Empowering leadership ripple effect: improving employee engagement, performance and knowledge sharing through relational energy and autonomy

Purpose - The present study aims to elucidate the mediating role of relational energy between empowering leadership and its attitudinal (employee engagement), behavioral (knowledge sharing) and performance (task) related outcomes, respectively, and the moderating role of autonomy between empowering leadership and relational energy, using the social cognitive theory.Design/methodology/approach - The study used surveys in the small and medium-sized enterprises sector and collected time-lagged data to address common method variance and reveal causal relationships. AMOS was used to conduct hypothesis testing.Findings - The results suggest that empowering leaders have a positive impact on outcomes such as employee engagement, knowledge sharing and task performance, and this impact is mediated by relational energy. Autonomy moderates the empowering leaders and relational energy relationship, strengthening it when autonomy is high.Practical implications - Organizations should focus on leadership development programs depending on the need. Empowering leadership should be promoted to get positive attitudinal and behavioral outcomes in terms of employees. Empowering the employee in terms of decision-making helps motivate employees to perform better.Originality/value - The study contributes to the empowering leadership literature by associating social cognitive theory. Empowering leaders has the potential to increase employee engagement, knowledge sharing and task performance.