Enhancing organizational development

Abstract

Existing literature demonstrates that inclusive leadership significantly promotes employee work engagement. Nevertheless, research on addressing the connection between inclusive leadership and employee work engagement through the lens of green empowerment in contemporary emerging markets is scarce. The present study draws on the leader-member exchange theory to investigate how inclusive leadership influence employees’ green empowerment and work engagement. Using a survey instrument, a quantitative methodology was applied to gather data from 500 public sector employees in Ghana. The hypothesised relationships were analysed using the partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) technique. It was revealed that inclusive leadership directly and positively impacts employee work engagement. Also, green empowerment and participation also positively affect employee work engagement. The results further indicate that employees’ green empowerment affects and mediates the inclusive leader and employee work engagement relationship. The present research extends the literature on LMX theory and adds to the current research by exploring the role of the theory in elucidating the inclusive leadership and employee engagement relationship within an environment characterised by green empowerment and active participation. Consequently, it offers factual evidence supporting the applicability of the LMX theory in explaining how employees’ green empowerment and participation clarify how inclusive leadership relates to employee work engagement, especially in the context of a developing country during the COVID-19 pandemic.