Effect of Leader Mindfulness on Employee Engagement with the Moderating Effect of Leader-Follower Social Capital in Food and Beverage Industry in Vietnam

Abstract

Employee engagement has recently become more and more widespread for discussion among consulting firms and in the popular business press. However, employee engagement has rarely been studied in the academic literature and almost none is known about its leader mindfulness-related antecedents, especially in Food and Beverage Industry. In addition, both elements of leader-follower social capital including goal congruence and social interaction are conducive to stimulating high-quality knowledge flows, they might help followers better appreciate their leader’s contributions. Therefore, this study investigated the relationship between leader mindfulness and employee engagement, and leader-follower goal congruence and social interaction served as moderators in the relationship. Sample of this study was 256 full-time employees working in Food and Beverage industry in Vietnam. Quantitative research design and online questionnaires were adopted to test the research hypotheses. The researcher used IBM SPSS Statistics to do the descriptive, correlation and hierarchical regression analysis. The result indicated that employees whose mindful leaders will show more engagement. Moreover, it was concluded that both goal congruence and social interaction have significant moderating effects on the relationship between leader mindfulness and employee engagement. This study, in conclusion, pointed out the importance of leader mindfulness in organizational management field and provides recommendations in human resource management in Food and Beverage industry in Vietnam.