Executive coaching effectiveness: towards sustainable business excellence

Abstract

In order to bridge the gap and provide organisations with practical assistance in dealing with the effectiveness of executive coaching for sustainable business excellence, the main purpose of this paper is to explore the complexity of executive coaching by proposing a comprehensive executive coaching framework that examines the important constructs and the entire impact of executive coaching effectiveness in Malaysia. Based on the extensive review of the current literature, coach-centric constructs, coachee characteristics, quality relationship and organisational support with coaching effectiveness are investigated through 320 questionnaires. The objective-driven model, which focuses on the extent to which coaching objectives have been met, was used to measure the effectiveness of executive coaching. The main results of the structural equation modelling analysis demonstrate that organisational support, coachee characteristics and quality relationship significantly influence coaching effectiveness. These findings provide a basis for the advancement of the executive coaching and human resource management (HRM) research literature. The practical implication of this study could be useful for HRM managers, who want to enhance leadership capabilities through executive coaching engagement that support their organisational performance. This Malaysian study will build upon the existing knowledge by investigating the factors contributing to executive coaching effectiveness from the coachee’s viewpoint.