The Mediating Role of Leadership Styles in Organizational Development Interventions and Employee Engagement: Insights from Government-Linked Organizations in Malaysia

DOI

10.2991/978-94-6463-801-1_6How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Organizational Development Interventions; Leadership Styles; Employee Engagement First Section

Abstract

This study examines the mediating role of leadership styles in the relationship between Organizational Development (OD) interventions—process, structural, and strategy—and employee engagement within Malaysian government-linked organizations (GLOs). Employee engagement is pivotal for organizational success, particularly in hierarchical environments where complex governance structures and accountability frameworks prevail. OD interventions, including process improvements, structural adjustments, and strategy alignments, are essential for fostering engagement, yet their effectiveness heavily relies on leadership styles. Transformational, transactional, democratic, and autocratic leadership are explored as mediators to determine their influence on the success of OD interventions. The findings reveal that leadership styles significantly shape the impact of OD interventions on employee engagement. Transformational leadership enhances engagement by inspiring innovation and aligning employee aspirations with organizational goals. Transactional leadership emphasizes accountability and task clarity, while democratic leadership fosters collaboration and inclusivity. Autocratic leadership provides stability and precision, particularly during structural changes. Mediation analysis highlights that leadership styles differentially mediate the relationship between specific OD interventions and engagement outcomes, with contextual factors influencing their effectiveness. This study contributes to the theoretical understanding of leadership’s role in employee engagement and provides practical insights for enhancing leadership strategies in GLOs. By aligning leadership approaches with OD interventions, organizations can improve employee motivation, adaptability, and overall performance. These findings emphasize the importance of adaptive leadership in navigating organizational challenges and driving sustainable growth in complex environments.

Copyright

© 2025 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Noor Malinjasari Binti Ali
AU  - Kardina Kamaruddin
AU  - Siti Fatimah Mardiah Hamzah
AU  - Raslina Mohamed Nor
AU  - Hasmi Mokhlas
AU  - Suzila Mat Salleh
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/07/31
TI  - The Mediating Role of Leadership Styles in Organizational Development Interventions and Employee Engagement: Insights from Government-Linked Organizations in Malaysia
BT  - Proceedings of the 9th Terengganu International Business and Economics Conference 2025 (TiBEC IX 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 65
EP  - 79
SN  - 2352-5428
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6463-801-1_6
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6463-801-1_6
ID  - Ali2025
ER  -