The influence of structural and psychological empowerment on work engagement in service organisations

Resumen

Work engagement is considered a desirable condition for organisations due to its numerous organisational benefits such as increased performance, sales, customer satisfaction and positive employee outcomes (Saks, 2006; Schaufeli & Bakker, 2010). Although work engagement has become a popular topic among academics, the impact of structural and psychological empowerment on work engagement has received less attention. The present doctoral thesis aims at elucidating the influence of structural and psychological empowerment on work engagement among employees working in service organisations in Spain and the United Kingdom (UK). More specifically, this research investigated the mediating role of structural empowerment between transformational leadership and work engagement in the Galician hospitality industry. It also examined whether psychological empowerment mediated the relationship between structural empowerment and work engagement and analysed its relationship with task performance and intention to quit across Spain and the UK. A qualitative study explored the motivational process through which intangible factors affect work engagement in the Galician tourism sector. Results indicated that structural and psychological empowerment played a fundamental role in explaining work engagement and an engagement-disengagement framework was proposed to help organisations promote work engagement. A number of theoretical contributions, practical implications, limitations and suggestions for future research were addressed