Running head: BMAL 501 ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY AND OUTLINE 1
Annotated Bibliography and Outline: The Importance of Leadership on Employee
Engagement
Liberty University
BMAL 501 ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY AND OUTLINE 2
Abstract
This annotated bibliography and subsequent outline will feature journal articles and references
relating to the topic of the relationship between leadership and employee engagement. There will
be various articles that touch on a variety of different aspects that relate to this subject. Styles of
leadership and theories will be included, as well as information regarding individual behavior in
an organization. The goal is to showcase a compilation of evidence that supports the idea that
leadership can directly affect employee engagement which in turn effects the successfulness and
productivity of an organization.
BMAL 501 ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY AND OUTLINE 3
Annotated Bibliography and Outline: The Importance of Leadership on Employee
Engagement
ATTRIBUTES, LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT, AND EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT. Acta
Prosperitatis, (8), 68-83,119. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.liberty.edu/login?
url=https://search-proquest- com.ezproxy.liberty.edu/docview/1993303343?accountid=12085
This article is heavily focused on millennials and a variety of work related topics
including their expectations regarding engagement. It was pointed out that little research has
been done in regard to talent management so this study focuses on the new wave that many
employers are dealing with in trying to recruit, and retain younger generation workers.
Limitations are that this article is centered around those in the strategic communication field
and majority of the sample was women. The study showed that the engagement that millennials
wanted had to do with feedback and professional development.
Beus, B. (2016, 09). Improve employee engagement: 5 ways senior leadership can do it.
Recognition and Engagement Excellence Essentials, Retrieved from
http://ezproxy.liberty.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-
com.ezproxy.liberty.edu/docview/1954876491?accountid=12085
This article acknowledges that all levels of leaders can influence employee engagement
but that it is particularly crucial for senior leaders to spearhead this and set the example. The
five recommendations to achieve this are: respect employees’ attention, give thoughtful feedback,
recognize and inspire, listen, and advocate for employees. This is rooted in the idea of investing
in the human capital of an organization because it pulls on the emotional and psychological
features of individuals and showcases genuine concern which in turn helps to drive engagement.
BMAL 501 ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY AND OUTLINE 4
There was no study for this article as its main purpose was to provide tips and advice on
improving or sustaining engagement.
Increasing employee engagement Increasing employee engagement: The role of interpersonal
leadership. (2015). Strategic Direction,31(2), 34-36. doi:10.1108/sd-12-2014-0172
This article defines employee engagement, talks about characteristics of interpersonal
leadership, and gives an overview of how to raise engagement levels. The author’s view is rooted
in theory that employee engagement is psychological in nature and largely based on the concept
of motivation. The author supports this by mentioning three different psychological states. The
first is meaningfulness, the second is availability, and the third is safety. Meaningfulness being
the employees’ “…perception that they are valued and their efforts and contribution at work are
recognized,” Availability being wellbeing in the sense that “physical and emotional reserves that
someone requires to work, are met,” and Safety being “confidence in being able to voice an
opinion to contribute positively in a workplace and the openness to develop relations with others
which is embedded in trust and respect.” (Strategic Direction 2015). He explains that
engagement is a product is product of these three states of mind. This article is a simplistic way
to show the dynamic between one particular style of leadership and it’s benefits, however it fails
to address other styles.
Blomme, R. J., Kodden, B., & Beasley-Suffolk, A. (2015). Leadership theories and the concept
of work engagement: Creating a conceptual framework for management implications and
research. Journal of Management & Organization,21(02), 125-144.
doi:10.1017/jmo.2014.71
BMAL 501 ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY AND OUTLINE 5
This article serves as a significant reference in connecting leadership and engagement. It
discusses theories and what the concept of engagement is. A substantial amount of information
was provided to not only talk about the positive relationship between these two aspects but also
potential shortcomings or challenges. The research model used was composed of several
propositions and three different leadership styles. Lastly this article provides suggestions for
proceeding with future research and what areas to focus on examining.
Breevaart, K., Bakker, A., Hetland, J., Demerouti, E., Olsen, O. K., & Espevik, R. (2013). Daily
transactional and transformational leadership and daily employee engagement. Journal
of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 87(1), 138-157.
doi:10.1111/joop.12041
This article focuses on how daily work engagement and the day to day work environment
are influenced by a leader’s behavior. It ties in transformational leadership coupled with
contingent rewards to reflect a positive correlation between increased employee engagement.
Although the focus was on transformational leadership, there was some small inclusion of
transactional leadership as well. The sample used in the study was very unique regarding the
nature of the work and the work location. Limitations suggest that more studies need to be done
in varying work environments and fields. Suggestions for future research pointed out the fact that
not everything can be measured daily depending on circumstances and situations.
Cheema, S., Akram, A., & Javed, F. (2015). Employee engagement and visionary leadership:
Impact on customer and employee satisfaction. Journal of Business Studies Quarterly,
BMAL 501 ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY AND OUTLINE 6
7(2), 139-148. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.liberty.edu/login?url=https://search-
proquest-com.ezproxy.liberty.edu/docview/1755024643?accountid=12085
This article provided a three tiered slightly different approach to the same premise of
leadership and employee engagement being related. Utilizing the idea of visionary leadership,
the study used showed the connection between emotional commitment, employee satisfaction,
and customer satisfaction. Results proved that improved performance was greatly a result of
employees feeding into a leader’s guidance because they felt a sense of purpose. The limitation
of this article was that the data was exclusive to the restaurant industry.
Hansen, A., Byrne, Z., & Kiersch, C. (2014). How interpersonal leadership relates to employee
engagement. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 29(8), 953-972.
doi:10.1108/jmp-11- 2012-0343
This article discusses how employee engagement is related to the perception of
interpersonal leadership in an organizational identity context. The article featured data
collected from a relatively large sample of an international firm which is great to provide
supporting evidence for the generalization of the assertion. The article grouped together varies
types of leadership into one which they classified as a full leadership model that can address
individuals and situations. Limitations were that the study did not consider micro level
engagement subgroups or units within an organization. Therefore, future research would need to
explore how employees who belong to certain subgroups within an organization may have strong
engagement behavior with their respective group but not the organization at large.
BMAL 501 ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY AND OUTLINE 7
Othman, A. K., Hamzah, M. I., Abas, M. K., & Zakuan, N. M. (2017). The influence of
leadership styles on employee engagement: The moderating effect of communication
styles. International Journal of ADVANCED AND APPLIED SCIENCES, 4(3),
107-116. doi:10.21833/ijaas.2017.03.017
This article focuses on leadership styles of communication as a factor in improving or
hindering employee engagement. Interestingly date was collected from employees electronically
through webmail. Discussions were given regarding prior studies failing to fully address
communication being an integral part of the relationship between the two concepts. Open,
transparent and consistent lines of communication were showing to have positive effects on
building trust and emotionally positive ties between leaders and followers. Since the research in
this article was used from a manufacturing market study, further research would need to be done
on communication in other types of business environments.
Perko, K., Kinnunen, U., Tolvanen, A., & Feldt, T. (2016). Back to Basics: The Relative
Importance of Transformational and Fair Leadership for Employee Work Engagement
and Exhaustion. Scandinavian Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 1 (1),
6. doi:10.16993/sjwop.8
This article asserts that transformational leadership is the desirable style with regard to
employee welfare. In additional to transformational leadership research it included
organizational justice research by paralleling the relationship between supervisor’s roles and
employee wellbeing. A Jobs Demand Resource Model was used to encompass not only work-
related tasks but also the exploration of social, psychological and physical aspects. This is useful
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because it is deeply rooted in understanding all levels of behavior and what things can shape
behavior. Information from research and data surrounding the health of employees was utilized
to help support some of the claims. Online and paper questionnaires were used to collect
information from a variety of different occupations. The article did suggest some limitations in
regard to majority of the sample being women.
Popli, S., & Rizvi, I. A. (2016). Drivers of Employee Engagement: The Role of Leadership Style.
Global Business Review, 17(4), 965-979. doi:10.1177/0972150916645701
This article was great because it used five different organizations particularly in the
service industry. Human resources in addition to leadership styles was a part of the discussion
asserting that these things can influence engagement among workers. As with other research the
use of a multilevel questionnaire was selected as a means of collecting and analyzing
information. I particularly appreciated the statistics that were summarized as products of
employee engagement. This helps to support the additional notion that employee engagement is
in fact beneficial to organizations and leaders should therefore, strive to cultivate it. The
analysis of the sample found that age played a big role and therefore may need further research.
Radda, A. A., Majidadi, M. A., & Akanno, S. N. (2015). EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT: THE
NEW MODEL OF LEADERSHIP. Indian Journal of Management Science, 5(2), 17-
26. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.liberty.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-
com.ezproxy.liberty.edu/docview/1751963576?accountid=12085
This article summarized nine respective organizational outcomes associated with
employee engagement. These outcomes included things like profitability, turnover, production,
BMAL 501 ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY AND OUTLINE 9
absenteeism, and a few others. The analysis of surveys used to collect data was derived from
various management consultants' organizations. It is highlighted within the article about the
importance of leaders and managers being knowledgeable about what kinds of drivers can
positively impact employee engagement. I appreciated how the article asserted that leadership is
the primary driver. This ties in that mangers and leaders must be committed and engaged if they
expect the same behavior from employees. Further study could be done on how employees can
be engaged when leaders are not.
Rice, B., Fieger, P., Rice, J., Martin, N., & Knox, K. (2017). The impact of employees’ values on
role engagement. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 38(8), 1095-1109.
doi:10.1108/lodj-09-2016-0223
This article discusses the extrinsic and intrinsic values of employees and its impact on
employee engagement. Focusing on the disruptive justice experience of employees, the
healthcare field was used as the environment of study. The articles explored different responses
regarding rewards and incentives to show the motivational influence of their behavior and
attitudes. Based on the survey results, it was suggested that managers find a balance between
intrinsic and extrinsic rewards as they do contribute positively to increased levels of
engagement. The limitation of the research from this study is that is limited to the healthcare
industry.
Ugaddan, R. G., & Park, S. M. (2017). Quality of leadership and public service motivation.
International Journal of Public Sector Management, 30(3), 270-285. doi:10.1108/ijpsm-
08-2016-0133
BMAL 501 ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY AND OUTLINE 10
This article is more tailored to the connection between quality of leadership and
employee engagement in the public sector. Inclusion of the topics of substantially increased
technological innovations and what is described as stringent financial circumstances help to
provide better insight on the modernized role engagement plays. The political aspect and
discussion on social exchanges allows for examination of more external factors outside the
organization that could impact employees within specific departments. A government wide
survey was used for this study which encompasses a large sample size which is great for
generalizing data. Suggestions for future research were to maybe include the impact of coworker
relationships on engagement.
Yang, R., Ming, Y., Ma, J., & Huo, R. (2017). HOW DO SERVANT LEADERS PROMOTE
ENGAGEMENT? A BOTTOM-UP PERSPECTIVE OF JOB CRAFTING. Social
Behavior and Personality: An International Journal, 45(11), 1815+. Retrieved from
http://link.galegroup.com.ezproxy.liberty.edu/apps/doc/A520460258/AONE?u=vic_libert
y&sid=AONE&xid=80a9865b
This article talks about how servant leadership can help empower employees to take
more control over boosting their own engagement. Having skill variety, and autonomy, while
being supported by a leader who strives to serve in meeting those needs can greatly impact the
engagement of employees. The approach of this article is different because it doesn’t use top
down leadership models but rather bottom up approach that heavily centers around the follower.
Online surveys were used to collect data and a few different types of occupations were utilized. It
was pointed out that mentoring and support were big contributing factors as well as promoting
BMAL 501 ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY AND OUTLINE 11
self-management and self-determination. Limitations included the fact that the employees were
Chinese workers from big city areas. Future research recommendations were to expand and
include small city employees as well as other countries.
Zhang, T., Avery, G. C., Bergsteiner, H., & More, E. (2014). Do follower characteristics
moderate leadership and employee engagement? Journal of Global Responsibility, 5(2),
269-288. doi:10.1108/jgr-04-2014-0016
This article takes a different approach from focusing on the leader to focusing on the
follower. While a great deal of literature studies leadership models and styles of behavior, this
one examines follower characteristics and relates them to employee engagement. Bringing up
the fact that followers can perceive and respond to the same leadership style differently, greatly
helps explore what can be a simple or complex relationship. It hones in not on the group level.
but more so the individual level factor. Limitations within this article were the sample not being
diverse and only three follower characteristics were used.
BMAL 501 ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY AND OUTLINE 12
OUTLINE
I Introduction
a Employee engagement and good leadership are two areas that many
organizations view as important. Employee engagement involves the
emotional commitment, positive attitude and behavior characteristics, and
involvement in carrying out goals and visions. Leadership is important
because most of the time these are the individuals who have to create,
promote, and implement vision, policies, and procedures. This means that
a large part of their duty is to inspire and motivate employees to be the
best version of themselves and in line with the organizations mission. It’s
important to study the relationship between these two concepts because
low employee engagement and poor leadership can affect the culture, the
quality and the productivity of a workplace.
b Themes include: styles of leadership, followership characteristics, drivers
of employee engagement, and benefits of employee engagement
II Drivers of Employee Engagement
a Employee engagement is three different psychological states. The first is
meaningfulness, the second is availability, and the third is safety. Meaningfulness
being the employees’ “…perception that they are valued and their efforts and
contribution at work are recognized,” Availability being wellbeing in the sense
that “physical and emotional reserves that someone requires to work, are met,”
and Safety being “confidence in being able to voice an opinion to contribute
positively in a workplace and the openness to develop relations with others along
that is embedded in trust and respect.” (Strategic Direction 2015).
b Supportive management “provides a breeding ground for mutual respect and trust
to emerge” (Strategic Direction 2015)
c “Distributive Justice is important for all, and is a powerful motivator for
engagement for employees reporting highly on intrinsic motivators” (Rice et
al 2017)
i ATTRIBUTES, LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT, AND EMPLOYEE
ENGAGEMENT. Acta Prosperitatis, (8), 68-83,119. Retrieved
from http://ezproxy.liberty.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-
com.ezproxy.liberty.edu/docview/1993303343?accountid=12085
III Styles of Leadership
a Interpersonal leadership is a “high order concept that incorporates
transformational leadership, and interpersonal justice” feeds into how this relates
to organizational behavior as a whole (Strategic Direction 2015 p 1).
b “Higher levels of transformational leadership are related to higher levels of
engagement” (Blomme et al 2015).
c “Servant leadership involves placing the satisfaction of followers' needs before
leaders' own needs, creating a climate in which followers feel important and
empowered to do more and create more” (Yang et al 2017)
BMAL 501 ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY AND OUTLINE 13
i Beus, B. (2016, 09). Improve employee engagement: 5 ways senior
leadership can do it. Recognition and Engagement Excellence
Essentials, Retrieved from http://ezproxy.liberty.edu/login?
url=https://search-proquest-
com.ezproxy.liberty.edu/docview/1954876491?accountid=12085
ii Breevaart, K., Bakker, A., Hetland, J., Demerouti, E., Olsen, O. K., &
Espevik, R. (2013). Daily transactional and transformational
leadership and daily employee engagement. Journal of
Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 87(1),
138-157. doi:10.1111/joop.12041
iii Cheema, S., Akram, A., & Javed, F. (2015). Employee engagement and
visionary leadership: Impact on customer and employee
satisfaction. Journal of Business Studies Quarterly, 7(2), 139-148.
Retrieved from http://ezproxy.liberty.edu/login?url=https://search-
proquest com.ezproxy.liberty.edu/docview/1755024643?
accountid=12085
iv Hansen, A., Byrne, Z., & Kiersch, C. (2014). How interpersonal leadership
relates to employee engagement. Journal of Managerial
Psychology, 29(8), 953-972. doi:10.1108/jmp-11-2012-0343
v Ugaddan, R. G., & Park, S. M. (2017). Quality of leadership and public
service motivation. International Journal of Public Sector
Management, 30(3), 270-285. doi:10.1108/ijpsm-08-2016-0133
IV Followership Characteristics
a “Reduced levels of engagement and emotional commitment…may be caused by
the style of leadership adopted towards employees” (Blomme et al 2015).
b There is a need for “stimulation of employees by including them in the
organizational decision-making, clearly communicating objectives, recognizing
effort and rewarding it, and showing genuine concern for each person’s
needs/wellbeing” (Strategic Direction 2015).
c "say" - the employee advocates for the organization to co-workers and others,
including referring potential employees and clients; "stay" - the employee
expresses a strong desire to work in the organization despite chances to work
elsewhere; and engaged employees' "strive" - using extra time, effort and
initiative for the organization when necessary (Zhang et al 2014).
i Yang, R., Ming, Y., Ma, J., & Huo, R. (2017). HOW DO SERVANT
LEADERS PROMOTE ENGAGEMENT? A BOTTOM-UP
PERSPECTIVE OF JOB CRAFTING. Social Behavior and
Personality: An International Journal, 45(11), 1815+. Retrieved
from
http://link.galegroup.com.ezproxy.liberty.edu/apps/doc/A5204602
AONE?u=vic_libert y&sid=AONE&xid=80a9865b
BMAL 501 ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY AND OUTLINE 14
V Benefits of Employee Engagement
a “Leadership is widely acknowledged to play an integral part in employees’
accomplishment of work tasks, motivation, development, and well-being.”
Furthermore, “…transformational leadership is the desirable style with regard to
employee well-being” (Perko et al 2016).
b “The organization can become a part of the employees’ self-concept” (Strategic
Direction 2015).
i Othman, A. K., Hamzah, M. I., Abas, M. K., & Zakuan, N. M. (2017). The
influence of leadership styles on employee engagement: The
moderating effect of communication styles. International
Journal of ADVANCED AND APPLIED SCIENCES, 4(3), 107-
116. doi:10.21833/ijaas.2017.03.01
ii Radda, A. A., Majidadi, M. A., & Akanno, S. N. (2015). EMPLOYEE
ENGAGEMENT: THE NEW MODEL OF LEADERSHIP. Indian
Journal of Management Science, 5(2), 17- 26. Retrieved from
http://ezproxy.liberty.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-
com.ezproxy.liberty.edu/docview/1751963576?accountid=12085
VI Conclusion and Recommendations:
a What are the contributions of the literature to understanding the research?
i Although engagement seems simple the definition of what it is can vary
greatly and can make it a complex topic to understand. The literature adds
to understanding research regarding the styles of leadership impact on
employee engagement, the attributes of followers, the benefits and the key
drivers of high levels of engagement in a workplace.
b What are the overall strengths?
i The strengths include that a variety of different leadership approaches
have been utilized as examples. More and more studies are being done in
different occupations and business industries, and most of the data is being
collected via surveys directly from the source which is the employees.
c What are the overall weaknesses?
i Weaknesses include some of the limitations that were identified by the
researchers. Diversity in the samples including gender, age, industry and
geographic location are some of the shortcomings in some studies.
Gathering data regarding employee engagement on a macro level and not
on a micro level could also skew results, and also the fact that coworker
relationship effects aren’t being looked at as closely. Another avenue that
could be explored that was missing in some of the literature was the
analysis and observation of employee engagement without effective with
little to no leadership involvement.
d Overall there seems to be a positive relationship between appropriately effective
leadership and high or steady levels of employee engagement. The general
consensus is that these high or steady levels do yield desirable results that
organizations seek. The main style of leadership that resonated across numerous
pieces of literature was transformational. All organizations should monitor and
BMAL 501 ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY AND OUTLINE 15
evaluate their employee engagement levels and future research should be done on
diverse groups of participants in numerous occupations.
