The effect of authentic leadership and psychological capital on work engagement: the mediating role of job satisfaction

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to investigate the effect of authentic leadership and psychological capital (PsyCap) on work engagement via job satisfaction by employing the job demands-resources (JD-R) model.

Design/methodology/approach

Participants were 307 (52% male and 48% female) employees randomly recruited from a state-owned company in the eastern part of Indonesia. Most participants had completed an undergraduate degree with a mean age of 27.55 (SD = 7.89). The study employed a three-wave data collection technique to rule out any common method biases.

Findings

The results suggested that the theoretical model and empirical data showed a good fit (CMIN/DF = 2.19 and RMSEA = 0.06), indicating an indirect effect of authentic leadership and PsyCap on work engagement via job satisfaction. The effect of authentic leadership on work engagement was fully mediated by job satisfaction. In contrast, job satisfaction only partially mediated the relationship between PsyCap and work engagement.

Research limitations/implications

First, this study did not explore any further consequences of gender equality. Second, although the data have been compared with some existing studies, this study did not collect cross-cultural data from different countries. Lastly, the data were collected from a state-owned enterprise, which may limit generalisation to other organisations.

Originality/value

This study offered a new perspective by examining the implications of the JD-R model in the eastern part of Indonesia, where organisation culture is predominantly influenced by Buginese values. Furthermore, the inclusion of job satisfaction into the model added new information regarding the importance of mediating variables in explaining the indirect effect of job and personal resources.

Citation

Wirawan, H., Jufri, M. and Saman, A. (2020), "The effect of authentic leadership and psychological capital on work engagement: the mediating role of job satisfaction", Leadership & Organization Development Journal, Vol. 41 No. 8, pp. 1139-1154. https://doi.org/10.1108/LODJ-10-2019-0433