The Role of Trust in the Leader in Explaining the Relationship between Administrative Empowerment and Job Engagement: A Field Study in Water Factories in Wadi Hadhramout

Abstract

This study aimed to examine the impact of administrative empowerment on employees' work engagement and to investigate the potential mediating role of trust in the leader in this context. A descriptive-analytical research design was adopted. Data were collected from a sample of 118 employees working in five bottled water manufacturing plants in Wadi Hadhramout, Yemen. Regression analysis and other statistical techniques were employed to assess both the direct and indirect effects of administrative empowerment on work engagement through trust in the leader.

The findings revealed that the level of administrative empowerment among employees was moderate to high, with delegation of authority and teamwork emerging as the most prominent dimensions. The results also indicated high levels of trust in the leader as well as of work engagement, reflecting strong psychological, cognitive, and emotional engagement of employees in their work. Furthermore, the study demonstrated a significant positive direct effect of administrative empowerment on work engagement, as well as a significant positive effect of administrative empowerment on trust in the leader. Trust in leadership was also found to have a significant positive effect on work engagement.

Despite these positive relationships, the results did not support either a full or partial mediating role of trust in leadership in the relationship between administrative empowerment and work engagement. This finding may reflect the unique characteristics of the organizational environment and culture of the surveyed organizations and differs from some previous studies that reported a mediating role for organizational trust.

Based on these findings, the study recommends strengthening administrative empowerment practices, enhancing leadership capabilities, fostering trust between leaders and employees, and adopting flexible managerial policies that consider organizational characteristics. Future research is also encouraged to examine other potential mediating variables, such as job satisfaction and organizational commitment, in explaining the relationship between administrative empowerment and work engagement.