[We’re pleased to welcome Marie Carasco-Saul of The Pennsylvania State University. Marie collaborated with Woocheol Kim and Taesung Kim, both also of The Pennsylvania State University, on their article “Leadership and Employee Engagement: Proposing Research Agendas Through a Review of Literature” from the March 2015 issue of Human Resource Development Review.]
- What inspired you to be interested in this topic?
There has not been much research examining the relationship between employee engagement and leadership. The term employee engagement has received increasing attention since Kahn (1990) introduced the concept as personal engagement in association with positive psychology and positive influences on organizational effectiveness. We were inspired to explore the concept intersections, learn and offer an overarching multi-dimensional picture surrounding the relationship between leadership and engagement as a foundation for organizational leaders and scholars to build the body of knowledge.
- Were there findings that were surprising to you?
It was surprising that the first empirical study that investigated the relationship between leadership and employee engagement was conducted in 2009, with most studies focusing on transformational leadership and engagement. Given the recent nature of these investigations, other leadership styles have not received significant exploration with engagement.
- How do you see this study influencing future research and/or practice?
Since employee engagement and leadership are highly relevant concepts to organizations, we believe that we provided a big picture of the relationship between the broad concepts and an impetus for subsequent efforts to advance knowledge by offering a research-based conceptual framework, and recommendations that could be applicable to the workplace. Additionally, this work will encourage deeper examination of leadership and engagement constructs beyond transformational leadership.
You can read “Leadership and Employee Engagement: Proposing Research Agendas Through a Review of Literature” from Human Resource Development Review by clicking here. You can have notifications of all the latest research from Human Resource Development Review sent directly to your inbox. Just click here to sign up for -alerts!
Woocheol Kim holds a PhD in the workforce education and development program with an emphasis on human resource development (HRD) and organization development (OD) at the Pennsylvania State University. His research focuses on positive change, work/employee engagement, workplace learning and performance improvement, employee leadership, and career development within organizations.
Taesung Kim holds a PhD in the workforce education and development program with an emphasis on HRD and OD at the Pennsylvania State University. He earned both his BA in education and MEd in HRD from Yonsei University in Korea (South) and worked for KPMG Korea as a senior manager in the Learning and Development Center. His research interests include workplace learning and performance, leadership, employee/work engagement, professional ethics, and organizational change management.
Marie Carasco-Saul is a PhD Candidate in the workforce education and development program with an emphasis in HRD and OD at the Pennsylvania State University. She holds an undergraduate degree in Psychology and a graduate degree in Industrial-Organizational Psychology, and has worked in Talent Management in the Oil and Gas industry. She also holds the Global Certification in Human Resources (GPHR®) from the Human Resources Certification Institute (HRCI). Her research focuses on high-potential leader development.
SAGE Business and Management INK 