Abstract Based on empowerment theory, social cognitive theory, and conservation of resources theory, this study explores the relationship between leaders’ ego depletion and employees’ ego depletion, and tests the mediation of participative leadership behavior and the moderation of supervisor trust perceived by employees (including both affective and cognitive trust) with the sample of 69 employees and 69 supervisors from 9 state-owned and central enterprises. The results reveal that leaders’ ego depletion can promote participative leadership behavior, and then lead to more employees’ ego depletion. Furthermore, trust in employees from leader moderates the relationship between leaders’ ego depletion and participative leadership behavior. Specifically, leader’s affective trust in employees positively moderates the relationship between leaders’ ego depletion and participative leadership behavior while their cognitive trust negatively moderates this relationship.
