How and when empowering leadership influences job performance: A dual-mediator model

Hong Liang, Hooi Hooi Lean and Asokan Vasudevan

PLOS ONE, 2026, vol. 21, issue 2, 1-23

Abstract: Based on the Social Exchange Theory and Self-Determination Theory, this study examines the impact of empowering leadership on employee job performance through the underlying mechanisms of structural empowerment and team cohesion. Survey data was collected using self-administrated questionnaires from 483 secondary school teachers in Hong Kong. Partial Least Square-Structural Equation Modeling technique was used to examine the proposed hypotheses of the study. Survey data from a cross-sectional sample of 483 secondary school teachers in Hong Kong was used to test the parallel mediation model. The results of structural equation modeling indicate that empowering leadership, structural empowerment, and team cohesion serve as direct motivating factors of job performance. Additionally, empowering leadership was found to indirectly enhance job performance via the mediation of structural empowerment and team cohesion. This research addresses a knowledge gap in understanding the mechanisms through which empowering leadership effectively improves work outcomes, particularly in the school setting. Leaders of educational institutions may consider increasing teachers’ job autonomy as a strategy to enhance workplace performance.

Date: 2026
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:plo:pone00:0332545

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0332545

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