Empowering leadership and employee agility: The mediating role of knowledge sharing and perceived organizational support

Abstract

This study aims to examine the effect of empowering leadership on employee agility in the Indonesian banking sector, with knowledge sharing and perceived organizational support as mediating variables. A quantitative approach was employed using survey data collected from 322 employees of commercial banks in East Java, Indonesia. Data were analyzed with structural equation modeling (SEM) to test the hypothesized with SmartPLS 4 software. The study reveals that empowering leadership exerts a significant positive influence on employee agility, both directly and indirectly. Knowledge and perceived organizational support emerged as strong predictors of agility, while also serving as key mediating mechanisms. Specifically, empowering leadership enhances employee agility by fostering knowledge sharing and strengthening perceived organizational support, highlighting their central role in translating leadership practices into agile employee behaviors. Organizations should prioritize empowering leadership practices to cultivate agility among employees. Managers can achieve this by encouraging open knowledge sharing, creating supportive work environments, and recognizing employee contributions.