Empowering Leadership and Innovative Work Behavior: The Mediating Roles of Psychological Empowerment and Knowledge Sharing in Sri Lankan MEP Sector Organizations

Abstract

This study extensively investigates the ways in which empowering leadership (EL) influences employees’ innovative work behavior (IWB) within Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing (MEP) organizations operating in Sri Lanka, with particular attention to the mediating roles of psychological empowerment (PE) and knowledge sharing (KS). Grounded in Social Exchange Theory, the research posits that leaders who exhibit empowering behaviors such as encouraging employee autonomy, participative decision-making, competence development, and confidence building create an organizational environment in which employees feel motivated to reciprocate through heightened engagement in creative and innovative activities. To empirically test these relationships, a comprehensive quantitative cross-sectional survey was conducted among employees working in selected MEP firms located in Colombo, capturing perspectives from various hierarchical levels, including engineers, technicians, supervisors, and administrative personnel. The results of the analysis indicate a statistically significant positive relationship between EL and IWB, demonstrating that employees exposed to empowering leadership are more likely to generate, promote, and implement new ideas effectively within their work settings. In addition, the findings reveal that both psychological empowerment and knowledge sharing partially mediate this relationship, suggesting that the influence of leadership on innovative behavior is not purely direct but also operates through enhancing employees’ perceptions of meaningful work, personal competence, autonomy in decision-making, and collaborative knowledge exchange. By exploring these psychological and social mechanisms, this study fills a critical theoretical and empirical gap in the context of Sri Lanka’s engineering-intensive MEP sector, offering valuable insights for organizational leaders and practitioners seeking to develop leadership competencies, improve knowledge-management practices, and implement HR systems that foster a sustainable innovation-oriented organizational culture.