Transformational and shared leadership relationships with employee performance and intention to leave among IT knowledge workers: mediating effects of communication quality and organizational commitment

Agnieszka Zielińska, Frank Bezzina, Katarzyna Tracz-Krupa and Vincent Cassar

Central European Management Journal, 2025, vol. 34, issue 1, 3-19

Abstract: PurposeThis study investigates the role of transformational and shared leadership in relation to employee performance and intention to leave. Moreover, the indirect effects of communication quality and organizational commitment on these relationships were examined.Design/methodology/approachThis cross-sectional study adopted a quantitative approach. Information technology knowledge workers (n = 291) employed in high-tech companies based in Poland completed an online questionnaire comprising items pertaining to six established constructs. After establishing the factor structure and convergent/discriminant validity of the measures, the responses were subjected to mediation analysis in AMOS to investigate direct and indirect effects.FindingsTransformational leadership produced a direct negative effect on the intention to leave, while shared leadership produced a direct positive effect on employee performance. Mediators boosted relationships, especially in the case of shared leadership.Originality/valueThis study highlights the need to explore multiple leadership styles simultaneously and supports the principles underlying adaptive leadership theory. It also promotes the need to explore the influence of mediators to better understand the effects of leadership on followers.

Keywords: Adaptive leadership theory; Transformational leadership; Shared leadership; Employee performance; Intention to leave; Communication quality; Organizational commitment; Knowledge workers; IT; Mediation analysis; Poland (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eme:cemjpp:cemj-08-2024-0263

DOI: 10.1108/CEMJ-08-2024-0263

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