dissertation topics on leadership styles

• How it works

Useful Links

How much will your dissertation cost?

Have an expert academic write your dissertation paper!

Dissertation Services

Get unlimited topic ideas and a dissertation plan for just £45.00

Order topics and plan

Get 1 free topic in your area of study with aim and justification

Yes I want the free topic

Leadership Dissertation Topics

Published by Grace Graffin at January 4th, 2023 , Revised On May 30, 2024

Leadership is an attribute of leading and guiding subordinates for collective wellness. Many people aspire to become leaders, but only a few succeed. This is because leadership and management are two relatively different concepts. A manager is not always a leader, and a leader cannot always be a manager. So, a leader knows how to manage a group without having distinguished power.

That said, leadership is an exciting discipline to explore and study. If you have aimed to write your dissertation about leadership and are direly looking for some exceptional leadership research topics, do not worry; we have got your back. Find out the most relevant and striking list of leadership topics for the research.

You can start your leadership dissertation by requesting a brief research proposal  from our writers on any of these topics, which includes an  introduction  to the problem,  research question , aim and objectives,  literature review , along with the proposed methodology  of research to be conducted. Let us know if you need any help in getting started.

Check our  example dissertation  to get an idea of  how to structure your dissertation .

You can review step by step guide on how to write your dissertation  here .

List Of Top New Dissertation Topics On Leadership

• Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Leadership Development
• How to Lead Through Crisis in a Volatile World
• How Leaders Can Drive Employee Engagement Through Shared Goals
• The Impact of Remote Work on Leadership Styles and Team Dynamics
• Building Trust and Transparency in a Hybrid Work Environment
• Developing Emotional Intelligence for Effective Leadership in a Digital Age
• Can servant leadership foster employee Wellbeing and productivity?
• The Gig Economy and the Challenges of Leading a Dispersed Workforce
• The Influence of Social Media on Leadership Communication and Public Perception
• The Impact of Agile Leadership on Project Management and Team Performance
• An Analysis on the impact of Analytics on Making Informed Decisions and Driving Results
• How Leaders Can Create a Risk-Taking Environment for Growth
• The Evolving Role of Mentorship in Leadership Development Programmes
• The Role of Leadership in Managing Conflict within Teams and Organisations
• The Impact of Leadership on Employee Wellbeing and Mental Health in the Workplace
• How Leaders Can Effectively Navigate Organisational Transformation
• How Leaders Can Set Positive Standards and Inspire Ethical Behaviour
• How Leaders Can Motivate Teams Through Recognition and Appreciation
• The Importance of Strategic Thinking for Effective Leadership
• The Role of Leadership in Building a Strong Organisational Culture
• The Impact of Leadership on Organisational Reputation and Public Perception
• The Evolving Skills Needed for Effective Leadership in the 21st Century
• The Impact of Leadership on Customer Satisfaction and Brand Loyalty
• How Leaders Can Empower Their Teams for Greater Success
• Handling Rapid Change and Disruption in Business
• The Importance of Effective Time Management for Leaders
• The Role of Leadership in Building High-Performing Teams
• The Impact of Leadership on Employee Turnover and Retention Rates
• The Power of Networking for Leaders

Want to know what essay structure and style will work best for your assignment?

Problem fixed! We can write any type of essay in any referencing style. We ensure every essay written is beyond your expectations.

Trending Leadership Dissertation Topics

Topic 1: a comparative analysis of the impact of transformational and servant leadership styles on employee satisfaction and performance..

Research Aim: The research aims to conduct a comparative analysis of the impact of transformational and servant leadership styles on customer satisfaction.

Objectives:

• To analyse the factors impacting employee satisfaction and performance.
• To determine the similarities and differences between transformational and servant leaders.
• To conduct a comparative analysis of the impact of transformational and servant leadership styles on customer satisfaction.

Topic 2: Investigate the suitable leadership attributes for handling crises and the financial stability of the business.

Research Aim: The research aims to investigate the suitable leadership attributes for handling crises and the financial stability of the business.

• To analyse the leadership attributes ideal for handling crises and unpredictable situations.
• To evaluate the factors impacting the financial stability of businesses.
• To investigate the suitable leadership attributes for handling crises and the financial stability of the business.

Topic 3: Analysis of the medical leadership response in the NHS during the initial stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK.

Research Aim: The research aims to analyse the medical leadership response in the NHS during the initial stages of the Covid-19 pandemic in the UK.

• To analyse the impact of medical leadership on staff morale and the quality of patient care.
• To determine the medical leadership in the NHS and its impact on staff productivity and efficiency.
• To investigate the medical leadership response in the NHS during the initial stages of the Covid-19 pandemic in the UK.

Topic 4: How does poor leadership impact the overall organisational revenue and culture?

Research Aim: The research aims to analyse how poor leadership impacts the overall organisational revenue and culture.

• To analyse the ramifications of poor leadership in organisations.
• To evaluate the factors contributing to organisational revenue generation and shaping the organisational culture.
• To analyse the impact of poor leadership on overall organisational revenue and culture.

Topic 5: Analysis of the potential use of AI for enhancing leadership performance and decision-making.

Research Aim: The research aims to analyse the potential use of AI for enhancing leadership performance and decision-making.

• To analyse how AI contributes to leadership decision-making.
• To identify the factors impacting leadership performance and the role of technology.
• To analyse the potential use of AI for enhancing leadership performance and decision-making.

Topic no.1: Significance of leadership in business

Research Aim: In times like the present, when there is wavering financial stability, it is imperative for businesses to become as strong as they can be. Only good leaders in a company can help make the right and timely decisions to make it successful. The research will deeply analyse and study the importance of leadership in a business. It will figure out the challenges posed to business due to poor or absence of good leadership.

Topic no.2: Leadership and management

Research Aim: Leadership and management are two different things, but they go hand in hand. But it is significant to understand in what premises and situations leadership becomes more crucial than management and vice versa. It is also significant to find whether or not one is independent of the other. The main of the research will be to find out the answers to all of the aforementioned questions.

Topic no.3: Political leadership; the ramifications of poor leadership

Research Aim: The aim of the research would be to analyse and evaluate political leadership and study the consequences of poor leadership. The researcher can study different political leaders, their model of leadership and their repercussions on the citizens of their state.

Topic no.4: Role of women in educational leadership

Research Aim: Women are no less than men in any field, especially leadership. In fact, women leaders have proved themselves over and over again throughout history. The aim of the research would be to identify and analyse women’s role in educational leadership. It will find out the women who played a centrifugal role in the sector of educational leadership.

Topic no.5: Climate leadership

Research Aim: Fairly a new avenue of leadership, climate leadership is one of the most needed and prospering kinds of leadership. When it comes to saving the earth, many are raising their voices, and some are taking crucial actions. The research would aim to explore the nature of leadership predominating for climate preservation, who are the key leaders at the forefront, what approaches they are using to inhibit global warming, and what recommendations would be in that regard.

Topic no.6: Impact of leadership style on the performance of employees

Research Aim: The aim of the research would be to understand the interrelation of leadership style and the performance of employees. The researcher will evaluate the performance of employees under different types of leadership styles, i.e., authoritative leadership, participative leadership, delegation leadership, transactional leadership, and transformational leadership. It will evaluate the psychological and behavioural traits of employees under each specified type of leadership.

Topic no.7: Traits of Good Corporate Leadership

Research Aim: The aim of the research is to identify the features and characteristics of good corporate leadership and design a model that can be followed to achieve business goals.

Also Read : How to Write Dissertation Aims and Objectives?

Topic no.8: Leadership responses during the pandemic

Research Aim: The aim of the research is to study the role of leaders in crisis management, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. The research will study the leadership responses of different countries and evaluate their measures and their repercussion in response to the outbreak.

Topic no.9: Leadership and economy

Research Aim: The economy of a country depends largely on how the leaders are amending the bogus policies and creating effective, updated ones for economic growth. In essence, it is the leaders whose policies lead to a thriving economy. The aim of the research is to find the relationship between leadership and the economy and how good leaders lead to a better economy.

Topic no.10: How leaders are using AI for their optimal performance

Research Aim: The aim of the research is to find out how(if) global leaders are using technology to improve their performances in their respective fields. There are many leaders, apart from technological leaders, who are using different forms of technology to boost their performance and interact with their subordinates.

How Can ResearchProspect Help?

ResearchProspect writers can send several custom topic ideas to your email address. Once you have chosen a topic that suits your needs and interests, you can order for our dissertation outline service which will include a brief introduction to the topic, research questions , literature review , methodology , expected results , and conclusion . The dissertation outline will enable you to review the quality of our work before placing the order for our full dissertation writing service !

Topic no.11: Digital leaders of the future

Research Aim: The aim of the research would be to understand and analyse how digital leaders use information and technology to help an organisation become more receptive to customer needs and changing business requirements.

Topic no.12: Leadership culture

Research Aim: The leadership culture is how leaders interact and communicate with the group of people they are commanding. The aim of the research is to study and evaluate the leadership culture prevalent in our society versus how it should ideally be.

Topic no.13: Leadership and Managing Adversity

Research Aim: The prime aim of the research would be to understand the art of managing adversity and adversaries that leaders employ to swipe off the obstructions that hinder their goals. In order to become a good leader, it is eminent to get familiar with the strategies to get rid of the oppositions that cause damage to the goals.

Topic no.14: Leadership and emotional intelligence:

Research Aim: Emotional intelligence is more important than IQ, and for leaders, it is more than important to hold their nerves to pass the testing times. The aim of the research is to identify and explore the importance of emotional intelligence in leaders and how they use it strategically to cope with difficult times.

Topic no.15: Women's leadership styles vs men's leadership style

Research Aim: Leaders are leaders, and they have nothing to do with gender, but it is said that there are a few differences between women’s leadership and men’s leadership. The aim of the research would be to analyse each one’s leadership styles and determine their differences.

Topic no.16: Leadership and ethical paradigms

Research Aim: The aim of the research would be to analyse leadership in the context of five ethical paradigms. It will understand and evaluate how leaders company different levels of ethics during their period of management.

Topic no.17: A case study of Jacinda Ardern's leadership

Research Aim: New Zealand was the first country to wipe off the covid 19 cases from the first wave. It was attributed to the policies of the state and leadership for impressive achievement. The main aim of the research is to study and analyse the role of Jacinda Ardern in crisis management.

Topic no.18: A case study of Margret Thatcher- the iron lady

Research Aim: Probably no one would be unaware of the first woman prime minister of Britain, Margret Thatcher. The aim of the research is to analyse and evaluate the leadership style that earned her the title of Iron Lady.

Topic no.19: Leadership and Education

Research Aim: Leadership in the education sector is as important as in any other field. The aim of the research is to study the inclusive or exclusive relationship between leadership and education. It will also provide suggestions about how to improve leadership approaches in education.

Topic no.20: Transformational and transactional leadership; the right approach to lead a business

Research Aim: Two main types of leadership include transformational and transactional leadership styles. The aim of the research would be to analyse and evaluate both styles, suggest the benefits and downsides of each style, and determine which approach is the best.

Conducting research on leadership and related topics can be very useful and exciting, but when it comes to writing, students become dreadful. But do not worry, we have got your back. Whether you want a section of the dissertation to be written impeccably or the whole of it, we are here. Don’t wait; click here .

Free Dissertation Topic

Phone Number

Academic Level Select Academic Level Undergraduate Graduate PHD

Academic Subject

Area of Research

Frequently Asked Questions

How to find leadership dissertation topics.

For leadership dissertation topics:

• Analyse leadership challenges.
• Explore the industry or context.
• Study effective leaders.
• Examine leadership theories.
• Consider organisational issues.
• Select a topic resonating with your passion and research goals.

You May Also Like

Do you have a dissertation topic in the field of information technology? If not, our competent dissertation writers are at your disposal. The importance of technology research cannot be overstated.

Need interesting and manageable Mental Health dissertation topics or thesis? Here are the trending Mental Health dissertation titles so you can choose the most suitable one.

Most students find it difficult to select the perfect International Business Dissertation Topic for their degree dissertations. In fact, most students choose narrow topics for their international business research papers as a result of the depth and breadth of the field.

USEFUL LINKS

LEARNING RESOURCES

COMPANY DETAILS

• How It Works

45,000+ students realised their study abroad dream with us. Take the first step today

Meet top uk universities from the comfort of your home, here’s your new year gift, one app for all your, study abroad needs, start your journey, track your progress, grow with the community and so much more.

Verification Code

An OTP has been sent to your registered mobile no. Please verify

Thanks for your comment !

Our team will review it before it's shown to our readers.

Leadership Dissertation Topics

• Updated on  
• Jan 10, 2023

A dissertation is a lengthy essay that is based on the independent research of the author. In the final semester of UG , PG , and PhD courses, it is submitted. The dissertation requires a lot of research and written documentation, so it usually takes 1-2 years to finish. The purpose of a dissertation is to evaluate a student’s capacity for research. Through this, students can improve their research , problem-solving , project management , and numerical skills. Students learn how to present their evidence-based conclusions to the thesis they selected while writing a dissertation.

This Blog Includes:

Leadership dissertations, leadership and organisational culture, negative leadership and its effects on the organization, how employee productivity can lead to effective leadership, how decision making can make an influence ethical leadership, how organisational challenges can be solved through a leadership role, additional leadership dissertation topics, skills required, organize your time first, leave the introduction until the conclusion, don’t wait until the very last minute to ask your boss for feedback.

Leading and guiding subordinates for group well-being is a quality of leadership . Few people actually succeed in achieving their dream of becoming a leader. It’s because management and leadership are two very dissimilar ideas. Neither a manager nor a leader can be both at the same time. Consequently, a leader is capable of managing a team without having formal authority.

Having said that, exploring and studying the field of leadership is fascinating. If you want to write a dissertation on leadership and are in desperate need of some outstanding leadership research topics , don’t worry; we’ve got you covered. Find the most interesting and pertinent list of leadership research topics.

Below mentioned is a suitable list of leadership dissertation topics to guide you as a potential researcher.

To analyse how leaders can help in improving the culture of the organization.

To check how negative leadership can affect the organization.

To examine how the productivity of employees can turn out in leadership quality.

To analyse how effective decision-making can make ethical leadership.

To analyse how leaders can be helpful in sorting out organisational challenges.

Check out the additional leadership dissertation topics mentioned below:

• How Leadership & Sustainability can lead to Climate Crisis
• Transformations and leadership
• How emotional intelligence can enhance leadership development
• Team Behavior and Aspects of Leadership
• Effective leadership learning processes in an organisation
• How do your innovation strategy and leadership create a business?
• A closer look at leadership in evidence-based management
• How can communication skills enhance leadership development?
• How do leadership and management relations build up a business?
• Analysis of leadership style on the performance of employees
• Exploring the link between poor leadership and organizational culture?
• A critical analysis of social and leadership skills for new Entrepreneurs

No matter what kind of dissertation you write or what subject you choose, you must demonstrate the following skills:

• Defining and outlining a research topic with a particular issue: determining the most significant issues.
• Getting the required information: Taking its reliability and validity into account.
• Considering the evidence from both sides of a debate to reach a well-informed decision
• putting your study’s results into a coherent, engrossing, and persuasive presentation while adhering to all formatting requirements.

Effective Dissertation Writing Tips

Some of the main writing tips to write a dissertation are as follows:

Create a schedule for the day and specify your deadlines. Determine how long a section or chapter will take to write. Select the time and begin working on it. You’ll be able to finish this within the allotted time if you do it in this manner.

Keep in mind that the first draught of your essay is not the finished product. Verify your writing several times for errors. This will force you to be more specific when describing your augmentations.

To give yourself time to collect your thoughts, try to write the main body first. As you have been working on the introduction for a while, you will be able to present it clearly in this way.

Try to share your research work more frequently and much earlier than the deadline to give yourself plenty of time to correct any mistakes. You might be able to avoid having to rewrite several chapters and sections.

Use a reference manager to save time and make it simpler for you to cite sources.

To get a sense of how to organise your dissertation, look at our example. Here is a guide that will walk you through the process of writing a dissertation.

One challenging quality for leadership skills is “Self-Awareness”.

It represents a study of theories, approaches to its development, and styles of leadership.

Becoming an effective leader depends on the leader’s leadership style. Successful leaders have vision and charisma, also Leaders should have an ongoing personality, and be talkative, careful and self-disciplined.

These were some popular leadership dissertation topics common for recruitment and admission processes. Hopefully, this blog has given you a better insight into leadership. For further assistance on how to prepare an application to universities abroad, seek help from the Leverage Edu experts to make your dream come true. Our mentors will help you draft a perfect application and guide you with other admission-related rounds. 

Heena Pahuja

Heena Pahuja is a versatile professional who combines the roles of a Content Writer and a Mental Health Practitioner. With her unique blend of skills and expertise, she is committed to creating impactful content while also providing support and guidance in the field of mental health. By combining her skills as a Content Writer and Mental Health Practitioner, she is uniquely positioned to create informative and empathetic content on mental health-related topics. Additionally she raise awareness, reduce stigma, and offer practical guidance for individuals seeking support or information. With a strong foundation in both content creation and mental health support, she is passionate about utilizing words to inspire positive change and promote holistic well-being.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Contact no. *

Leaving already?

8 Universities with higher ROI than IITs and IIMs

Grab this one-time opportunity to download this ebook

Connect With Us

45,000+ students realised their study abroad dream with us. take the first step today..

Resend OTP in

Need help with?

Study abroad.

UK, Canada, US & More

IELTS, GRE, GMAT & More

Scholarship, Loans & Forex

Country Preference

New Zealand

Which English test are you planning to take?

Which academic test are you planning to take.

Not Sure yet

When are you planning to take the exam?

Already booked my exam slot

Within 2 Months

Want to learn about the test

Which Degree do you wish to pursue?

When do you want to start studying abroad.

January 2024

September 2024

What is your budget to study abroad?

How would you describe this article ?

Please rate this article

We would like to hear more.

Have something on your mind?

Leadership Dissertation Topics

Leadership is a fascinating topic that spans many disciplines, including Management, Politics, Sociology, and Psychology. This makes it a very popular dissertation choice for undergraduates and postgraduates alike.

If you’re thinking of writing a dissertation on leadership then it’s important to choose an interesting and engaging topic. Most importantly, you should choose a topic that allows you to critically engage with the existing literature. That said, the following sections will highlight some of the key issues and debates within the field of leadership, including issues related to ethics, culture, COVID-19, and digital innovation.

Styles of Leadership

Culture and gender differences in leadership, leadership and organisational culture, change management and leadership in the wake of covid-19, leadership, sustainability, and the climate crisis, digital transformations and leadership.

There are many theories of leadership, some of which favour an impersonal style (transactional) and some of which favour a visionary and emotional style (transformational). Many leadership dissertations tend to identify a particular ‘style’ of leadership and then evaluate its relationship to another variable, such as organisational performance. This could be a good option if you are looking for a tried-and-tested dissertation topic. More recently, theorists have begun to consider what it means to be an ‘Ethical’ leader, and the extent to which decision making is based on moral factors. This could an interesting option if you are looking for an up-to-date leadership dissertation topic for 2021. Example titles are provided below:

• Does leadership style (transformational, transactional, authoritarian) influence employee satisfaction?
• What is the link between transformational leadership, innovation, and organisational performance?
• Is servant leadership an effective form of leadership in the not-for-profit sector? A case study approach.
• Are leaders born or made? Evaluating the trait approach to Leadership
• To what extent does the sector determine the style of leadership needed? A comparison between primary, secondary and tertiary sectors.
• Recruiting, selecting, and retaining ethical leaders: Searching for a ‘best practice’ approach.
• Are psychometric tests capable of selecting ethical leaders?
• What is the link between transformational leadership and creativity?
• Is transformational leadership always effective? A critical approach.
• Do leaders make decisions rationally or intuitively? A review of the existing literature.
• What are the antecedents of moral decision making in the workplace?

Now that we are living in an increasingly globalised and diverse world, it is necessary to consider how culture and gender might interact with theories of leadership. Here are some title suggestions to get you started:

• Is leadership diplomacy linked to employee satisfaction? A cross-cultural analysis of Canada vs. the Netherlands.
• Analysing the effectiveness of servant leadership in China’s public sector.
• Is directive leadership more common in ‘masculine’ (Hofstede) countries?
• Analysing the differences between Chinese and Western leadership styles: Is globalisation bringing us closer together or not?
• Exploring the role of gender differences in leadership, what is the significance of ‘social confidence’?
• Are women more likely to be ethical leaders? A qualitative approach
• Exploring the challenges faced by expatriate leaders in South East Asia: A qualitative approach.

One of the key debates in the Management literature relates to whether (and to what extent) leaders are able to influence organisational culture. If you are looking for a topic fit for 2021, then this could be a great debate to get your teeth into. Here are some title suggestions:

• Do ethical leaders have a positive ‘trickle-down’ effect on organisational culture?
• Could servant leadership foster a positive work culture?
• Exploring the relationship between organisational culture, leadership behaviour, and job satisfaction.
• Do formalised performance reviews inspire employee motivation? A qualitative approach.
• How do leaders in the Healthcare sector foster employee motivation and a positive organisational culture?

According to a recent article by People Management, the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us a lot about leadership and opened up new possibilities for this field of study. Notably, we’ve seen examples of highly ethical leadership (e.g., New Zealand MPs taking a voluntary pay cut), but we have also witnessed ethical misdemeanours (e.g., leaders refusing to compensate staff adequately). We have also witnessed the strength of community leadership as people have come together to support each other in their time of need, thereby problematising the idea that a leader is just a single person. So, why not impress your tutor with an up-to-the-minute leadership dissertation related to COVID-19? Here are some suggestions:

• Analysing the leadership response to the COVID-19 pandemic: A case study of the UK government.
• Using Kottler’s 8-step change model to analyse Deliveroo’s response to COVID-19.
• How important is leaders’ communication style during times of a crisis? A discourse analysis.
• Analysing community leadership responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Unethical leadership in times of crisis: Analysing Tim Martin’s (JD Wetherspoon’s) response to the pandemic.
• Leading teams from behind the screen: How have managers in the corporate sector adapted to remote working?

Leadership lends itself perfectly to topical debates surrounding climate change and sustainability. Here are just a few suggestions for your dissertation:

• Exploring the links between sustainability, innovation, and organisational performance.
• How does Syngenta’s leadership team normalise the use of neonicotinoid pesticides? A discourse analysis.
• Mapping the rise of vegan culture: Who are the leaders and how do they lead?
• Analysing the ethical leadership failure at Starbucks/Amazon
• The climate change debate: Analysing political leaders’ rhetoric

Finally, there’s no denying the awe-inspiring digital transformations we have witnessed over the last decade. The rise in AI and robotics, for example, has transformed the way we communicate and consume. In the leadership literature, there is a need to understand how leaders are adapting to these digital innovations. Moreover, within the HRM literature, there is a need to understand how to recruit and retain the most promising ‘digital leaders’ in 2021 and beyond. That said, here are some topic suggestions you could choose for your leadership dissertation:

• Is leadership theory keeping pace with technological innovation?
• How do gig economy organisations use digital innovations to lead their workers?
• How are leaders using AI to enhance organisational performance in the fashion and retail sectors?
• Recruiting and retaining ‘digital leaders’ in 2021 and beyond.

An official website of the United States government

The .gov means it’s official. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

The site is secure. The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

• Publications
• Account settings

Preview improvements coming to the PMC website in October 2024. Learn More or Try it out now .

• Advanced Search
• Journal List
• v.6(4); 2020 Apr

Leadership styles, work engagement and outcomes among information and communications technology professionals: A cross-national study

Habtamu kebu gemeda.

a Adama Science & Technology University, School of Humanity & Social Sciences, Ethiopia

b Pusan National University, Keumjeong-Gu, Jangjeon-Dong, San 30, Busan, 609-735, South Korea

The present study examined relationships among leadership styles, work engagement and work outcomes designated by task performance and innovative work behavior among information and communication technology professionals in two countries: Ethiopia and South Korea. In total, 147 participants from Ethiopia and 291 from South Korea were made to fill in the self-reporting questionnaire intended to assess leadership styles, work engagement, task performance, and innovative work behavior. To test the proposed hypotheses, multiple linear regression analysis was utilized. The results showed that transformational leadership style had a significant positive relationship with employees' work engagement and innovative work behavior, while transactional leadership style had a significant positive relationship with employees' task performance. However, laissez-faire leadership style had a significant negative relationship with task performance. Work engagement had significant positive relationships with the indicators of work outcomes. Besides, work engagement partially mediated the relationship between leadership styles and work outcomes. The observed associations and mediation were consistent across the two national samples considered, indicating the soundness of the assumptions across countries. The findings provide insights into how leadership styles correspond with employees’ work outcomes.

Leadership; Workplace; innovation; Performance; industry; Organization; Human Resources; work engagement; transformation; transaction, Technology Management; Organizational Theory; Human Resource Management; Behavioral Psychology; Organizational Psychology

1. Introduction

Leadership is crucial for effective functioning of any organization. The fundamental of leadership is its persuading power on human resources, organizations' source of competitive advantage, and the resultant outcomes. In swaying followers and harnessing organization member's selves to their work roles, leaders must enhance employees' motivation as having engaged employees is critical for organization to achieve its goal ( Batista-Taran et al., 2009 ). Studies, (e.g., Bakker and Bal, 2010 ; Harter et al., 2002 ; Xathopoulou et al., 2009 ) recorded the noteworthiness of employees' work engagement for organizational achievement measured in terms of monetary returns, productivity, client satisfaction, and a number of individual-level alluring employees' characteristics such as taking initiative and being proactive.

Literature (e.g. Bakker and Demerouti, 2008 ; Kim, 2014 ; Park et al., 2013 ; Saks, 2006 ; Salanova et al., 2011 ; Salanova and Schaufeli, 2008 ; Schaufeli and Bakker, 2004 ; Song et al., 2012 ; Xathopoulo et al., 2007 ) studied employee engagement within the framework of its antecedents and consequences using mainly the job demand-resources model, social exchange theory, social cognitive theory, and leadership theory. In the plethora of studies examining the correlates of employee engagement, particularly in Western and some Asian contexts, the most discussed antecedents included job resources, personal resources, perceived supports, learning organizations, and transformational leadership, while the personal-level outcomes considered were performance, turnover intention, organizational citizenship behavior, health, proactive behavior, innovative behavior, and knowledge creation practices. In spite of significant empirical studies on associates of work engagement, little research have been found that explored the potential link between leadership behaviors and employee engagement in the wider human resources literature ( Carasco-Saul et al., 2015 ).

Thus, the current study focused on examining relationships among leadership styles, employee work engagement and work outcomes. Leadership was targeted because previous research (e.g. Xu and Thomas, 2011 ; Carasco-Saul et al., 2015 ) also elucidated scarcity of findings that connect leadership styles and employees work engagement. Further, the dominant capacity of leadership over other work variables and its vulnerability to modifications were taken into consideration in its selection as correlates of work engagement and outcomes. For workoutcomes, employees' job performance and innovative work behavior were considered because of their pertinence to organizational existence and progress. Job performance is the term that academics and practitioners use most commonly and widely. Nonetheless, an aggregate definition of success across jobs and roles is very difficult to conceptualize since employees are engaged in a large number of tasks including even those not listed out in their formal job description ( Demerouti and Cropanzano, 2010 ). On the basis of review of previous studies, Kim (2014) outlined various ways of conceptualizing job performance ranging from overall performance to organizational citizenship behaviour. In the present study, as indicator of employees' job performance, in-role performance is conceptualized as accomplishment of core tasks and activities specified in employee contract document connected to officially defined organizational outcomes (( Demerouti and Cropanzano, 2010 ). In addition to performing main tasks officially listed out, considering the current competitive work environment, employees are pressed to go extra mile beyond those formally recognized in their job description such as being innovative in their workplace. As Ramoorthy et al. (2005) suggested, to succeed organizations are pressuring employees to innovate their methods and operations. Janssen (2000) was of the view that to have a continuous flow of innovation and to achieve goals, individual employees need to be skilled to innovate. What is more, employees’ innovative work behavior is comprehended as a specific form of extra-role performance related to discretionary employee actions in connection to generating idea, promoting, and realizing it.

In spite of evidences on the relationship between styles of leadership and work outcomes such as job performance and innovative work behavior (e.g., Khan et al., 2012 ; Solomon, 2016 ), studies explored the meditational role of work engagement in the link between leadership and work outcomes were insignificant. In connection to work engagement mediation between leadership behaviour and work outcomes, findings of the study are directing to quality of leader-subordinate relationships ( Agarwal et al., 2012 ), transformational leadership ( Salanova et al., 2011 ) and employees affective commitment to their immediate supervisor ( Chughtai, 2013 ) as antecedent factors.

Thus, specifically, in the present study the researchers proposed and tested a model in which work engagement partly mediates relationship between leadership styles (focusing on the pattern of behavior of leaders’ exhibited) and work outcomes labelled by task performance and innovative work behavior. Hence, the conceptual model used in the study is depicted in Figure 1 .

Research model.

Besides, the study also examined the associations among variables of the study and the mediation of work engagement in link between leaders’ style and work outcomes in two independent samples of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) professionals from Ethiopia and South Korea to test for soundness of suggested assumptions across the nations.

2. An overview of the study context

The participants of the study were professional ICT staffs working for for-profit companies engaged in ICT businesses in the two countries: Ethiopia and South Korea. Ethiopia is situated in the Horn of Africa; it has the second biggest populace in the continent, with more than 102 million occupants; however it has the most minimal per capita income ( Ethiopia, 2018 ). Be that as it may, Ethiopia's economy has developed at a remarkable rate over the previous decade. As the International Monetary Fund (2016) revealed, the nation has had a great record of achievement of development and poverty decrease lately and it is portrayed as one of the fastest developing economies on the planet.

With respect to Ethiopia's work culture, on the continuum of Hofstede's dimensions of culture—power distance, collectivism vs. individualism, femininity vs. masculinity, and uncertainty avoidance—it is characterized by a large power distance, tight social ties and collective action, masculine characteristics, and high uncertainty avoidance ( Beyene et al., 2016 ). Thus, in Ethiopian work culture, it appeared that power centralization is prevalent. Subordinates inclined to be told what to do and managers are expected to be influential and powerful. However, as Wasbeek (2004) indicated, individualism, masculinity, and a long-term orientation have been budding, specifically among the young and educated employees in Ethiopia.

South Korea, on the other hand, is an East Asian country on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula and is home to more than 51 million people. South Korea is the fourth biggest economy in Asia and the eleventh biggest on the planet ( South Korea, 2018 ).

When South Korean culture is examined, regarding power distance, it is a slightly hierarchical society with a collectivist nature and feminine as South Koreans are low on masculine/feminine dimension. Regarding uncertainty avoidance, South Korea might be taken as one of the most uncertainty avoiding countries, where people show a convincing enthusiastic prerequisite for rules, value time, and have an internal tendency to be involved and buckle down. Besides, South Korea's score on long-term orientation is at 100, showing that it is a highly pragmatic and long-term-oriented society ( Compare Countries—Hofstede Insights, n.d. ).

Nevertheless, as Yim (2002) indicated, Korean customary culture has in slight change, and to some level giving way to Western influx. Rapid socioeconomic transformation and the apparently indiscriminate inflow of Western culture were accounted for the change.

3. Previous research and hypotheses

3.1. leadership styles and work-related outcomes.

Leadership is the most commonly discussed topic in the organizational sciences. Lines of research may be delineated along three major approaches: trait, behavioral and inspirational. Trait theorists seek to identify a set of universal leadership traits whereas behaviorists focused on behaviors exhibited by specific leaders. Inspirational approach deliberated on leader as one who moves adherents through their words, thoughts and conduct ( Robbins et al., 2009 ). As Carasco-Saul et al. (2015) suggested in the 1970s and 1980s, the charismatic leadership concept emerged, emphasizing that a charisma leader, a leader who inspires, attracts and influences followers by their personal qualities are considered effective. A typical characteristic of charismatic leadership is that it has the ability to motivate subordinates to concede to goals by imparting a vision, displaying charming behavior, and being a powerful model.

As part of neo-charismatic movement, full range leadership theory, which is also referred to as the Full Range Leadership Theory of Bass and Avolio's distinguished three groups of leaders in behaviors/styles: transformational, transactional and laissez-faire ( Avolio et al., 1999 ; Bass and Riggio, 2006 ; Judge and Piccolo, 2004 ; Solomon, 2016 ). The theory defines a complete range of influencing styles from influential transformational leadership to laissez-faire style.

Based on a review of various studies, Vincent-Hoper et al. (2012) portrayed transformational leaders as managers who advance and propel their followers by anticipating and communicating appealing visions, common goals, and shared values, as well as by setting an illustration of the requested behavior. Facets of transformational leadership are: idealized influence (idealized attribution and idealized behavior), inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration ( Bass and Avolio, 1994 ; Bass and Riggo, 2006 ).

Transactional leadership contains among other things, an exchange process (between leader & follower) that results in adherent compliance to leader demands, but it is not expected to create zeal and commitment to an errand objective ( Trottier et al., 2008 ). The transactional leadership style constituted a constructive style labeled “contingent reward” and a corrective style labeled “management-by-exception.”

The last style is laissez-faire, which is characterized by non-involvement, showing indifference, being absent when needed, overlooking achievements and problems as well. It is a style of leadership in which leaders offer very little direction and allow group members to make decisions on their own ( Bass and Riggio, 2006 ; Koech & Namusonge, 2012 ; Solomon, 2016 ).

Several studies (e.g., Judge and Piccolo, 2004 ; Pourbarkhordari et al., 2016 ; Solomon, 2016 ) examined the influence of leadership styles on a number of employee work outcomes critical to an organization's productivity and effectiveness, such as job satisfaction, commitment, performance, and motivation. Judge and Piccolo (2004) carried out a comprehensive meta-analytic review of studies that employed a complete range of leadership from influential transformational to influential laissez-faire style to test their relative validity in predicting a number of leadership criteria: follower job satisfaction, follower satisfaction with the leader, follower motivation, leader job performance, group or organizational performance, and leader effectiveness. The researchers found out an overall positive relationship for transformational leadership and transactional leadership (contingent rewards), but a negative overall relationship between laissez-faire style and the criteria considered.

Other researches in broad leadership literature (e.g, Bass and Avolio, 1994 ; Hayward et al., 2003 ; Kotter, 1988 ; Meyer and Botha, 2000 ) elucidated that transformational leadership style is the most successful in enhancing employee performance and other characteristics. In the studies, transformational leadership is positively related with a range of workplace desirable behaviour such as individual employee's performance, satisfaction and organizational performance. For instance, in South African pharmaceutical industry, Hayward et al., 2003 ) found a significant positive linear relationship between transformational leadership and employee performance but not for transactional leadership and employee performance. In Ethiopian education sector, Solomon (2016) reported positive association of both transformational and transactional styles of leadership with employees' performance while the relations of laissez-fair style with employees' performance failed to reach significance level. Khan et al. (2012) examined leadership styles (transformational, transactional & laissez-fair) assessed with Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire, as indicator variables in predicting innovative work behaviour and found out that both transformational and transactional leadership styles had positive relationship while laissez-faire had negative relationship with innovative work behaviour.

In general, it appears that transformational leadership style seems prominent in enhancing employees' work performance and other characteristics such as innovative behavior. The qualities of transformational leaders such as providing intellectual stimulation, inspiring followers through setting appealing vision and setting higher expectations maintains it effectiveness in organizational settings. Moreover, the motivational aspect and the fact that leaders serve as role model make this style to have profound influence on employees’ work outcomes. Because of the goal oriented nature of Transactional leaders focusing on expectations and recognizing achievement characteristics may positively initiate workers to exert higher levels of effort and performance Ejere and Abasilim (2013) ; Bass and Riggio (2006) . Based on the above discussion, the followings were hypothesized:

Transformational leadership style is positively related to (a) innovative work behavior and (b) task performance.

Transactional leadership style is positively related to (a) innovative work behavior and (b) task performance.

Laissez-faire style of leadership is negatively related to (a) innovative work behavior and (b) task performance.

Transformational leadership style is positively related to work engagement.

Transactional leadership style is positively related to work engagement.

Laissez-faire leadership style is negatively related to work engagement.

3.2. Mediating role of work engagement

Kahn (1990) presented an early interpretation of engagement, which conceptualized it as personal involvement in the workplace reflecting a condition in which workers "bring in" their personal selves during job performance, expend personal energy and feel an emotional connection to their jobs. According to Kahn, engaged employees dedicate themselves physically, cognitively, and emotionally during role performances, while disengaged ones withdraw and guard themselves in all aspects (physically, cognitively & emotionally)in the course of role performances.

Based on Kahn's work, researchers—particularly those from the occupational health psychology fields further illuminate the concept of engagement. Early works based themselves on burnout model to clarify the concept of employee engagement ( Maslach and Leiter, 1997 ; Maslach et al., 2001 ). To Maslach and Leiter, for instance, elements of engagement are energy, involvement, and efficacy, which are in stark contrast to the three burnout dimensions: exhaustion, cynicism, and lack of accomplishment, respectively. In the same burnout framework, an alternative view that considered work engagement as a unique concept stands by its own and negatively related to burnout appeared. As a concept by its own right work engagement, consequently, defined as a positive, fulfilling, work related state of mind characterized by vigor, dedication, and absorption ( Schaufeli, Salanova, González-Romá and Bakker, 2002 ). Here, Vigor refers to a high amount of drive and mental toughness while working, a willingness to invest effort in one's work, and sustain the determination even in the face of challenges. Dedication refers to a robust engagement in one's work and experiencing a sense of purpose and being enthusiastic, and absorption refers to fully and happily absorbed in one's work, such that time passes without notice while on work.

Despite some criticisms on confounding nature of some sub-constructs, the Schaufeli et al., 2002a , Schaufeli et al., 2002b model is hailed as a representative conceptualization of engagement and has been widely used in many fields ( Jeung, 2011 ).

The distinctive essence of work engagement was described in various works using constructs, such as employee engagement, job engagement, and role engagement in line with Kahn's conceptualization ( Rich, Lepine & Crawford, 2010 ; Rothbard, 2001 ; Saks, 2006 ). Among the different terms for engagement, work engagement and employee engagement are frequently and sometimes interchangeably used in literature. However the two terms vary in range in that work engagement focuses on the relationship between an individual employee and his or her work, while employee engagement applies to the relationships between the employee and the work and between the employee and the organization ( Schaufeli and Bakker, 2010 ). In the current study, since the focus was on the specific relationship between an individual employee and his her work, the term “work engagement” and conceptualization of Schaufeli et al., 2002a , Schaufeli et al., 2002b which connotes work engagement as ‘ a positive, fulfilling, work-related state of mind that is characterized by vigor, dedication, and absorption ’ was utilized.

Regarding the links among leadership styles, work engagement, and employee outcome behaviors, a closer look at the related literature showed that the quality of leader–subordinate relationships (LMX), empowering leadership, and transformational leadership behavior were the most frequently discussed topics ( Agarwal et al., 2012 ; Park et al., 2013 ; Zhang and Bartol, 2010 ). For instance, Agarwal et al. (2012) pointed out that the excellence of leader-member exchange influences engagement, and work engagement in turn correlates positively with innovative work behavior and negatively with intention to quit. The researchers asserted the meditational role of work engagement in the relationship between LMX as predictor and innovative work behavior and intention to quit as outcomes.

Park et al. (2013) also investigated the mediating effect of work engagement on the relationship between learning organizations and innovative behavior in the Korean context. The researchers found that a culture of learning organizations characterized by a positive learning environment, specific learning processes and procedures, and premeditated leadership behaviors through work engagement had direct and indirect impacts on the innovative work behaviors of employees.

In connection to transformational leadership and its link with various individual/organizational outcome behaviors, the mediating role of work engagement has been documented in various studies. Work engagement was found to mediate the link between transformational leadership and employees’ subjective occupational success designated by career satisfaction, social and career successes ( Vincent-Höper et al., 2012 ), staff nurse extra-role performance ( Salanova et al., 2011 ), organizational performance ( Evelyn and Hazel, 2015 ), and organizational knowledge creation practices ( Song et al., 2012 ). Thus, the researchers hypothesized:

Work engagement is positively related to (a) innovative work behavior and (b) task performance.

Work engagement partly mediates the relationship between leadership styles and work outcomes (task performance & innovative work behavior).

3.3. Cross-national aspects of leadership styles and work engagement

Despite some authors' claims that leadership styles are common across cultures, results are inconsistent with the degree to which leadership styles reign and their impact across cultures on followers. Shahin and Wright (2004) investigated the appropriateness of Bass and Avolio's leadership model in non-western country such as Egypt. They found that only certain factors that were considered as ideal leadership styles corresponded with U.S. factors, suggesting the influence of culture in labeling best leadership. Contrary to this finding, Walumbwa et al. (2007) made comparison based on data from China, India, Kenya, and the U.S. and found a robust manifestation of transformational and/or transactional leadership in these countries.

Ardichvili and Kuchinke (2002) carried out a comparative study on leadership styles and cultural values of managerial and non-managerial employees across culture by taking into account 10 business organizations in Russia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Germany, and the U.S., countries that differ widely in socio-economic and political orientation. The researchers elucidated that cross-cultural human resource development matters cannot be seen in terms of simplified dichotomies of East and West or developed versus developing economies.

In terms of the influences of leadership styles on work outcomes, it appeared that transformational-related behavior of leaders had a universally positive impact on followers’ behaviors ( Dorfman et al., 1997 ; Walumbwa et al., 2005 ). For instance, Walumbwa et al. (2005) examined influence of transformational leadership on two work-related attitudes: organizational commitment and job satisfaction based on data from Kenya and the U.S. and obtained its strong positive effect on both indicators and in both countries. Dunn et al. (2012) also reported similar results on the association of transformational leadership with organizational commitment based on data collected from two countries: the U.S. and Israel.

With regard to work engagement as a psychological construct, cross-cultural investigations are scant. However, existing evidence reveals invariance in the construct—at least, in Western countries. For instance, Schaufeli et al., 2002a , Schaufeli et al., 2002b observed the invariance of the UWES, consisting of vigor, dedication, and absorption, on a sample of students from three countries: Spain, Portugal, and the Netherlands. Salanova and Schaufeli (2008) also reported the mediation model of work engagement in the link between job resources and managers’ proactive behavior at work in two independent samples drawn from Spain and the Netherland reflecting the consistence of the assertion across culture. In the current study, hence it was hypothesized that:

The proposed relationships among study variables and thus the interceding of work engagement between leadership styles and work outcomes are consistent for the two national samples.

4. Materials and method

The study partly used a cross-sectional method of online survey research. As pointed out by Nasbary (2000) , using an electronic format for a survey study does not pose any threat to the validity or reliability of the survey results, but rather has advantages such as low cost and rapid delivery.

4.1. Participants’ selection procedure

The target population for the study comprised of full-time professional ICT staff (with at least a college education) from for-profit companies engaged in ICT-related activities in Ethiopia and South Korea. Professionals in the ICT field were chosen mainly because of their crucial role in modern economic development in the least developed and advanced countries. Furthermore, the online survey was easily accessible due to their frequent contact to the internet. Additionally, selecting single industry enabled researchers to minimize errors emanating from industry-type. To collect data, Amharic (for Ethiopians) and Korean (for Koreans) versions of questionnaires were utilized for the study. In South Koreaa a survey company administered the questionnaire using random sampling approach in March–April, 2018. Using the company database, the questionnaire was sent to 500 staff, of which 300 replied. In Ethiopia, however, considering network quality and poor habit of using web, a hard-copy questionnaire was administered to 200 professionals selected by availability sampling in which 151 usable data were obtained. During data screening, nine extreme outliers (below or above 1.5 interquartile ranges of Q 1 & Q 3 respectively . ) from South Korea and four from Ethiopia were removed. Thus, the analyses were based on 291 (Males = 229 [78.7%], Females = 62 [21.3%]) participants from South Korea and 147 (Males = 98 [66.7%], Females = 49 [33.3%]) from Ethiopia.

The School Scientific Committee for Research and Publication (School of Humanities & Social Sciences, Adama Science & Technology University) approved the proposal of the study. The purpose of the research was also clearly explained for the participants to obtain their consent for participation.

For the South Korean participants, the average age was 37 years, with 58 being the highest age and 24 the lowest. The average tenure was seven years. Qualification wise, 16 (5.5%) had a diploma, 226 (77.7%) a bachelor’ degree, 43 (14.8%) a master's degree, and six (2.1%) were PhD holders. With respect to work position, 182 (62.5%) worked as staff, while 95 (32.6%) and 14 (4.8%) South Korean participants worked as team leaders and department heads respectively. A total of 176 (59.5%) worked for companies engaged in software development, followed by 86 (29.1%) who worked in telecom services. For the Ethiopian participants, the average age was 32, with 21 being the lowest age and 55 the highest. Average work experience was 5.6 years. In terms of educational qualifications, four (2.1%) had a diploma, 110 (74.8%) a first degree, 31 (21.1%) a second degree, and 2 (1.4%) of them were third degree holders. With regard to their work position, 129 (87.8%) worked as staff, while 12 (8.2%) and 6 (4.8%) of the Ethiopian participants worked as team leaders and department heads respectively. Most of (80%) the Ethiopian participants work for a telecom service company.

4.2. Measures

The study variables were measured using extensively used and validated instruments.

4.2.1. Leadership style

To measure the three leadership styles, participants ' impressions of the leadership behavior of their immediate supervisor were retrieved using the short form of the Multi-Factor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ-5X), a measure built based on the full range leadership model of Avolio and Bass ( Avolio et al., 1999 ) and commonly used and evaluated in different cultures ( Trottier et al., 2008 ; Solomon, 2016 ). The short form of the MLQ 5X consists of 36 items measuring nine outcomes of leadership: idealized influence (attributed), idealized influence (behavioral), inspirational motivation, individualized consideration, intellectual stimulation, contingent rewards, management-by-exception (active), management-by-exception (passive), and laissez-faire. The response are rated using a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 0 “not at all” to 4 “frequently, if not always.”

4.2.2. Work engagement

The UWES which was initially designed by Schaufeli et al., 2002a , Schaufeli et al., 2002b and subsequently reviewed by Schaufeli et al. (2006) , has been used to measure the level of work engagement of the individual employees The scale was validated in many studies ( Schaufeli and Bakker, 2010 ) and utilized in non-Western countries such as South Korea ( Kim, 2014 ; Song et al., 2012 ). The short form of UWES is called the UWES-9; it has nine items, three for each dimension: vigor, dedication, and absorption. It is a self-report scale. All items of the UWES-9 were presented with a 7-point Likert scale ranging from 0 (“never”) to 6 (“always”). Through analyzing data from various countries via CFA and test-retest reliability, Schaufeli et al. (2006) reported that the Cronbach's alpha for the UWES-9 ranged between 0 .85 and 0.92. Besides, other studies also confirmed its acceptable applicability in terms of the items' homogeneity and the construct factor structure (e.g., Park et al., 2013 ; Seppala et al., 2009 ).

4.2.3. Innovative work behavior

Innovative work behavior was measured using Janssen (2000) 9-item test with a 7-point Likert scale ranging from (1) “never” to (7) “always.” The instrument measures three aspects of innovative work behavior: breeding a new idea, gaining support from others for its implementation, and turning an idea into an application. The respondents were asked how often creative tasks relevant to these three fields were performed. To create measure of innovative work behavior, scores of the three aspects were summed up. With respect to its internal consistency, Agarwal et al. (2012) , reported Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.92.

4.2.4. Task performance

In order to assess in-role task performance, a three-item self-report scale which is utilized widely in recent studies (e.g., Kim, 2014 ), has been used. Responses were recorded on seven-point Likert scale ranging from (1) “strongly disagree” to (7) “strongly agree.” Drawing on review of different studies that had employed the scale, Kim (2014) reported its reliability ranging from 0.77 to 0.87.

All the scales that became part of the questionnaire used in this analysis were in English. Hence, to suit the current study, forward-then-backward translation procedures (English to Amharic and English to Korean) were performed on all instruments by independent bilingual professionals. This procedure ensures linguistic equivalence between the original language of the instrument and the language used for its administration ( McGorry, 2000 ).

4.3. Data analysis

In order to examine the data, descriptive statistics, Cronbach's alpha, Pearson's product momentum correlation, and linear multiple regression analysis were employed. To assess the amount of variability explained by the predictors, coefficient of determination ( R 2 ) and to determine the magnitude of the path effects, standardized path coefficient estimates were considered. For the sake of comparison, analyses were made for the two national samples separately.

Prior to the analyses, basic assumptions of multivariate data analysis such as normality, linearity, and multicollinearity were tested. Data from the two national samples showed approximately normal distributions. The assumption of linearity was also met. With respect to multicollinearity, the high bivariate correlation between transformational leadership style and transactional leadership style, particularly for South Korean participants, resulted in a relatively high variance inflation factor (VIF) of 5.33 for the variable transactional leadership worrisome as per the suggestion by Hair et al. (2010) .

5.1. Descriptive analyses

Descriptive statistics and bivariate correlations for the variables included in the study are presented in Table 1 . The bivariate correlations are indicated by a Pearson's product momentum correlation coefficient ( r) . Among the background factors, weak negative correlations between sex and work engagement ( r = - 0.18, p < 0.01) and sex and task performance ( r = -0.17, p < 0.01) were obtained for the South Korean sample, while for Ethiopia they failed to reach significance. Work position was weakly negatively correlated with work engagement ( r = -0.22, p < 0.01 for South Korea and r = -0.16, p < 0.05 for Ethiopia) and innovative work behavior ( r = -0.19, p < 0.01 for South Korea and r = -0 .24, p < 0.01 for Ethiopia). Transformational and transactional leadership styles were positively correlated with work engagement and indicators of work outcomes in both countries, with the exception of the relationship between the transactional leadership style and work engagement in Ethiopia, which failed to reach significance. Laissez-faire leadership was weakly positively correlated with work engagement ( r = 0.13, p < 0.05) and innovative work behavior ( r = 0.17, p < 0.01) in South Korea, while in Ethiopia it was negatively correlated with work engagement ( r = -0.21, p < 0.05) and innovative work behavior ( r = -0.16, p < 0.05). Its correlation with task performance failed to reach the significance level in both countries. Work engagement was moderately positively related with measures of outcome indicators —innovative work behavior ( r = 0.57, p < 0.01, and r = 0.66, p < 0.01) and task performance ( r = 0.46 , p < 0.01, and r = 0.54, p < 0.01) for Ethiopia and South Korea, respectively. With respect to internal consistency, all measures for both samples demonstrated traditionally acceptable internal reliability levels ( α ranged from 0.77 to 0.95).

Table 1

Bivariate correlation, mean (M), standard deviation (SD), and internal consistencies (Cronbach'sα) of the study variables for the South Korean (n = 291) and Ethiopian (n = 147) samples.

Notes: ∗p < .05, ∗∗p < .01 (two tailed).

The coding scheme was as follows: Gender: 1 = male, 2 = female; Education: 1 = diploma, 2 = BSc, 3 = MSc, 4 = PhD; work position: 1 = director/division head/assistant head, 2 = team leader, 3 = staff.

TRF - transformational, TRA - transactional, LAF - laissez-faire, WE - work engagement, IWB - innovative work behavior, TP - task performance.

Values below the diagonals are correlation coefficients for the South Korean sample, while those above the diagonals are values for the Ethiopian sample, along with internal consistency measures (Cronbach's alpha values).

5.2. Influence of leadership styles on work-related behaviors

To ascertain the proposed hypotheses related to the relationships between leadership styles and the measures of work outcomes and work engagement, a series of multiple linear regression analyses was performed, in which each indicator of work outcomes and work engagement was regressed on styles of leadership consecutively for the two countries separately. In the analyses, the background variables of the participants were controlled to remove their effects. As shown in Table 2 , the outputs indicated that the three leadership styles taken together explained a significant amount of the variability in innovative work behavior (Δ R 2 = 0.26, F (8,138) = 8.82 , p < 0.01 for Ethiopia; Δ R 2 = 0.48, F (8,182) = 47.1, p < 0.01 for South Korea), task performance (Δ R 2 = 0.20, F (8,138) = 5.55, p < .0.05 for Ethiopia; Δ R 2 = 0.21, F (8,182) = 10.46, p < 0.01 for South Korea), and work engagement (Δ R 2 = 0.24, F (8,138) = 8.82, p < 0.01 for Ethiopia; Δ R 2 = 0.32, F (8,182) = 23.2, p < 0.01 for South Korea). However, when the path coefficient estimates were taken into account, the path effects of the transformational leadership style on innovative work behavior ( β = 0.47, p < 0.01 for Ethiopia; β = 0. 54, p < 0. 01 for South Korea) and work engagement ( β = 0.52, p < 0.01 for Ethiopia; β = 0.45, p < 0.01 for South Korea) were significant, while its effect on task performance failed to reach the significance level in both countries. The effect of the transactional leadership style was significant only for task performance ( β = 0.29, p < 0. 01 for Ethiopia; β = 0.35, p < 0.01 for South Korea), not for innovative work behavior. Similarly, laissez-faire leadership's negative effect also reached significance level for task performance only ( β = -0.19, p < 0.05 for Ethiopia; β = - 0.17, p < 0.01 for South Korea).

Table 2

Regression results for predicting innovative work behavior, task performance, and work engagement from leadership styles.

Notes: ∗p < .05, ∗∗p < .01 (two tailed). ETH - Ethiopia, KOR - South Korea.

The results in Table 2 provided support for H1 (a), H2 (b), H3 (b), and H4 but not for H5 and H6 .

To test the hypothesis related to the relationship between work engagement and the measures of work outcomes: innovative work behavior and task performance were regressed on work engagement consecutively and separately for the two countries. The results in Table 3 showed that a significant proportion of the variance in innovative work behavior (Δ R 2 = 0.28, F (6,140) = 13.10, p < 0.01 for Ethiopia; Δ R 2 = 0.38, F (6,140) = 38.04, p < 0.01 for South Korea) and task performance (Δ R 2 = 0.18, F (6,140) = 6.74, p < 0.01 for Ethiopia; Δ R 2 = 0. 29, F (6,284) = 21.95, p < 0 .01 for South Korea) were explained by work engagement. The standardized path coefficients of work engagement on innovative work behavior ( β = 0.56, p < 0.01 and β = 0.64, p < 0.01) and on task performance ( β = 0. 45, p < 0.01 and β = 0.56, p < 0.01) for Ethiopia and South Korea, respectively, indicated positive and significant relationships of work engagement with innovative work behavior and task performance and thus provided support for H7 .

Table 3

Regression results for predicting innovative work behavior and task performance from work engagement.

Note: ∗p < .05, ∗∗p < .01 (two tailed).

5.3. Mediational role of work engagement

In testing the hypothesis related to the partial mediational role of work engagement in the link between leadership styles and indicators of outcome behavior, as per Baron and Kenny's (1986) suggestion, certain conditions need to be met for mediation establishment. First, the predictor variable(s) had to be related to the mediator variable. Second, the mediator had to be related to the predicted variable(s). Third, a significant relationship between the predictor variable(s) and predicted variable(s) was to be reduced for partial mediation to operate when controlling for the mediator variable. As described earlier, the first two conditions were partly met. Thus, for the mediation test, the two indicators of work outcomes were regressed over leadership styles consecutively while controlling for background factors and work engagement. As the results in Table 4 showed, the amount of variance in innovative work behavior explained by leadership styles was reduced from 26% to 9% ( Δ R 2 = 0. 09, F (9,137) = 12.56, p < 0.01) for Ethiopia and from 48% to 16% (Δ R 2 = 0.16, F (9,281) = 48.62, p < 0.01) for South Korea, while for task performance reduction was from 20% to 10% (Δ R 2 = .10, F (9,137) = 7.63, p < 0.01) for Ethiopia and from 21% to 4% (Δ R 2 = 0.04, F (9,281) = 17.44, p < 0.01) for South Korea. Thus, H8 is supported.

Table 4

Regression results for predicting work outcomes (innovative work behavior and task performance) from leadership styles while controlling work engagement.

With respect to hypothesis 9, (nature of relationships & mediation model across the two national samples), the separately presented results elucidated that the relationships among styles of leadership, work engagement and work outcomes were more or less consistent across Ethiopia and South Korea samples. Work engagement also partly mediated the relationship between leadership styles and work outcomes in both samples. Hence, H9 is supported.

6. Discussion

The present study investigated relationships among leadership styles, employee work engagement and some indicators of work outcomes and tested a mediation model of work engagement in the link between styles of leadership and work outcomes among ICT professionals. The model viewed leadership styles (the behavior of leaders varying from powerful transformation to "non-leadership") as antecedent to work engagement and innovative work behavior and task performance were taken as work outcomes. It also investigated the nature of relationships among variables and cross-national validity of the proposed model in two independent samples from Ethiopia and South Korea, countries that differ in their social, cultural, economic, and technological levels. The obtained results were as follows:

First, the transformational leadership style had significant positive relationships with employees' work engagement and innovative work behavior, while the transactional leadership style had a significant positive relationship with employee task performance. Laissez-faire leadership had a significant negative relationship with task performance. These associations were consistent across the two national samples. The assumed positive links of transformational leadership style with task performance and transactional leadership style with employees’ innovative work behavior, and the negative relationship of the laissez-faire style with innovative behavior were not supported in both national samples. The relationships obtained have shown that leaders who stimulate and inspire followers by articulating visions, goals, and shared values and engaged in building capacity via coaching and challenging employees promote innovative behavior, while leaders who emphasize compliance of followers through supervision may have influence on task performance.

Second, as expected, work engagement had significant positive relationships with the indicators of work outcomes (innovative work behavior and task performance) among ICT professionals in both countries. This suggests that, employees who psychologically identify with their work or “bring in” their personal selves to work, devoting and experiencing an emotional connection to their work, appear to be innovative and put discretionary effort into performance of tasks.

Third, work engagement partially mediated the relationships between leadership styles and indicators of outcomes. Specifically, the relationship between transformational leadership and professionals’ innovative work behavior was partially mediated by work engagement in both countries. This implies that transformational leaders influence innovative behavior of staff directly and indirectly through influencing their level of work engagement.

Work outcomes such as task performance and innovative work behavior are influenced by a number of factors of which leadership is an important one. Consistent to current study results, previous studies (e.g. Khan et al., 2012 ; Ejere and Abasilim, 2013 ; Judge and Piccolo, 2004 ; Solomon, 2016 ) underscored the significant contributions of transactional and transformational styles of leadership for employees’ performance.

Specifically, the association of transformational leadership style with innovative work behavior and transactional leadership style with task performance observed in the current study may be explained in terms of peculiar characteristics of these styles. With respect to innovative work behaviour, transformational leadership style is considered as a suitable style of leadership as in this style followers are encouraged to commence new ideas and challenge old ways of doing things ( Bass and Avolio, 2000 ). For innovative behaviour transformational leaders' behaviour such as being role model by engaging in needed change, stimulating followers to challenge the status quo and be inspirational while leading others are all vital qualities. In addition, transformative leadership style demanding alignment of the needs and desires of followers with the organization's one ( Bass, 1999 ), may encourage employees to go additional mile necessary for creative behaviour. On the other hand, transactional leadership can be argued to be significant for task performance of employees' as it is focused more on immediate outcomes, monitor performance and correct mistakes. Additionally, transactional leaders make clear expectations and give feedback about meeting expectations may push employees to focus on tasks listed in job description.

The findings related to linkages among leadership styles, work engagement and work outcomes obtained in the current study are also consistent with some earlier studies (e.g., Bakker and Bal, 2010 ; Salanova et al., 2011 ; Song et al., 2012 ). Bakker and Bal (2010) reported on weekly work engagement as a predictor of performance among starting teachers. With respect to leadership styles, Song et al. (2012) affirmed the significant impact of transformational leadership on employee work engagement and organizational knowledge creation practices, and partial mediation of employee work engagement in the link between those two constructs. Salanova et al. (2011) also reported a relationship between transformational leadership and work engagement where, contrary to the findings of the current study, work engagement fully mediated the relationship between transformational leadership and nurses’ extra-role performance.

The observed mediation of work engagement across independent samples found in the current study is also consistent with some previous studies ( Dorfman et al., 1997 ; Walumbwa et al., 2005 ; Salanova and Schaufeli, 2008 ). While the consistency of the mediation model observed here across the two independent national samples does not justify either its utility or its contribution, it may add confidence in the generalizability of the findings.

6.1. Implications

The results of this study have some theoretical and practical implications in HR-related fields for researchers and practitioners. The study provides insights into the ongoing investigations of correlates of employees' work engagement. In particular, the study may shed light on the nature of associations among leadership styles, work engagement, and critical work outcomes such as task performance and innovative work behavior among ICT professionals. It may also disentangle the role of transformational leadership, particularly when it comes to employees personally committing themselves to role performance and innovation efforts. Besides, the study elucidated the cross-national aspect of the relationships among the variables it considered. Despite a number of background differences, it appeared that styles of leadership had more or less similar links with work engagement and outcome behaviors among participants from Ethiopia and South Korea. Specifically, the invariance in the mediating role of work engagement in the link between transformational leadership and employees’ discretionary actions with respect to idea generation, promotion, and realization among ICT professionals working in different countries solidify the existing understanding of the importance of this leadership style.

Practically, the results of the study highlight the need to improve leadership by applying a transformational style, as it is essential for organizations to have ICT workforces that perform their roles and are willing to demonstrate discretionary efforts. Thus, practitioners in the field should develop strategies and training programs targeting transformational leadership skills such as being supportive and intellectually stimulating, and conveying a vision to employees so that leaders can influence their staff. In particular, to strengthen the ICT sector's human resources in Ethiopia so that it can contribute significantly to the development of the country, more attention should be given to leadership development.

Furthermore, practitioners could closely scrutinize employees' work engagement by assessing it using well-established scales such as the UWES or a locally developed one. For ICT companies to be competitive, collecting information on the work engagement level of staff should be part of employees' opinion surveys, and identifying practices and policies that promote their staff's work engagement behavior is imperative.

6.2. Limitations and future research

Notwithstanding its important theoretical and practical contributions, there are some drawbacks to this study. The cross-sectional research design used primarily did not allow researchers to establish causality among variables. This means that the suggested associations among the variables should not be interpreted as causal relationships, but as associations that suggest causal ordering, which needs to be confirmed by longitudinal research. Secondly, the data for the study were gathered using a self-report questionnaire with its own inherent pros and cons, particularly when it comes to the participants’ assessments of their immediate supervisor. Thirdly, as antecedent variables, the study limited to full range of leadership model consists of transformational, transactional and laissez fair styles. That is, there are also other potential aspects of leadership nature that might be relevant that are not included in the current study. Finally, the relatively high VIF of the transactional leadership style could undermine the role of this variable in the web. Thus, for future research, the researchers suggest a longitudinal research design and outcomes measured through methods other than self-reports.

Declarations

Author contribution statement.

Habtamu Kebu Gemeda, Jaesik Lee: Conceived and designed the experiments; Performed the experiments; Analyzed and interpreted the data; Wrote the paper.

Funding statement

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Competing interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Additional information

No additional information is available for this paper.

• Agarwal U.A., Datta S., Blake-Beard S., Bhargava S. Linking LMX, innovative work behavior and turnover intentions: the mediating role of work engagement. Career Dev. Int. 2012; 17 (3):208–230. [ Google Scholar ]
• Ardichvili A., Kuchinke K.P. Leadership styles and cultural values among managers and subordinates: a comparative study of four countries of the former Soviet Union, Germany, and the US. Hum. Resour. Dev. Int. 2002; 5 (1):99–117. [ Google Scholar ]
• Avolio B.J., Bass B.M., Jung D.I. Re-examining the components of transformational and transactional leadership using the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire. J. Occup. Organ. Psychol. 1999; 72 :441–462. [ Google Scholar ]
• Bakker A.B., Bal P.M. Weekly work engagement and performance: a study among starting teachers. J. Occup. Organ. Psychol. 2010; 83 (1):189–206. [ Google Scholar ]
• Bakker A.B., Demerouti E. Towards a model of work engagement. Career Dev. Int. 2008; 13 (3):209–223. [ Google Scholar ]
• Baron R.M., Kenny D.A. The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: conceptual, strategic and statistical considerations. J. Pers. Soc. Psychol. 1986; 51 :1173–1182. [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Bass B.M. Two decades of research and development in transformational leadership. Eur. J. Work. Organ. Psychol. 1999; 8 :9–32. [ Google Scholar ]
• Bass B.M., Avolio B.J. Sage Publications Inc; Thousand Oaks: 1994. Improving Organizational Effectiveness: through Transformational Leadership. [ Google Scholar ]
• Bass B.M., Avolio B.J. second ed. Mind Garden; Redwood City, CA: 2000. Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire. [ Google Scholar ]
• Bass B.M., Riggio R.E. second ed. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers; London: 2006. Transformational Leadership. [ Google Scholar ]
• Batista-Taran L.C., Shuck M.B., Gutierrez C.C., Baralt S. The role of leadership style in employee engagement. In: Plakhotnik M.S., Nielsen S.M., Pane D.M., editors. Proceedings of the Eighth Annual College of Education & GSN Research Conference. Florida International University; Miami: 2009. pp. 15–20. http://coeweb.fiu.edu/research_conference/ Retrieved from. [ Google Scholar ]
• Beyene K.T., Shi C.S., Wu W.W. Linking culture, organizational learning orientation and product innovation performance: the case of Ethiopian manufacturing firms. Afr J. Ind. Eng. 2016; 27 (2):88–101. [ Google Scholar ]
• Carasco-Saul M., Kim W., Kim T. Leadership and employee engagement proposing research agendas through a review of literature. Hum. Resour. Dev. Rev. 2015; 14 (1):38–63. [ Google Scholar ]
• Chughtai A.A. Linking affective commitment to supervisor to work outcomes. J. Manag. Psychol. 2013; 28 (6):606–627. [ Google Scholar ]
• Compare Countries-Hofstede Insights https://www.hofstede-insights.com/product/compare-countries/ n.d., Wikipedia.
• Demerouti E., Cropanzano R. From thought to action: employee work engagement and job performance. In: Bakker A.B., Leiter M.P., editors. Vol. 65. 2010. pp. 147–163. (Work Engagement: A Handbook of Essential Theory and Research). [ Google Scholar ]
• Dorfman P.W., Howell J.P., Hibino S., Lee J.K., Tate U., Bautista A. Leadership in Western and Asian countries: communalities and differences in effective leadership processes across cultures. Leader. Q. 1997; 8 (3):233–274. [ Google Scholar ]
• Dunn M.W., Dastoor B., Sims R.L. Transformational leadership and organizational commitment: a cross-cultural perspective. J. Multidiscip. Res. 2012; 4 (1):45–60. [ Google Scholar ]
• Ejere E.I., Abasilim U.D. Impact of transactional and transformational leadership styles on organizational Performance: empirical Evidence from Nigeria. J. Commer. 2013; 1 (5):30–41. [ Google Scholar ]
• Ethiopia. 2018. Retrieved on 5th March, 2018, from Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethiopia . [ Google Scholar ]
• Evelyn D., Hazel G. Effects of transformational leadership on employee engagement: the mediating role of employee engagement. Int. J. Manag. 2015; 6 (2):1–8. [ Google Scholar ]
• Hair J.F., Black W.C., Babin B.J., Anderson R.E. seventh ed. Pearson; New York: 2010. Multivariate Data Analysis. [ Google Scholar ]
• Harter J.K., Schmidt F.L., Hayes T.L. Business-unit-level relationship between employee satisfaction, employee engagement, and business outcomes: a meta-analysis. J. Appl. Psychol. 2002; 87 (2):268–279. [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Hayward B.A., Davidson A.J., Pascoe J.B., Tasker M.L., Amos T.L., Pearse N.J. Paper Presented at the Society for Industrial and Organisational Psychology 6th Annual Conference, 25-27 June 2003, Sandton, Johannesburg. 2003. The relationship between leadership and employee performance in a South African pharmaceutical company. [ Google Scholar ]
• International Monitory Fund . 2016. Country Report, Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/scr/2016/cr16322 Retrieved from. [ Google Scholar ]
• Janssen O. Job demands, perceptions of effort-reward fairness, and innovative work behavior. J. Occup. Organ. Psychol. 2000; 73 :287–302. [ Google Scholar ]
• Jeung C.W. The concept of employee engagement: a comprehensive review from a positive organizational behavior perspective. Perform. Improv. Q. 2011; 24 :49–69. [ Google Scholar ]
• Judge T.A., Piccolo R.F. Transformational and transactional leadership: a meta-analytic test of their relative validity. J. Appl. Psychol. 2004; 89 (5):755–768. [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Kahn W.A. Psychological conditions of personal engagement and disengagement at work. Acad. Manag. J. 1990; 33 (4):692–724. [ Google Scholar ]
• Khan M.J., Aslam N., Riaz M.N. Leadership styles as predictors of innovative work behavior. Pak. J. Clin. Psychol. 2012; 9 (2):17–22. [ Google Scholar ]
• Kim W. The Pennsylvania State University; 2014. An Examination of Work Engagement in Selected Major Organizations in Korea: its Role as a Mediator between Antecedents and Consequences. https://etda.libraries.psu.edu/files/final_submissions/9386 Dissertation. Retrieved from. [ Google Scholar ]
• Koech P.M., Namusonge G.S. The effect of leadership styles on organizational performance at state corporations in Kenya. Int. J. Bus. Commer. 2012; 2 (1):1–12. [ Google Scholar ]
• Kotter J.P. The Free Press; New York: 1988. The Leadership Factor. [ Google Scholar ]
• Maslach C., Leitier M.P. first ed. Jossey-Bass; San Francisco, CA: 1997. The Truth about Burnout: How Organizations Cause Personal Stress and what to Do about it. [ Google Scholar ]
• Maslach C., Schaufeli W.B., Leiter M.P. Job burnout. Annu. Rev. Psychol. 2001; 52 (1):397–422. [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• McGorry S.Y. Measurement in a cross-cultural environment: survey translation issues. Qual. Market Res. 2000; 3 (2):74–81. [ Google Scholar ]
• Meyer M., Botha E. Butterworths; Durban: 2000. Organizational Development & Transformation in South Africa. [ Google Scholar ]
• Nasbary D.K. Allyn& Bacon; Boston: 2000. Survey Research and the World Wide Web. [ Google Scholar ]
• Park Y.K., Song J.H., Yoon S.W., Kim J. Learning organization and innovative behavior: the mediating effect of work engagement. Eur. J. Train. Dev. 2013; 38 :75–94. [ Google Scholar ]
• Pourbarkhordari1 A., Zhou E.H., Pourkarimi J. How Individual-focused transformational leadership enhances its influence on job performance through employee work engagement. Int. J. Bus. Manag. 2016; 11 (2):249–261. [ Google Scholar ]
• Ramoorthy N., Flood J., Slattery T.F., Sardessai R. The impact of human resource management practices on perceptions of organizational performance. Acad. Manag. J. 2005; 19 :959–971. [ Google Scholar ]
• Rich B.L., Lepine J.A., Crawford E.R. Job engagement: antecedents and effects on job performance. Acad. Manag. J. 2010; 53 (3):617–635. [ Google Scholar ]
• Robbins S.P., Judge T.A., Sanghi S. Dorling Kindersley pvt.Ltd; New Delhi: 2009. Organizational Behavior (13 ed ) [ Google Scholar ]
• Rothbard N.P. Enriching or depleting? The dynamics of engagement in work and family roles. Adm. Sci. Q. 2001; 46 (4):655–684. [ Google Scholar ]
• Saks A.M. Antecedents and consequences of employee engagement. J. Manag. Psychol. 2006; 21 (7):600–619. [ Google Scholar ]
• Salanova M., Lorente L., Chambel M.T., Martinez I.M. Linking transformational leadership to nurses’ extra-role performance: the mediating role of self-efficacy and work engagement. J. Adv. Nurs. 2011; 67 (10):2256–2266. [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Salanova M., Schaufeli W.B. A cross-national study of work engagement as a mediator between job resources and proactive behavior. Int. J. Hum. Resour. Manag. 2008; 19 (1):116–131. [ Google Scholar ]
• Schaufeli W.B., Bakker A.B. Job demands, job resources, and their relationship with burnout and engagement: a multi-sample study. J. Organ. Behav. 2004; 25 (3):293–315. [ Google Scholar ]
• Schaufeli W.B., Bakker A.B. Defining and measuring work engagement: bringing clarity to the concept. In: Bakker A.B., Leiter M.P., editors. Work Engagement: A Handbook of Essential Theory and Research. Psychology Press; New York, NY: 2010. pp. 10–24. [ Google Scholar ]
• Schaufeli W.B., Bakker A.B., Salanova M. The measurement of work engagement with a short questionnaire: a cross-national study. Educ. Psychol. Meas. 2006; 66 (1):701–716. [ Google Scholar ]
• Schaufeli W.B., Martínez I., Marques-Pinto A., Salanova M., Bakker A.B. Burnout and engagement in university students: a cross-national study. J. Cross Cult. Psychol. 2002; 33 :464–481. [ Google Scholar ]
• Schaufeli W.B., Salanova M., González-Romá V., Bakker A.B. The measurement of engagement and burnout: a two-sample confirmatory factor analytic approach. J. Happiness Stud. 2002; 3 (1):71–92. [ Google Scholar ]
• Solomon S. Addis Ababa University; 2016. The Relationship between Leadership Styles and Employees’ Performance in Selected Sub-city Education Offices of Addis Ababa City Administration. Unpublished master thesis submitted to. [ Google Scholar ]
• Seppala P., Mauno S., Feldt T., Hakanen J., Kinnunen U., Tolvanen A., Schaufeli W. The construct validity of the Utrecht work engagement scale: multi sample and longitudinal evidence. J. Happiness Stud. 2009; 10 (4):459–481. [ Google Scholar ]
• Shahin A.I., Wright P.L. Leadership in the context of culture: an Egyptian perspective. Leader. Organ. Dev. J. 2004; 25 (6):499–511. [ Google Scholar ]
• Song J.,H., Kolb J.A., Lee U.H., Kim H.K. Role of transformational leadership in effective organizational knowledge creation practices: mediating effects of employees’ work engagement. Human Dev. Q. 2012; 23 (1):65–101. [ Google Scholar ]
• South Korea. 2018. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Korea Retrieved on 5th March, 2018, from Wikipedia: [ Google Scholar ]
• Trottier T., Van Wart M., Wang X. Examining the nature and significance of leadership in government organizations. Publ. Adm. Rev. 2008; 68 (2):319–333. [ Google Scholar ]
• Vincent-Höper S., Muser C., Janneck M. Transformational leadership, work engagement, and occupational success. Career Dev. Int. 2012; 17 :663–682. [ Google Scholar ]
• Walumbwa F.O., Lawler J.L., Avolio B.J. Leadership, individual differences, and work-related attitudes: a cross-culture investigation. Appl. Psychol. Int. Rev. 2007; 56 (2):212–230. [ Google Scholar ]
• Walumbwa F.O., Orwa B., Wang P., Lawler J.J. Transformational leadership, organizational commitment, and job satisfaction: a comparative study of Kenyan and U.S. financial firms. Hum. Resour. Dev. Q. 2005; 16 (2):235–256. [ Google Scholar ]
• Wasbeek D.J. Dissertation; Robert Kennedy College: 2004. Human Resource Management Practices in Selected Private Companies: A Study to Increase Employee Productivity in Ethiopia. www.bookpump.com/dps/pdf-b/1122446b.pdf Retrieved from. [ Google Scholar ]
• Xanthopoulou D., Bakker A.B., Demerouti E., Schaufeli W.B. The role of personal resources in the job demands-resources model. Int. J. Stress Manag. 2007; 14 (2):121–141. [ Google Scholar ]
• Xanthopoulou D., Bakker A.B., Demerouti E., Schaufeli W.B. Work engagement and financial returns: a diary study on the role of job and personal resources. J. Occup. Organ. Psychol. 2009; 82 (1):183–200. [ Google Scholar ]
• Xu J., Thomas H. How can leaders achieve high employee engagement? Leader. Organ. Dev. J. 2011; 32 :399–416. [ Google Scholar ]
• Yim H. Cultural identity and cultural policy in South Korea. Int. J. Cult. Pol. 2002; 8 (1):37–48. [ Google Scholar ]
• Zhang X.M., Bartol K.M. Linking empowering leadership and employee creativity: the influence of psychological empowerment, intrinsic motivation, and creative process engagement. Acad. Manag. J. 2010; 53 :107–128. [ Google Scholar ]