| Author: | Fong, Kai-hung |
| Title: | A multilevel empowerment model : the effects of empowering leadership and psychological empowerment on job satisfaction, organizational commitment and organizational citizenship behaviors |
| Degree: | D.B.A. |
| Year: | 2006 |
| Subject: | Hong Kong Polytechnic University -- Dissertations. Employee empowerment. Leadership. Organizational behavior. |
| Department: | Graduate School of Business |
| Pages: | xii, 156 leaves ; 30 cm. |
| Language: | English |
| Abstract: | Abstract of thesis title: A multilevel empowerment model: The effects of empowering leadership and psychological empowerment on job satisfaction, organizational commitment and organizational citizenship behaviors submitted by Kai Hung Fong for the degree of Doctor of Business Administration at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University in June, 2006. The high quality of customer service is regarded as a competitive advantage as it plays a key role in attracting and retaining customers (Chebat & Kollias, 2000; Melhem, 2004; Rafiq & Ahmed, 1998). Customer service may be enhanced and affected by the behavior and attitudinal dispositions of customer service employees as customers' perceptions can be influenced through the interactions with employees (Chebat & Kollias, 2000). In order to compete and remain in the market, ensuring that customer service employees deliver high quality service is crucial in organizations. As the behaviors and attitudes of customer service employees are so important, organizations are looking for ways to manage them. Empowerment is an effective management approach that can influence the behaviors and attitudes of service employees. Empowerment is also believed to enhance the intrinsic motivation of customer service employees (Chebat & Kollias, 2000; Melhem, 2004; Rafiq & Ahmed, 1998). Furthermore, previous studies have indicated that empowering leadership behaviors may influence perceptions of psychological empowerment among customer service employees (Yagil, 2002; Ahearne, Mathieu, & Rapp 2005), suggesting that leadership has a role to play here. The main objective of this research is to examine the effects of empowering leadership, as conceptualized in Arnold et al.'s (2000) Empowering Leadership Questionnaire (ELQ) on customer service employees. The research involved a multilevel analysis which examined the effects of empowering leadership behaviors displayed by supervisors on individual employees' psychological empowerment and their organizational commitment, job satisfaction, in-role behaviors (IRBs) and organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs). This involved a multi-level analysis, with employees grouped in work teams, each with a single supervisor. The research was conducted in one division of a large Hong Kong telecommunications corporation. Two hundred and sixteen-six employees together with their supervisors from 41 teams provided complete data. The findings indicated that empowering leadership behaviors strongly influence perceptions of psychological empowerment among employees. The empowering leadership dimensions of Informing and Participative Decision Making were the most significant predictors of psychological empowerment. Furthermore, the research provided evidence that empowering leadership behaviors strongly influence the employee outcomes of job satisfaction and in-role behaviors directly. Finally, psychological empowerment had a mediating effort in the relationships between empowering leadership on the one hand, and job satisfaction, IRB and OCBI on the other. The findings improve our understanding of how a group level construct influences individual employees' psychological empowerment and of the role of empowering leadership in a non-Western environment. The findings have important implications for advancing empowerment theory and practice and facilitating the conceptual development of leadership and empowerment theories. Moreover, the results provided valuable information for organizations to select, train and develop their managers/supervisors so as to raise managerial effectiveness. |
| Rights: | All rights reserved |
| Access: | restricted access |
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| File | Description | Size | Format | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| b20661344.pdf | For All Users (off-campus access for PolyU Staff & Students only) | 15.1 MB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
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