To read this content please select one of the options below:

Exploring the relationship between employee engagement and its antecedents: the moderating role of smartphone use

Sheng-Wei Lin (Department of Information Management, National Chung Cheng University, Minhsiung, Chiayi)
Yuan-Hung Liu (Department of Management Information Systems, College of Commerce, National Chengchi University, Taipei, Taiwan)
Eugenia Y. Huang (Department of Management Information Systems, College of Commerce, National Chengchi University, Taipei, Taiwan)

Information Technology & People

ISSN: 0959-3845

Article publication date: 28 May 2020

Issue publication date: 24 May 2021

895

Abstract

Purpose

This study empirically verified employee engagement (EE) as an outcome of organizational communication and confirmed that the formation of EE is strengthened when smartphone use (SU) is at a higher level.

Design/methodology/approach

A quantitative approach was used in this research, whereby 408 valid samples were collected with an online survey. The hypotheses of direct effects were tested using the structural equation modeling (SEM) procedure, and the moderating effects were tested using the unconstrained product indicator method and the PROCESS macro.

Findings

The results showed that EE was significantly influenced by person–organizationvalue fit (POVF), transformational leadership (TFL) and job autonomy (JA), and the effects of POVF and TFL were moderated significantly by SU. Although the influence of social support (SS) on EE was insignificant in the full model, SU moderated the effect of SS. The evidence also showed that work–family conflict (WFC) had no negative impact on EE.

Research limitations/implications

The participants of this study were restricted to a local area.

Practical implications

Organizations should develop job designs via two-way communication to bring up EE and SU can facilitate the process.

Originality/value

Previous research has identified EE as an outcome of organizational communication, but this concept has not yet been empirically verified. This research provides evidence to verify the above-mentioned concept and additionally confirms the moderating role of SU.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Professor Yulin Fang, Professor Yuan Sun and anonymous reviewers for making the publication of this paper possible.

Citation

Lin, S.-W., Liu, Y.-H. and Huang, E.Y. (2021), "Exploring the relationship between employee engagement and its antecedents: the moderating role of smartphone use", Information Technology & People, Vol. 34 No. 3, pp. 1200-1228. https://doi.org/10.1108/ITP-05-2019-0251

Publisher

:

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited

Related articles