Does empowering leadership enhance employee agility? A serial mediation model

Abstract

PurposeOrganizational success in a dynamic environment demands leadership and agility. The extant literature on employee agility needs more empirical evidence and appropriate theoretical explanations. This study aims to contribute to the literature by bringing empirical evidence to understand the intervening mechanisms through which empowering leadership influences employee agility and to suggest alternate theoretical explanations.Design/methodology/approachThe mediating role of knowledge-sharing behavior and psychological safety is examined using quantitative data from a sample of 924 employees working in India's information technology industry.FindingsFindings reveal that empowering leadership contributes to psychological safety at the workplace, promoting employees' knowledge-sharing behavior and leading to employee agility. The findings are globally relevant and theoretically consistent.Research limitations/implicationsThe phenomenon is explained in two ways. Firstly, by combining the structural empowerment and motivation perspectives, and secondly, by combining the conservation of resources and social exchange perspectives.Practical implicationsThe findings imply that psychological safety and knowledge-sharing behavior can be used as leading indicators to prepare the organization for success in a dynamic and volatile environment.Originality/valueThis study is one of the earliest attempts to explain the mediating mechanism between empowering leadership and employee agility using serial multiple mediations. Further, this study combines different theoretical perspectives to present the findings more logically.