Predicting Employee Engagement: An Exploration of the Roles of Transformational Leadership, Power Distance Orientation, Psychological Collectivism, and Psychological Empowerment in Korean Organizations

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine whether the characteristics of transformational leaders influence employee engagement in their jobs within Korean cultural values. To do so, this study first examined the relationship between transformational leadership and employee engagement with data from Korean companies. Then the study investigated whether Korean cultural values, such as power distance orientation and psychological collectivism, moderate the relationship between transformational leadership and employee engagement. In addition, the study examined the effects of transformational leadership on employee engagement, as mediated by psychological empowerment. In sum, the study found a relationship between transformational leadership and employee engagement, and the extent to which this relationship was influenced by (a) power distance, (b) psychological collectivism, and (c) psychological empowerment. Data from a survey were collected and analyzed from 265 employees with at least one year of experience in Korean for-profit organizations in South Korea. The survey instrument was developed by adopting measurement instruments used in previous studies. Statistical techniques including moderated multiple regression, and structural equation modeling were mainly used to test the seven hypotheses. A series of confirmatory factor analyses was also conducted to test the construct validity of the measurement model for the latent variables. The findings of this study indicated that transformational leadership and psychological collectivism positively predicted employee engagement. In addition, psychological empowerment fully mediated the influence of transformational leadership on employee engagement. However, power distance orientation did not significantly affect employee engagement, and both power distance orientation and psychological collectivism did not moderate the relationship between transformational leadership and employee engagement. The findings of this study could provide the conceptual basis for specific programs and HR interventions that are designed to promote employee engagement, transformational leadership, and psychological empowerment in organizations. Implications from both theoretical and practical standpoints were discussed and several recommendations for future research were presented as well.