Examining the relationships among managerial coaching, perceived organizational support, and job engagement in the US higher education context
European Journal of Training and Development
ISSN: 2046-9012
Article publication date: 13 September 2021
Issue publication date: 26 May 2022
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to apply social exchange and organizational support theories to examine the relationship between mid-level strategic enrollment managers’ perceptions of managerial coaching behaviors enacted by their senior managers and their own reported job engagement, as mediated by perceived organizational support (POS) within the US higher education context.
Design/methodology/approach
A quantitative survey-based half-longitudinal design, which used the latent marker variable technique, was conducted with a sponsoring professional organization in the strategic enrollment management (SEM) field in the USA. A total of 301 usable surveys were analyzed using structural equation modeling.
Findings
The results of this study indicate that SEM managers’ job engagement and the perceived managerial coaching behaviors provided to them by their senior managers were positively correlated, and that POS fully mediated this relationship. These findings highlight how coaching behaviors may allow managers to elicit positive emotional responses and, by fostering enhanced POS, ultimately enhance job engagement among their team members.
Originality/value
This study addresses several calls for research on managerial coaching, job engagement and POS in an under-examined higher education context within the human resource development field.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The first author would like to extend his sincere thanks to Dr Wendy Kilgore and colleagues at the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO) for endorsing and supporting this study by allowing access to the AACROA membership through the 60-Second Survey. Gratitude is also expressed to those members of AACRAO who kindly participated in both phases of this study.
The first author would also like to acknowledge the late Dr Jerry W. Gilley, former Department Chair and Coordinator of the Doctoral Program in Human Resource Development at The University of Texas at Tyler, who served on the dissertation committee.
Lastly, the authors would like to acknowledge the editorial team and anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments on an earlier version of this manuscript which was developed from the first author’s dissertation. The dissertation was awarded first runner-up finalist for the Esworthy Malcolm S. Knowles Dissertation of the Year Award presented by The Academy of Human Resource Development (AHRD) in February, 2019. The dissertation was also the recipient of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) Workplace Learning SIG Exemplary Dissertation Award in 2020.
Citation
Carrell, W.S., Ellinger, A.D., Nimon, K.F. and Kim, S. (2022), "Examining the relationships among managerial coaching, perceived organizational support, and job engagement in the US higher education context", European Journal of Training and Development, Vol. 46 No. 5/6, pp. 563-584. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJTD-10-2020-0145
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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