The majority of research on empowerment has focused on the individual job incumbent's psychological experience of empowerment and link this with various work-related outcomes. Work context capable of promoting empowerment has been neglected by researchers. Extensive literature survey explored information sharing, autonomy through boundaries, team responsibility, reward system, workplace independence and flexibility and skill acquisition and development as work context (managerial structures and practices) and conceptualized as empowerment climate construct. Regression analysis indicated autonomy through boundaries has the greatest influence on empowerment, followed by team accountability, workplace independence and flexibility reward system, information sharing and then skill acquisition and development.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AshforthB.E., “The Experience of Powerlessness in Organizations” in Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes.1989. pp. 207–242.
2.
ArgyrisChris. “Empowerment: The Emperor's New Clothes”, in Harvard Business Review on Managing People [eds]. HBS Press, Boston, 1999, pp. 101–120.
3.
BanduraAlbert, “Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change”, in Psychological Review Mar Vol. 84(2), 1977. pp. 191–215.
4.
BellN.E.StawB.M., “People as Sculptors Versus Sculpture” in ArthurM.B.HallD.T.LawrenceB. S. [eds.], Handbook of Career Theory.Cambridge University Press, New York, 1989. pp. 232–251.
5.
BlanchardCarlosRandolphAND, 1995; Blanchard, K., Carlos, J.P. AND Randolf, A., Empowerment Takes More Than a Minute, 1996.
6.
BowenLawler, “The Empowerment of Service Workers: What, Why, Wow and When?” in Sloan Management Review, Spring, 1992. pp. 31–39.
7.
CarlessSally A., “Does Psychological Empowerment Mediate the Relationship between Psychological Climate and Job Satisfaction?” in Journal of Business and Psychology, Vol. 18, No. 4, Summer 2004.
8.
CongerJ.A.KanungoR.N., “The Empowerment Process: Integrating Theory and Practice”, Academy of Management Review, Vol. 13No. 3, 1988. pp. 471–82.
9.
CorsunDavid L.EnzCathy A.., “Predicting Psychological Empowerment Among Service Workers: The Effect of Support-based Relationships”. Human RelationsVol. 52, No. 2, February, 1999.
10.
GoldmanS.L.NagelR.N., “Management, Technology and Agility: The Emergence of a New Era in Manufacturing”. International Journal of Technology Management, 8(1/2), 1993. pp. 18–38.
11.
GunasekaranA., “Agile Manufacturing: Enablers and an Implementation Framework”. International Journal of Production Research, 36(5), 1998. pp. 123–47.
12.
GuptaA.D.KurianS., “Empowerment at Work: The Dyadic Approach”. VISION—The Journal of Business PerspectiveVol. 10, No. 1, January-March, 2006.
13.
HackmanJ.ROldhamG.R., Work Redesign, Addis on-Wesley, Reading, MA, 1980.
14.
HardyC.Leiba-O'SullivanS., “The Power Behind Empowerment: Implications for Research and Practice”. Human Relations51(4), 1998. pp. 451–483.
15.
JamesL. R.JoyceW. F.SlocumJ. W., Comment: Organizations do not Cognize. Academy of Management Review1988. pp. 129–132.
16.
KanterR.M., Men and Women of the Corporation, Basic Books, New York, 1988.
17.
KiddP.T., Agile Manufacturing: Forging New FrontiersAddison-Wesley, Reading, MA., 1994.
18.
KirkmanBradely L.RosenBensonTesluk PaulE.GibsonCristina B., “The Impact of Team Empowerment on Virtual Team Performance: The Moderating Role of Face-to-face Interaction”, Academy of Management Journal, April 2004.
19.
LawlerE.E., The Ultimate Advantage: Creating the High-Involvement Organization, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, CA, 1992.
20.
LawlerE.E.From the Ground up: Six Principles for Building the New Logic Corporation, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, CA, 1996.
21.
LidenR. C.TewksburyT. W.1995. “Empowerment and Work Teams”. In FerrisG. R.RosenS. D.BarnumD.T. (Eds.), Handbook of Human Resources Management: Oxford, England: Blackwell. Schneider, B. 2000, pp. 386–403.
22.
NeilsenE.H., “Empowerment Strategies: Balancing Authority and Responsibility”, in SrivastvaS. (Eds.), Executive Power: How Executives Influence People and Organizations, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, CA., 1986.
23.
PareekUdai., Training Instruments for Human Resource Development, Tata McGraw Hill, 1997.
24.
ParkerLouise E.PriceRichard H.“Empowered Managers and Empowered Workers: The Effects of Managerial Support and Managerial Perceived Control on Workers' Sense of Control over Decision Making”, Human Relations, Vol. 47, No. 8. 1994.
25.
RandolphW.A, “Navigating the Journey to Empowerment”, Organizational Dynamics, Vol. 23No. 4, 1995. pp. 19–50.
26.
DwivediR.S., “The Paradox of Employee Empowerment: Illusion or Reality” in Saini, DebiS.KhanSami. A [Eds.] Human Resource Management: Perspectives for the New Era, Response Books, New Delhi, 1999. pp. 189–212.
27.
SchneiderB.ReichersA. E.1983. On the Etiology of Climates. Personnel Psychology36: 19–39.
28.
SeibertScott E.SilverSeth E.Randolph, “Taking Empowerment to the Next Level”, Academy of Management Journal.Vol. 47, No. 3, 2004. pp. 332–349.
29.
SiegallM.GardnerS., “Contextual Factors of Psychological Empowerment”, Personnel Review, Vol. 29Issue: 6, 2000. pp. 703–722.
30.
SpreitzerG.M., “Social Structural Characteristics of Psychological Empowerment”, Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 39No. 2, 1996. pp. 483–504.
31.
ThomasK.W.VelthouseB.A., “Cognitive Elements of Empowerment”, Academy of Management Review, Vol. 15No. 4, 1990. pp. 666–81.
32.
Van OyenM.P.GelE.G.S.HoppW.J., Performance Opportunity for Workforce Agility in Collaborative and Non-collaborative Work Systems. IIE Transactions, 33, 2001. pp. 761–777.
33.
WilkinsonA., “Empowerment: Theory and Practice”, Personnel Review, Vol. 27No. 1, 1998. pp. 40–56.
