IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v10y2018i11p4109-d181610.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Promoting the Sustainability of Organizations: Contribution of Transformational Leadership to Job Engagement

Author

Listed:
  • Guadalupe Vila-Vázquez

    (Department of Business Administration and Marketing, Facultade de Ciencias Económicas e Empresariais, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Avda. do Burgo, s/n. Campus Norte, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain)

  • Carmen Castro-Casal

    (Department of Business Administration and Marketing, Facultade de Ciencias Económicas e Empresariais, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Avda. do Burgo, s/n. Campus Norte, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain)

  • Dolores Álvarez-Pérez

    (Department of Business Administration and Marketing, Facultade de Ciencias Económicas e Empresariais, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Avda. do Burgo, s/n. Campus Norte, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain)

  • Luisa Del Río-Araújo

    (Department of Business Administration and Marketing, Facultade de Ciencias Económicas e Empresariais, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Avda. do Burgo, s/n. Campus Norte, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain)

Abstract

The psychology of sustainability highlights the importance of building organizational environments promoting the employees’ well-being, and leaders play an important role in it. Drawing from Kahn’s theory, the purpose of this study is to simultaneously examine the mediating role of task significance, perceived organizational support (POS) and employees’ core self-evaluations (CSE) in the relationship between supervisors’ transformational leadership and job engagement. In order to test the proposed model, a structural equation modelling was performed using the bootstrapping technique in IBM SPSS Amos 23 for Windows. The sample consisted of 320 employees from emergent high-tech and knowledge-based SMEs in Spain. The results supported all the hypotheses posited. By helping employees to find the meaning and significance of their work, making them feel supported by the organization and strengthening their sense of worth and competence, transformational leaders boost job engagement, a key aspect of the human dimension of organizational sustainability. This paper contributes to the psychology of sustainability by advancing knowledge of the mechanisms through which supervisors’ transformational leadership influences employees’ well-being in terms of job engagement.

Suggested Citation

  • Guadalupe Vila-Vázquez & Carmen Castro-Casal & Dolores Álvarez-Pérez & Luisa Del Río-Araújo, 2018. "Promoting the Sustainability of Organizations: Contribution of Transformational Leadership to Job Engagement," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-17, November.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:11:p:4109-:d:181610
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/10/11/4109/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/10/11/4109/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Sang-Hoon Lee & Yuhyung Shin & Seung Ik Baek, 2017. "Task Characteristics and Work Engagement: Exploring Effects of Role Ambiguity and ICT Presenteeism," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(10), pages 1-13, October.
    2. Shantz, Amanda & Alfes, Kerstin & Truss, Catherine & Soane, Emma, 2013. "The role of employee engagement in the relationship between job design and task performance, citizenship and deviant behaviours," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 48156, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    3. Woocheol Kim & Jiwon Park, 2017. "Examining Structural Relationships between Work Engagement, Organizational Procedural Justice, Knowledge Sharing, and Innovative Work Behavior for Sustainable Organizations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(2), pages 1-16, February.
    4. Chiang, Yun-Hwa & Hsu, Chu-Chun & Hung, Kuang-Peng, 2014. "Core self-evaluation and workplace creativity," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 67(7), pages 1405-1413.
    5. Boas Shamir & Robert J. House & Michael B. Arthur, 1993. "The Motivational Effects of Charismatic Leadership: A Self-Concept Based Theory," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 4(4), pages 577-594, November.
    6. X. Vence-Deza & M. González-López, 2008. "Regional Concentration of the Knowledge-based Economy in the EU: Towards a Renewed Oligocentric Model?," European Planning Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(4), pages 557-578, May.
    7. Cleavenger, Dean J. & Munyon, Timothy P., 2013. "It's how you frame it: Transformational leadership and the meaning of work," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 56(3), pages 351-360.
    8. Woocheol Kim & Gohar Feroz Khan & Jacob Wood & Muhammad Tariq Mahmood, 2016. "Employee Engagement for Sustainable Organizations: Keyword Analysis Using Social Network Analysis and Burst Detection Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(7), pages 1-11, July.
    9. Desmarchelier, Benoît & Djellal, Faridah & Gallouj, Faïz, 2013. "Knowledge intensive business services and long term growth," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 25(C), pages 188-205.
    10. Wegge, Juergen & Shemla, Meir & Haslam, S. Alexander, 2014. "Leader behavior as a determinant of health at work: Specification and evidence of five key pathways," Zeitschrift fuer Personalforschung. German Journal of Research in Human Resource Management, Rainer Hampp Verlag, vol. 28(1-2), pages 6-23.
    11. Rauch, Andreas & Hatak, Isabella, 2016. "A meta-analysis of different HR-enhancing practices and performance of small and medium sized firms," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 31(5), pages 485-504.
    12. Gaëtane Caesens & Florence Stinglhamber & Marc Ohana, 2016. "Perceived organizational support and well-being: a weekly study," Post-Print hal-02390188, HAL.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Phyu Phyu Zaw & Yoshi Takahashi, 2022. "Effect of Transformational Leadership on Contextual Performance Mediated by Work Engagement and Moderated by Mindful Awareness," Merits, MDPI, vol. 2(4), pages 1-17, September.
    2. Paola Magnano & Giuseppe Santisi & Andrea Zammitti & Rita Zarbo & Santo Di Nuovo, 2019. "Self-Perceived Employability and Meaningful Work: The Mediating Role of Courage on Quality of Life," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-14, February.
    3. Fong-Yi Lai & Hui-Chuan Tang & Szu-Chi Lu & Yu-Chin Lee & Cheng-Chen Lin, 2020. "Transformational Leadership and Job Performance: The Mediating Role of Work Engagement," SAGE Open, , vol. 10(1), pages 21582440198, January.
    4. Ioana Gutu & Daniela Tatiana Agheorghiesei & Alexandru Tugui, 2022. "Leadership and Work Engagement Effectiveness within the Technology Era," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-25, September.
    5. Jinhee Kim & Soojin Lee & Gukdo Byun, 2020. "Building a Thriving Organization: The Antecedents of Job Engagement and Their Impact on Voice Behavior," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-17, September.
    6. Tomasz Gigol, 2020. "Influence of Authentic Leadership on Unethical Pro-Organizational Behavior: The Intermediate Role of Work Engagement," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-14, February.
    7. Reem S. Al-Mansoori & Muammer Koç, 2019. "Transformational Leadership, Systems, and Intrinsic Motivation Impacts on Innovation in Higher Education Institutes: Faculty Perspectives in Engineering Colleges," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(15), pages 1-26, July.
    8. Qinghua Fu & Jacob Cherian & Khalil-ur Rehman & Sarminah Samad & Mohammed Arshad Khan & Mohammad Athar Ali & Laura Mariana Cismas & Andra Miculescu, 2022. "Enhancing Employee Creativity in the Banking Sector: A Transformational Leadership Framework," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-19, April.
    9. Hazem Ahmed Khairy & Sijun Liu & Samar Sheikhelsouk & Ahmed M. EI-Sherbeeny & Omar Alsetoohy & Bassam Samir Al-Romeedy, 2023. "The Effect of Benevolent Leadership on Job Engagement through Psychological Safety and Workplace Friendship Prevalence in the Tourism and Hospitality Industry," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(17), pages 1-22, September.
    10. Beini Liu & Qiang Lu, 2020. "Creating a Sustainable Workplace Environment: Influence of Workplace Safety Climate on Chinese Healthcare Employees’ Presenteeism from the Perspective of Affect and Cognition," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-17, March.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Jinhee Kim & Soojin Lee & Gukdo Byun, 2020. "Building a Thriving Organization: The Antecedents of Job Engagement and Their Impact on Voice Behavior," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-17, September.
    2. Wang, Xiao-Hua (Frank) & Kim, Tae-Yeol & Lee, Deog-Ro, 2016. "Cognitive diversity and team creativity: Effects of team intrinsic motivation and transformational leadership," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(9), pages 3231-3239.
    3. Yoonhee Park & Doo Hun Lim & Woocheol Kim & Hana Kang, 2020. "Organizational Support and Adaptive Performance: The Revolving Structural Relationships between Job Crafting, Work Engagement, and Adaptive Performance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(12), pages 1-14, June.
    4. Oldham, Greg R. & Fried, Yitzhak, 2016. "Job design research and theory: Past, present and future," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 136(C), pages 20-35.
    5. Friederike Teetzen & Paul-Christian Bürkner & Sabine Gregersen & Sylvie Vincent-Höper, 2022. "The Mediating Effects of Work Characteristics on the Relationship between Transformational Leadership and Employee Well-Being: A Meta-Analytic Investigation," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(5), pages 1-26, March.
    6. Hewawasam Puwakpitiyage Rasika Priyankara & Fan Luo & Amer Saeed & Saviour Ayertey Nubuor & Mahabaduge Prasad Fernando Jayasuriya, 2018. "How Does Leader’s Support for Environment Promote Organizational Citizenship Behaviour for Environment? A Multi-Theory Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-20, January.
    7. Reem S. Al-Mansoori & Muammer Koç, 2019. "Transformational Leadership, Systems, and Intrinsic Motivation Impacts on Innovation in Higher Education Institutes: Faculty Perspectives in Engineering Colleges," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(15), pages 1-26, July.
    8. Woocheol Kim & Soo Jeoung Han & Jiwon Park, 2019. "Is the Role of Work Engagement Essential to Employee Performance or ‘Nice to Have’?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-16, February.
    9. Tai-Wei Chang, 2020. "Corporate Sustainable Development Strategy: Effect of Green Shared Vision on Organization Members’ Behavior," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(7), pages 1-20, April.
    10. Rostiana, 2019. "Multi-dimensional Individual Work Performance: Predictors and Mediators," GATR Journals gjbssr529, Global Academy of Training and Research (GATR) Enterprise.
    11. Zhenjiao Chen & Yaqing Liu, 2020. "The Effects of Leadership and Reward Policy on Employees’ Electricity Saving Behaviors: An Empirical Study in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(6), pages 1-15, March.
    12. Mara Del Baldo & Maria-Gabriella Baldarelli, 2017. "Renewing and improving the business model toward sustainability in theory and practice," International Journal of Corporate Social Responsibility, Springer, vol. 2(1), pages 1-13, December.
    13. Justin J. P. Jansen & Gerard George & Frans A. J. Van den Bosch & Henk W. Volberda, 2008. "Senior Team Attributes and Organizational Ambidexterity: The Moderating Role of Transformational Leadership," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(5), pages 982-1007, July.
    14. Matthias Graf & Sebastian Schuh & Niels Quaquebeke & Rolf Dick, 2012. "The Relationship Between Leaders’ Group-Oriented Values and Follower Identification with and Endorsement of Leaders: The Moderating Role of Leaders’ Group Membership," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 106(3), pages 301-311, March.
    15. Krzysztof BORODAKO & Jadwiga BERBEKA & Michał RUDNICKI & Mariusz ŠAPCZYŃSKI, 2021. "Online Visibility and Knowledge-Intensive Business Services Performance: The Scope of Interrelatedness," Journal of Emerging Trends in Marketing and Management, The Bucharest University of Economic Studies, vol. 1(1), pages 157-173, August.
    16. Mingyu Zhao & Jianguo Liu, 2021. "Study on Spatial Structure Characteristics of the Tourism and Leisure Industry," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-14, November.
    17. Munshi Muhammad Abdul Kader Jilani & Luo Fan & Mohammad Tazul Islam & Md. Aftab Uddin, 2020. "The Influence of Knowledge Sharing on Sustainable Performance: A Moderated Mediation Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-18, January.
    18. Dixit, Aasheesh & Jakhar, Suresh Kumar, 2021. "Airport capacity management: A review and bibliometric analysis," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    19. Gayoung Kim & Woo Jin Lee, 2021. "The Venture Firm’s Ambidexterity: Do Transformational Leaders Boost Organizational Learning for Venture Growth?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-15, July.
    20. Nadir Kolachi, 2015. "Effective Factors of Diversified HR and Relationship Management: A Qualitative Case Study on TokyaTech, NY," International Journal of Business and Management, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 11(1), pages 242-242, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:11:p:4109-:d:181610. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.