The influences of transformational leadership on employee employability. Evidence from China
| Date | 07 January 2019 |
| Pages | 101-118 |
| Published date | 07 January 2019 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/ER-02-2018-0052 |
| Author | Xie Yizhong,Yevhen Baranchenko,Zhibin Lin,Chi Keung Lau,Jie Ma |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour,Industrial/labour relations,Employment law |
The influences of
transformational leadership
on employee employability
Evidence from China
Xie Yizhong
School of Economics & Management,
Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing, China
Yevhen Baranchenko
Newcastle Business School, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
Zhibin Lin
Durham University Business School, Durham, UK
Chi Keung Lau
Department of Accountancy, Finance and Economics,
University of Huddersfield, Huddersfield, UK, and
Jie Ma
Newcastle Business School, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to examine the mediating role of job characteristics and social
exchange in transformational leadership (TFL) and employability relationship.
Design/methodology/approach –The sample is composed of 760 participants employed in Yangtze Delta
and Pearl River Delta in China. The participants have worked under their line manager for more than one
year. In order to better prevent data from possible common method bias, two waves of surveys (in 2014) on a
stratified sample, included a mix of industries, such as construction, manufacturing, finance, insurance and
communications, were used to investigate the proposed relationship between TFL, job characteristics, social
exchange and employability.
Findings –The research has empirically tested the relationship between TFL and employability. While
previous research has analyzed the relationship between them, the authors have enriched existing literature
by exploring the mediating factors and illustrating the importance of indirect effects. Besidesthe direct effect,
the results of this study showed that TFL could also improve employees’employability through job demands,
skill discretion, decision authority, perceived organizational support and team–member exchange, but not
leader–member exchange.
Originality/value –The study opens up a debate around the employability of employees as it stands apart
from the performance measurement. The authors believe that this new mediating model can provide an
insight into complex mechanisms of employability enhancement from the perspective of leader development.
Keywords Transformational leadership, Employability, Job characteristics, Social exchange
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Introduced by Burns (1978) and Bass (1985), transformational leadership (TFL) has gained
legitimacy over the last three decades and proved to be an effective and influential enabler
in changing employees’attitudes and behaviors, ultimately resulting in better performance
of organizations (García-Morales et al., 2008; Katou, 2015; Para-González et al., 2018). While
there is more of an exchange relationship in transactional leadership behavior with
contingent rewards (Burns, 1978), the transformational type requires that the leader
encourages employees to alter their attitudes, beliefs and values (Rafferty and Griffin, 2004).
Employee Relations
Vol. 41 No. 1, 2019
pp. 101-118
© Emerald PublishingLimited
0142-5455
DOI 10.1108/ER-02-2018-0052
Received 19 February 2018
Revised 22 June 2018
Accepted 20 July 2018
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/0142-5455.htm
101
Influences of
TFL on
employee
employability
TFL is premised on provision of individualized support and enhancement of the intellectual
capabilities of employees resulting in better task performance (Lowe et al., 1996; Judge and
Piccolo, 2004) or overall improved efficacy of organizations (Avolio, 1999; Avolio et al., 1999;
De Groot et al., 2000; Dumdum et al., 2002; Boerner et al., 2007).
Empirical research in the field suggeststhat TFL may also enhance employability (Camps
and Rodríguez,2011; Van der Heijden and Bakker, 2011;Van der Heijde and Van der Heijden,
2014) and well-being of employees (Nielsen et al., 2008). Following the general definition of
employability –the ability to retain a job or apply for a new desired one (Forrier and Sels,
2003; Fugate et al., 2004; Rothwell and Arnold, 2007) –and in line with the more specific
perceived (subjective) employability concept (Berntson et al., 2006; De Cuyper et al., 2011) we
base our study on employees’perceptions of their potential and capabilities, which are
believed to be necessaryto secure a new job and make the necessarylabor market transitions.
A number of key researchers in the realm of employability (Berntson et al., 2006;
De Cuyper et al., 2008; Van Emmerik et al., 2012) have pointed out the shift toward subjective
or perceived employability due to a person-ce ntered adaptation construct, which
predisposes individuals to change, proactively emphasizing the high degree of autonomy
(Crant, 2000; Pruijt, 2013). The authors of this paper adhere to the assumption that in current
conditions employees are more likely to adopt a course of action based upon their own
perceptions rather than any objective reality as the dynamic nature of employability
requires consideration of both contextual and individual factors such as willingness to
change jobs, skills, physical and cognitive suitability and adaptability.
As employability is seen as advantageous to both employees and employers (Day, 2000;
De Vries et al., 2001) by virtue of deteriorating job security, increased flexibility and greater
individualization of employees (Berntson et al., 2006), the factors influencing employability
require research attention. One of them is TFL, the influence of which can potentially be
observed on employees’attitudes and behaviors resulting in better performance of
organizations through higher productivity (Fugate et al., 2004) and improvement of the
health and well-being of employees (Berntson and Marklund, 2007; De Cuyper et al., 2008).
There is a small body of empirical research focusing on the relationship between TFL
and self-perceived employability, along with the development of mediating models, hence,
our focus is underpinned by a number of reasons.
First, due to drastic changes in the policies of the Chinese Government aimed at
attracting foreign direct investment and encouraging the growth of the domestic private
sector, the roles of company leaders become more significant (Newman and Butler, 2014).
In this regard, a transformational leader by exertion of a greater influence on employees and
through participation and involvement in both individual and team-focused tasks is able to
challenge those employees intellectually and encourage creative thinking, thus, ultimately
enhancing their employability (Purvanova and Bono, 2009).
Our research has been developed to introduce several new elements of job characteristics
and social exchange theory to the studies of TFL and employability. Thus, our second
reason (linked to job characteristics theory) for choosing TFL is that these leaders
encourage motivated behavior, through which employees are required to use and be capable
of using a variety of skills. A transformational leader ensures that tasks are clearly
identified and can be accomplished from start to finish and are significant to a variety of
stakeholders, with greater autonomy assigned to the employee and feedback being provided
upon the completion of the task.
Third, besides job characteristics theory, TFL is connected to social exchange theory
(Wang et al., 2005), at the heart of which there is an interaction between two agents:
individuals and organizations (Cropanzano and Mitchell, 2005). We take into consideration
three types of social exchange: perceived organizational support (POS), leader–member
exchange (LMX) and team–member exchange (TMX).
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