The effect of empowering leadership on workforce agility: A multi-group analysis by work experience

Abstract

In today's business world, uncertainties, rapid change, and intense competition force businesses to be agile not only structurally but also in terms of their people. In this context, employee adaptability, proactivity, and resilience have become critical elements for the sustainability of organizational agility. The aim of this study is to determine the effect of an empowering leadership approach on workforce agility. In other words, it examines how empowering leadership behaviors affect employees' proactiveness, adaptability, and psychological resilience. However, the reflection of leadership practices on employee behavior may not occur in the same way for all employees. Especially, work experience can differentiate how employees perceive, internalize, and translate leadership practices into behavior. To this end, data was collected through a survey conducted with 218 employees in manufacturing businesses operating in Kütahya. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling and multiple group analysis techniques. The findings revealed that empowering leadership significantly and positively affects workforce agility, and that this effect varies according to length of employment, indicating that leadership practices do not produce uniform outcomes across different experience levels.

Keywords

• Empowering leadership
• workforce agility
• proactivity
• adaptability
• psychological resilience

Supporting Institution

No support was received for this study.

Ethical Statement

Ethics committee approval for this research was obtained from the Kütahya Dumlupınar University Social and Human Sciences Research Ethics Committee with decision number 2024-10 dated November 4, 2024.

Güçlendirici liderliğin işgücü çevikliğine etkisi: çalışma deneyimine göre çoklu grup analizi

Abstract

Günümüz iş dünyasında belirsizlikler, hızlı değişimler ve yoğun rekabet, işletmeleri yalnızca yapısal değil, aynı zamanda insani yönlerden de çevik olmaya zorlamaktadır. Bu bağlamda, çalışanların uyumluluğu, proaktifliği ve psikolojik dayanıklılığı örgütsel çevikliğin sürdürülebilirliği açısından kritik unsurlar haline gelmiştir. Bu çalışmanın amacı, çalışanların çevik davranışlar sergilemesinde güçlendirici liderlik yaklaşımının etkisini belirlemektir. Başka bir ifadeyle, güçlendirici liderlik davranışlarının çalışanların proaktiflik, uyum ve psikolojik dayanıklılık davranışlarını nasıl etkilediği incelenmektedir. Ancak liderlik uygulamalarının çalışan davranışlarına yansıması, tüm çalışanlar için aynı biçimde gerçekleşmeyebilir. Özellikle örgütte geçirilen süre, çalışanların liderlik sinyallerini algılama, içselleştirme ve davranışa dönüştürme biçimlerini farklılaştırabilmektedir. Bu doğrultuda, Kütahya’da faaliyet gösteren üretim işletmelerinde 218 çalışana ulaşılarak anket aracılığı ile veriler toplanmıştır. Veriler, yapısal eşitlik modellemesi ve çoklu grup analizi teknikleri kullanılarak analiz edilmiştir. Elde edilen bulgular, güçlendirici liderliğin işgücü çevikliğini anlamlı ve pozitif yönde etkilediğini, ayrıca bu etkinin çalışma süresine göre farklılaştığını ortaya koymuştur, bu durum, liderlik uygulamalarının farklı deneyim seviyelerinde aynı sonuçları üretmediğini göstermektedir.

Keywords

• Güçlendirici liderlik
• işgücü çevikliği
• proaktiflik
• uyum
• psikolojik dayanıklılık

Supporting Institution

Bu çalışma için herhangi bir destek alınmamıştır.

Ethical Statement

Bu araştırma için etik kurul onayı, Kütahya Dumlupınar Üniversitesi Sosyal ve Beşeri Bilimler Araştırma Etik Kurulu tarafından 4 Kasım 2024 tarihli ve 2024-10 numaralı karar ile alınmıştır.

References

1. Akçakaya, M. (2010). Örgütlerde uygulanan personel güçlendirme yöntemleri: Türk kamu yönetiminde personel güçlendirme. Karadeniz Araştırmaları, 25(25), 145-174.
2. Aktas, K., Dogan, E., and Gungor, H. Y. (2017). An extensive academic approach to crisis and crisis leadership. International Journal of Scientific and Technological Research, 3(8), 17–27.
3. Al Balushi, A. K., Thumiki, V. R. R., Nawaz, N., Jurcic, A. and Gajenderan, V. (2022). Role of organizational commitment in career growth and turnover intention in public sector of Oman. PLOS ONE 17(5): e0265535. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0265535
4. Alavi, S., Abd. Wahab, D., Muhamad, N. and Arbab Shirani, B. (2014). Organic structure and organisational learning as the main antecedents of workforce agility. International Journal of Production Research, 52(24), 6273-6295. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/00207543.2014.919420
5. Alavi, S., and Abd. Wahab, D. (2013). A review on workforce agility. Research Journal of Applied Sciences, Engineering and Technology, 5(16), 4195–4199.
6. Alkan, A., and Erdem, R. (2018). Güç: Formal ve informal yönden güce kavramsal bir bakış. Süleyman Demirel Üniversitesi Vizyoner Dergisi, 10(24), 405-433. Doi: https://doi.org/10.21076/vizyoner.472535
7. Amanda, E., Wicaksana, S. A., and Hanifah, R. I. (2024). The impact of psychological empowerment on workforce agility in organization X. European Journal of Business and Management Research, 9(2), 66-69.
8. Amundsen, S. and Martinsen, Ø.L. (2014), Empowering leadership: construct clarification, conceptualization, and validation of a new scale. The Leadership Quarterly, 25(3), 487-511. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2013.11.009

9. Arıkan, R. (2018). Anket yöntemi üzerinde bir değerlendirme. Haliç Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, 1(1), 97-159.
10. Aycan, Z. (2006). Paternalism: towards conceptual refinement and operationalization. In U. Kim, K.-S. Yang, & K.-K. Hwang (Eds.), Indigenous and cultural psychology: Understanding people in context (pp. 445–466). New York, NY: Springer.
11. Bandura, A. (1977). Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. Psychological Review, 84(2), 191–215. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.84.2.191
12. Bauer, T. N., Bodner, T., Erdogan, B., Truxillo, D. M. and Tucker, J. S. (2007). Newcomer adjustment during organizational socialization: a meta-analytic review of antecedents, outcomes, and methods. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92(3), 707–721. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.92.3.707
13. Braun, T. J., Hayes, B. C., Frautschy DeMuth, R. L. and Taran, O. A. (2017). The development, validation, and practical application of an employee agility and resilience measure to facilitate organizational change. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 10(4), 702–722.
14. Breu, K., Hemingway, C. J., Strathern, M. and Bridger, D. (2001). Workforce agility: The new employee strategy for the knowledge economy. Journal of Information Technology, 17(1), 21–31. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1017/iop.2017.79
15. Cheong, M., Yammarino, F. J., Dionne, S. D., Spain, S. M. and Tsai, C. Y. (2019). A Review of the effectiveness of empowering leadership. The Leadership Quarterly, 30, 34-58. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2018.08.005
16. Cheung, G. W., Cooper-Thomas, H. D., Lau, R. S. and Wang, L. C. (2024). Reporting reliability, convergent and discriminant validity with structural equation modeling: a review and best-practice recommendations. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 41, 745–783. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10490-023-09871-y
17. Cheung, G. W. and Rensvold, R. B. (2002). Structural equation modeling evaluating goodness-of-fit indexes for testing measurement invariance. Structural Equation Modeling, 9(2), 233–255. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1207/S15328007SEM0902_5
18. Çokluk, Ö., Şekercioğlu, G. and Büyüköztürk, Ş. (2016). Sosyal bilimler için çok değişkenli istatistik SPSS ve Lisrel uygulamaları (4. Baskı). Ankara: Pegem Akademi Yayınları.
19. Conger, J. A., and Kanungo, R. N. (1988) The empowerment process: integrating theory and practice. Academy of Management Review, 13, 471-482. Doi: https://doi.org/10.2307/258093
20. Cyfert, S., Szumowski, W., Dyduch, W., Zastempowski, M. and Chudziński, P. (2022). The power of moving fast: responsible leadership, psychological empowerment and workforce agility in energy sector firms. Heliyon, 8(10), Article e11188. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e11188
21. Das, K. P., Mukhopadhyay, S. and Suar, D. (2023). Enablers of workforce agility, firm performance, and corporate reputation. Asia Pacific Management Review, 28(1), 33-44. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apmrv.2022.01.006
22. Doğan, S. and Demiral, Ö. (2009). Örgütsel bağlılığın sağlanmasında personel güçlendirme ve psikolojik sözleşmenin etkisine ilişkin bir araştırma. Erciyes Üniversitesi İktisadi ve İdari Bilimler Fakültesi Dergisi, 32, 47-80.
23. Eren, E. (2013). Liderlik teorileri ve uygulamaları. İstanbul: Beta Yayınları.
24. Ergün Özler, N. D. (2013). Liderlik. In C. Koparal & İ. Özalp (Eds.), Yönetim ve organizasyon (pp. 94–123). Eskişehir: Anadolu Üniversitesi Yayınları.
25. Feldman, D. C. (1976). A contingency theory of socialization. Administrative Science Quarterly, 21(3), 433–452. Doi: https://doi.org/10.2307/2391853
26. Fornell, C. and Larcker, D. F. (1981). Evaluating Structural Equation Models with unobservable variables and measurement error. Journal of Marketing Research, 18(1), 39–50. Doi: https://doi.org/10.2307/3151312
27. French, J. R. P. and Raven, B. H. (1959). The bases of social power. In D. Cartwright (Ed.), Studies in social power (pp. 150–167). Ann Arbor, MI: Institute for Social Research.
28. Goldman, S. L., Nagel, R. N. and Preiss, K. (1995). Agile competitors and virtual organizations: strategies for enriching the customer. New York, NY: Van Nostrand Reinhold.
29. Hair, J. F., Black, W. C., Babin, B. J. and Anderson, R. E. (2014). Multivariate data analysis (7th ed.). Essex: Pearson Education Limited.
30. Horoub I. and Zargar P. (2022). Empowering leadership and job satisfaction of academic staff in Palestinian universities: implications of leader-member exchange and trust in leader. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 1065545. Doi: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1065545
31. Kalaycı, Ş. (2016). SPSS uygulamalı çok değişkenli istatistik teknikleri (7. Baskı). Ankara: Asil Yayın.
32. Kanter, R. M. (1977). Men and women of the corporation. New York: Basic Books.
33. Kim, S-S. and Yoon, D-Y. (2025). Impact of empowering leadership on adaptive performance in hybrid work: a serial mediation effect of knowledge sharing and employee agility. Frontiers in Psychology, 16, 1448820. Doi: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1448820
34. Kline, R. B. (2016). Principle and practice of Structural Equation Modelling (4th). New York, NY: The Guilford Press.
35. Konczak, L. J., Stelly, D. J. and Trusty, M. L. (2000). Defining and measuring empowering leader behaviors: development of an upward feedback instrument. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 60(2), 301-313. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/00131640021970420
36. Laschinger, H. K., Finegan, J., Shamian, J., and Wilk, P. (2001). Impact of structural and psychological empowerment on job strain in nursing work settings: expanding Kanter's model. The Journal of Nursing Administration, 31(5), 260–272. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1097/00005110-200105000-00006
37. Lysfjord, E.M. and Skarstein S. (2024). Empowering leadership: A journey of growth and insight through a mentoring program for nurses in leadership positions. Journal of Healthcare Leadership, 1(16), 443-454. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1097/10.2147/JHL.S482087
38. Mert, İ. S., Sen, C. and Alzghoul, A. (2022). Organizational justice, life satisfaction, and happiness: the mediating role of workplace social courage. Kybernetes, 51(7), 2215–2232. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1108/K-02-2021-0116
39. Muduli, A. (2013). Workforce agility: a review of literature. Journal of Strategic Human Resource Management, 6(3), 44–52.
40. Muduli, A. (2017). Exploring the facilitators and mediators of work force agility: an empirical study. Global Journal of Flexible Systems Management, 18(3), 201–211. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1108/MRR-10-2015-0236
41. Muduli, A., and Pandya, G. (2018). Psychological empowerment and workforce agility. Psychological Studies, 63(3), 276–285. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12646-018-0456-8
42. Naim, M.F., Sahai, S. and Elembilassery, V. (2024). Does empowering leadership enhance employee agility? A serial mediation model. Evidence-based HRM, 12(3), 666-682. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1108/EBHRM-08-2022-0197
43. Northouse, P. G. (2018). Leadership: theory and practice (8th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
44. Paul, M., Jena, L. K., and Sahoo, K. (2020). Workplace spirituality and workforce agility: a psychological exploration among teaching professionals. Journal of Religion and Health, 59, 135–153. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-019-00918-3
45. Prasetiawan, T., Nurhayati, M. and Riana, K. E. (2025). The influence of agile leadership and talent management on employee performance mediated by workforce agility. International Journal of Applied Management and Business, 3(1), 1–22. Doi: https://doi.org/10.54099/ijamb.v3i1.1201
46. Sanatigar, H., Hadi Peikani, M. and Gholamzadeh, D. (2017). Identifying organizational agility and leadership dimensions using delphi technique and factor analysis: an investigation among public sector pension funds(PSPFs) in Iran. International Journal of Public Leadership, 13(4), 276-294.
47. Saputra, N., Patrick, G. and Ronald. (2022). Digital competence as a mediator for the leadership in empowering workforce agility. 2022 International Conference on Business and Technology (ICBT), IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/ICIMTech55957.2022.9915161
48. Shafer, R. A., Dyer, L., Kilty, J., Amos, J. and Ericksen, G. A. (2003). Crafting a human resource strategy to foster organizational agility: a case study. Human Resource Management, 40(3), 197–211. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/hrm.1011
49. Shamir, B. and Howell, J. M. (1999). Organizational and contextual influences on the emergence and effectiveness of charismatic leadership. The Leadership Quarterly, 10(2), 257–283. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/S1048-9843(99)00014-4
50. Sharifi, H. and Zhang, Z. (1999). A Methodology for achieving agility in manufacturing organisations: an introduction. International Journal of Production Economics, 62(1-2): 7-22. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0925-5273(98)00217-5
51. Sharma, P. N. and Kirkman, B. L. (2015). Leveraging leaders: a literature review and future lines of inquiry for empowering leadership research. Group & Organization Management, 40(2), 193-237. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/1059601115574906
52. Sherehiy, B. (2008). Relationships between agility strategy, work organization and workforce agility. Kentucky: University of Louisville.
53. Sherehiy, B., Karwowski, W. and Layer, J. K. (2007). A review of enterprise agility: concepts, frameworks, and attributes. International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics, 37, 445–460. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ergon.2007.01.007
54. Slocum, J. W., and Cron, W. L. (1985). Job attitudes and performance during three career stages. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 26(2), 126-145. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/0001-8791(85)90013-2
55. Spreitzer, G.M. (1995). Psychological empowerment in the workplace: dimensions, measurement, and validation. Academy of Management Journal, 38(5), 1442-1465. Doi: https://doi.org/10.2307/256865
56. Taner, D. (2024). Yönetim uygulamaları açısından yönetici mi? Lider mi? Lider-yönetici mi? Kavramsal bir çerçeve. Organizasyon ve Yönetim Bilimleri Dergisi, 16(2), 131-168. Doi: https://doi.org/10.69785/oybd.1482562
57. Teece, D. J., Pisano, G., and Shuen, A. (1997). Dynamic capabilities and strategic management. Strategic Management Journal, 18(7), 509-533. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1097-0266(199708)18:7<509::AID-SMJ882>3.0.CO;2-Z
58. Thomas, K. W. and Velthouse, B.A. (1990). Cognitive elements of empowerment: an “interpretive” model of intrinsic task motivation. Academy of Management Review, 15(4), 666-681. Doi: https://doi.org/10.2307/258687
59. Tummers, L. G., and Bakker, A. B. (2021). Leadership and job demands-resources theory: a systematic review. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 722080. Doi: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.722080
60. Varshney, D. and Varshney, N. K. (2024). Does empowering leadership behavior affect employee performance? The mediating role of workforce agility. International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, 74(4), 1425-1451. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPPM-11-2023-0618
61. Westland, J. C. (2010). Lower bounds on sample size in structural equation modeling. Electronic Commerce Research and Applications, 9(6), 476–487. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.elerap.2010.07.003
62. Zhang, X. and Bartol, K. M. (2010). Linking empowering leadership and employee creativity: the influence of psychological empowerment, intrinsic motivation, and creative process engagement. The Academy of Management Journal, 53(1), 107-128. Doi: https://doi.org/10.5465/AMJ.2010.48037118