The Effect of Leader Empowering Behavior on Work Engagement: The Mediating Role of Job Crafting and Moderating Effects of Core-Self Evaluation and Person-Job Fit

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among leader empowering behavior, job crafting and work engagement. Specially, this study investigated not only the influence of leader empowering behavior on job crafting and work engagement that is mediated by job crafting but also the moderating effects of core-self evaluation and person-job fit on the relationships between leader empowering behavior and job crafting and between job crafting and work engagement. Data were collected among 312 korean employees who were working in various organization via online survey. Online survey was conducted by 312 korean employees who were working in various organizations. First, correlation analyses were conducted and the results showed that there were positive relationship among main variables such as leader empowering behavior, job crafting, work engagement and etc.. Second, the results of structural equitation modeling analyses offered strong support for the proposed model(partial mediation model). Employees who were empowered by leader were most likely to craft their job, relationship and cognitive boundary and boost work engagement; job crafting, in turn, was predictive of work engagement. Third the results of hierarchial regression analyses showed that core-self evaluation did not moderate the relationship between leader empowering behavior and job crafting. However, there was a moderation effect of person-job fit on the relationship between job crating and work engagement. Employees who did job crafting had a greater impact on work engagement under the low person-job fit situation than the high fit situation. The implications and limitations of this study and the directions for future research were discussed on the basis of the results.