Determinants of Work Engagement in Nepalese Commercial Banks
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.3126/irjmmc.v7i3.97181Keywords:
leadership empowerment, perceived organizational support, psychological empowerment, structural equation modelingAbstract
Work engagement has become an important phenomenon in this twenty-first-century business environment because the service sector is facing tough competition from within and outside of the country. To achieve a competitive advantage, engagement is necessary, which provides strength to the organization and makes it competitive. Therefore, this study aims to examine the factors determining work engagement in Nepalese commercial banks. We used a cross-sectional research design and positivist epistemology under a 95% interval and 5% margin of errors. The study collected primary data from 375 bank employees as a sample of seven commercial banks, using a stratified sampling technique with a five-point Likert scale from the employees, which includes two joint venture banks, two public limited banks, and three private commercial banks, during the first quarter of 2026. The hypothesized relationships and data were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (Smart-PLS). The reliability, validity, and convergent and discriminant validity were established through the same statistical software. The findings reveal that psychological empowerment positively associates with work engagement, leadership empowerment positively associates with work engagement, and perceived organizational support also positively associates with work engagement. This study provides valuable insights to academics and professionals of banks to emphasize implementing leadership dynamics in a tactical way to promote work engagement, which is anticipated to produce two benefits: better organizational performance and better employee well-being.
Downloads
References
1. Alotaibi, S.M., Amin, M., & Winterton, J. (2020). Does emotional intelligence and empowering leadership affect psychological empowerment and work engagement? Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 41(8), 971–991. https://doi.org/10.1108/LODJ-07-2020-0313
2. Arshad, M., Qasim, N., Farooq, O., & Rice, J. (2022). Empowering leadership and employees’ work engagement: A social identity theory perspective. Management Decision, 60(5), 1218–1236. https://doi.org/10.1108/MD-11-2020-1485
3. Assi, H., Rayan, A. E., Nidal F., Albashtawy, M., & Al-Ghabeesh, S. H. (2024). Nurse managers’ authentic leadership and their relationship with work engagement among registered nurses. Nursing Forum, 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1155/2024/7523906
4. Bakker, A. B., & Albrecht, S. L. (2022). Work engagement: Current trends and future directions. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 41(2), 101–110. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.2374
5. Bakker, A. B., & Demerouti, E. (2018). Multiple levels in job demands-resources theory: Implications for employee well-being and performance. Handbook of well-being. (E. Diener,). Noba Scholar, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.
6. Bakker, A. B., Demerouti, E., & Sanz-Vergel, A. (2023). Job demands–resources theory: Ten years later. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 10(1), 25–53. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-120920-053933
7. Bakker, A.B., Schaufeli, W.B., Leiter, M.P., & Taris, T. W. (2008). Work engagement: an emerging concept in occupational health psychology. Work Stress, 22, 187–200.
8. Bougie, R., & Sekaran, U. (2019). Research methods for business: A skill building approach. (8th editio). John Wiley & Sons Inc, London, UK.
9. Cheong, M., Spain, S. M., Yammarino, F. J., & Yun, S. (2016). Two faces of empowering leadership: Enabling and burdening. The Leadership Quarterly, 27(4), 602–616.
10. Chin, W. W. (1998). The partial least squares approach to structural equation modeling. Modern Methods for Business Research, 295(2), 295–336.
11. Cook, J., Hepworth, S., Wall, T., & Warr, P. (1981). The experience of work. Academic Press, London, UK.
12. Creswell, J.W., & Creswell, J. D. (2018). Research design: Qualitative,quantitative and mixed method approaches (5 th ed.). Sage Publication, Thousand Oaks, CA.
13. Demerouti, E., & Bakker, A. B. (2011). The Job Demands– Resources model: Challenges for future research. SA Journal of Industrial Psychology, 37(2), 974–982. https://doi.org/10.4102/ sajip.v37i2.974
14. Duarte, P.A.O., & Raposo, M. L. B. (2010). A PLS model to study brand preference: an application to the mobile phone market”, in Vinzi, V.E., Chin, W.W., Henseler, J. and Wang, H. (Eds), Handbook of Partial Least Squares. Springer Berlin Heidelberg.
15. Eisenberger, R., & Stinglhamber, F. (2011). Perceived organizational support: Fostering enthusiastic and productive employees. In Perceived organizational support. American Psychological Association.
16. Fock, H., Hui, M. K., Au, K., & Bond, M. H. (2013). Moderation effects of power distance on the relationship between types of empowerment and employee satisfaction. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 44(2), 281–298. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022022112443415
17. Fong, K., & Snape, E. (2015). Empowering leadership, psychological empowerment, and employee outcomes: Testing a multi-level mediating model. British Journal of Management, 26(1), 126–138. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8551.12048
18. Fornell, C., & Larcker, D. F. (1981). Structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error: algebra and statistics. Journal of Marketing Research, 18(3), 382–388.
19. Hair, J. F., Hult, G. T. M., Ringle, C., & Sarstedt, M. (2021). A primer on partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). (3rd editio). SAGE Publications.
20. Hair, J. F., Hult, G. T. M., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2020). A primer on partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). (3 rd). Sage Publication, Thousand Oaks, CA.
21. Hair, J. F., Hult, G. T. M., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2022). A primer on partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). (3rd ed). SAGE Publications, Thousand Oaks, CA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-80519-7
22. Hair, J.F., Risher, J.J., Sarstedt, M., & Ringle, C. M. (2019). When to use and how to report the results of PLS-SEM. European Business Review, Volume, 31(1), 2–24.
23. Hair Jr., J. F., Matthews, L. M., Matthews, R.L., &, & Sarstedt, M. (2017). PLS-SEM or CB-SEM: updated guidelines on which method to use. International Journal of Multivariate Data Analysis, 1(2), 107–123. https://doi.org/10.1504/ijmda.2017.10008574
24. Henseler, J., & Sarstedt, M. (2013). Goodness-of-fit indices for partial least squares path modeling. Computational Statistics, 28, 565–580.
25. Henseler, J., Ringle, C.M., & Sarstedt, M. (2015). A new criterion for assessing discriminant validity in variance-based structural equation modeling. Academy of Marketing Science, Journal, 43(1), 115–135. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-014-0403-8
26. Joshi, A., Kale, S., Chandel, S., & Pal, D. K. (2015). Likert scale: Explored and explained. British Journal of Applied Science & Technology, 7(4), 396–403.
27. Kharel, S., & Niraula, G. P. (2026). Human Resource Management Practices and Employee Engagement: An Empirical Evidence from Nepalese Commercial Banks. International Research Journal of MMC, 7(1), 378–391. https://doi.org/10.3126/irjmmc.v7i1.93083
28. Kleanthis K. K. (2024). Firm performance in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic: The role of perceived organizational support during change and work engagement. Employee Relations: The International Journal, 46(3), 622–640. https://doi.org/10.1108/ER-07-2022-0313
29. Kurtessis, J. N., Eisenberger, R., Ford, M. T., Buffardi, L. C., Stewart, K. A., & Adis, C. S. (2017). Perceived organizational support: A meta-analytic evaluation of organizational support theory. Journal of Management, 43(6), 1854–1884. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206315575554
30. Li, N., Chiaburu, D. S., Kirkman, B. L., & Xie, Z. (2013). Spotlight on the followers: An examination of moderators of relationships between transformational leadership and subordinates’ citizenship and taking charge. Personnel Psychology, 66(1), 225–260. https://doi.org/10.1111/peps.12014
31. Lowry, P.B., & Gaskin, J. (2014). Partial least squares (PLS) structural equation modeling (SEM) for building and testing behavioral causal theory: When to choose it and how to use it. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication, 57(2), 123–146. https://doi.org/10.1109/TPC.2014.2312452
32. Mauno, S., Hirvonen, R., & Kiuru, N. (2018). Children’s life satisfaction: The roles of mothers’ work engagement and recovery from work. Journal of Happiness Studies, 19(5), 1373–1393. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-017-9878-6
33. Moura, D., Orgambidez-Ramos, A., & De Jesus, S. (2015). Psychological empowerment and work engagement as predictors of work satisfaction. Asample of hotel employees. Journal of Spatial and Organizational Dynamics, 3(2), 125–134.
34. Nepal Bankers’ Association. (2024). Commercial banks, branches and number of employees. www.nepalbankersassociation.com.np
35. Nepal Rastra Bank. (2025). Integrative directives, Nepal Rastra Bank, Central office, bank and financial institution regulation department. Circulars Upto January, 2025. www.nrb.org.np
36. Niraula, G. P., Kharel, S., & Koirala, K. B. (2026). Impact of leadership empowerment dynamics on work engagement: a mediation model in Nepalese commercial banks. International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, ahead-of-p, 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSSP-11-2025-0735
37. Raziq, M. M., Wazir, R., Memon, M. A., Rice, J. L., & Moazzam, M. (2025). Empowering leadership, employee organizational commitment and organizational citizenship behavior: the roles of leader authenticity and trust. International Journal of Productivity and Performance Managemen, 74(1), 81–106. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPPM-09-2023-0489
38. Rhoades, L., & Eisenberger, R. (2002). Perceived organizational support: A review of the literature. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87(4), 698–714. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.87.4.698
39. Ringle, C. M., Sarstedt, M., Sinkovics, N., & Sinkovics, R. R. (2023). A perspective on using partial least squares structural equation modelling in data articles. Data in Brief, 48, 109074.
40. Saleem A., Nisar, Q. A., & Imran, A. (2017). Organization citizenship behaviour, psychological empowerment and demographic characteristics: Teachers’ perspective. International Journal of Advanced and Applied Sciences, 4(7), 129–135. https://doi.org/10.21833/ijaas.2017.07.019
41. Schaufeli, W. B., Bakker, A. B., & Salanova, M. (2006). The measurement of work engagement with a short questionnaire. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 66(4), 701–716. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013164405282471
42. Schaufeli, W. B., Salanova, M., Gonzalez-Roma, V., & Bakker, A. B. (2002). The measurement of engagement and burnout: A two sample confirmatory factor anlytic approach. Journal of Happiness Studies, 3(1), 71–92.
43. Spreitzer, G. M. (1995). Psychological empowerment in the workplace: Dimensions, measurement, and validation. Academy of Management Journal, 38(5), 1442–1465.
44. Wen, J., Huang, S. (Sam), & Teo, S. (2023). Effect of empowering leadership on work engagement via psychological empowerment: Moderation of cultural orientation. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 54, 88–97. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhtm.2022.12.012.
45. Zhang, G., & Wang, Y. (2025). Empowerment or burden? The impact of empowering leadership on Generation Z knowledge workers retention willingness. Frontiers in Psychology, 16, 1706788. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1706788
46. Zhang, X., & Bartol, K. M. (2010). Linking empowering leadership and employee creativity: The influence of psychological empowerment, intrinsic motivation, and creative process engagement. Academy of Management Journal, 53(1), 107–128.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 International Research Journal of MMC (IRJMMC)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
