Linking empowering leadership with workplace proactivity: the mediating role of psychological safety and knowledge sharing

Purpose - This study aims to explore the association between empowering leadership and workplace proactivity. Design/methodology/approach - The data have been collected through questionnaires from both the medical and non-medical staff members working in four National Accreditation Board for Hospitals & Healthcare (NABH)–accredited private hospitals in India. Confirmatory factor analysis has employed test reliability and validity and PROCESS MACRO (model 6) to test the proposed serial mediation model. Findings - The results support the proposed hypotheses of the serial mediation model. Additionally, the authors have also found that psychological safety is a strong mediating variable than knowledge sharing between empowering leadership and workplace proactivity. Research limitations/implications - The findings should be interpreted by considering the cross-sectional research design and self-reported measures. Practical implications - An organization can use the findings to promote employee proactivity at the workplace. Originality/value - The study makes an attempt to explore the underdeveloped relationship between empowering leadership and workplace proactivity in the context of Indian NABH-accredited hospitals based on the self-determination theory.