The impact of authentic leadership on employees' work engagement: A multilevel study in Chinese hospitality industry

Abstract

Although authentic leadership is becoming increasingly important in the organizational science literature, research testing the consequences of authentic leadership in Chinese hospitality context has not received great attention. To help address this need, the authors conducted an empirical study in 24 hotels in China to examine the effects of authentic leadership on employees' work engagement. The results of HLM analysis revealed that both individual-level and group-level authentic leadership were positively related to employees' work engagement. The relationship between individual-level authentic leadership and employees' work engagement was mediated by employees' perception of servant leadership and employees' trust in leaders. The relationship between group-level authentic leadership and employees' work engagement was mediated by group felt trust.