Linking Transformational Leadership, Job Involvement and Job Embeddedness of Employees: A Serial Mediation Model to Analyze Follower Work Performance

Abstract

Drawing on the social exchange theory, the study investigated the direct and indirect effect of transformational leadership on employee work performance with mediating variables like job involvement and job embeddedness and moderating effect of core self-evaluation. Convenience sampling techniques were used and scales of variables were adopted from previous studies. Data were collected from different public and private organization employees located in Rawalpindi and Islamabad. The sample of the study consisted of 340 respondents including 104 females and 236 males and data was collected through a google form. Data analysis was done through PLS 4 which analyzed the measurement model and structural model. The main aim of the research was to analyze the indirect and specifically sequential relationship between transformational leadership and employee work performance. For sequential mediation job involvement and job embeddedness were used. The results indicated that transformational leadership has a positive impact on employee work performance directly as well as indirectly. Both mediators job involvement of employees and job embeddedness significantly mediated the relationship and core self evaluation of employees was used as a moderator. This study makes three key contributions to the existing literature. First, the study shows a strong link between transformational leadership and employee job involvement. Second, it shows how employee core self evaluation in high challenging work setting shape employee work performance. In the end, managers and organizations will get insight that how the involvement and embeddedness of employees can be increased to mitigate the biggest challenges of organization turnover intentions and employee work performance. Key Works: Transformational leadership, Job Involvement, Job Embeddedness, Core self evaluation, Work Performance, Social Exchange Theory