Knowledge-oriented leadership and workers' performance: do individual knowledge management engagement and empowerment matter?

PurposeDrawing upon social cognitive theory (SCT), the authors aimed to examine the relationship between supervisors' knowledge-oriented leadership (KOL) style and knowledge workers' performance. The authors further investigated the conditional indirect effects of KOL on workers' performance through knowledge management (KM) engagement at different levels of workers' empowerment.Design/methodology/approachThe authors used a time-lagged field survey and collected data from 212 knowledge workers and their 72 supervisors working in 15 knowledge-intensive firms across Pakistan.FindingsThe results showed that supervisors' KOL positively affected knowledge workers' performance both directly and through KM engagement. Similarly, the effect of KM engagement on workers' performance was stronger for those who experienced higher levels of empowerment. Finally, the indirect effects of KOL on workers' performance through KM engagement were stronger for higher levels of empowerment.Originality/valueThe study provided theoretical implications, specifically in a non-Western work context where KOL is relatively less explored. Additionally, the authors examined the concept of empowerment, using SCT, as a boundary condition, providing evidence for empowerment as a contingency factor that fosters employees' performance.