi-source, two-stage design, paired data were collected from 60 department chairs and 250 faculty members across 10-14 universities undergoing "Double First-Class" reform. Results: Hierarchical linear modeling results reveal that transformational leadership significantly shapes leadership identity, which in turn exerts a positive cross-level effect on faculty thriving. Psychological empowerment partially mediates this relationship. Furthermore, work arrangement flexibility significantly moderates the leadership identity-psychological empowerment relationship, with stronger positive effects under high-flexibility conditions. Discussion: This study makes three contributions: (1) shifting leadership research focus from overt behavior to leaders' self-concept as a driver of effectiveness; (2) enriching social information processing theory by demonstrating how internal identity becomes a perceivable cross-level social cue; and (3) providing practical implications for universities to cultivate department chairs' leadership identity and implement flexible work policies that enhance faculty wellbeing during organizational transformation.