The effect of leadership styles on employees’ work outcomes in nonprofit organizations: the role of work engagement as an intervening factor

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the impact of transformational and transactional leadership styles on employees’ affective commitment and OCB in NPOs and the role of work engagement as an intervening mechanism.Design/methodology/approachData was gathered from the responses of 400 employees working in Italian NPOs to an online questionnaire survey. A quantitative analytical research design was implemented and structural equation modeling techniques were used in analyzing the data.FindingsThe results suggest transformational and transactional leadership have a positive effect on affective commitment and OCB and work engagement mediating role between these variables.Practical implicationsTherefore organizations would benefit from introducing leadership training programs which focus on the influence that leaders have on employees’ work-related outcomes.Originality/valueThis paper has an original approach as it adds to the leadership literature by being one of the few studies to examine the impact of transformational and transactional leadership on employees’ attitudes and behaviors in NPOs.