Leader psychological capital and employee work engagement: The roles of employee psychological capital and team collectivism
Leadership & Organization Development Journal
ISSN: 0143-7739
Article publication date: 31 August 2017
Issue publication date: 18 September 2017
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between leader psychological capital and employee work engagement. Drawing on conservation of resources theory, the authors hypothesize that leader psychological capital is associated with employee work engagement through employee psychological capital. The authors further hypothesize that team collectivism moderates the relationship between leader psychological capital and employee psychological capital.
Design/methodology/approach
Multi-source data came from 44 team leaders and 307 employees in Mainland China.
Findings
The results suggest a trickle-down relationship between leader psychological capital and employee psychological capital, which in turn is linked to employee engagement. In addition, the relationship between leader psychological capital and employee psychological capital is stronger (weaker) when team collectivism is lower (higher).
Practical implications
By paying attention to the psychological capital of both employees and their leaders, organizations can increase employee engagement which is an important work outcome.
Originality/value
Work engagement is important in the workplace because it is related to a variety of employee work and life outcomes. Prior research has examined the antecedents of work engagement, but little is known about the role of leader psychological capital, a positive psychological state, in shaping employee work engagement. This research applied a resource conservation process model of leader positivity on employee engagement that is mediated by employee psychological capital. This study contributes to a better understanding of the theoretical foundation of leader psychological capital.
Keywords
Citation
Xu, J., Liu, Y. and Chung, B. (2017), "Leader psychological capital and employee work engagement: The roles of employee psychological capital and team collectivism", Leadership & Organization Development Journal, Vol. 38 No. 7, pp. 969-985. https://doi.org/10.1108/LODJ-05-2016-0126
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2017, Emerald Publishing Limited