Purpose The purpose of this paper is twofold: investigate job resources as a moderator in the relationship between transformational leadership and employee engagement in service sector organizations, and investigate the relative importance of each dimension of job resources in relation to employee engagement. Design/methodology/approach Quantitative data were collected using a survey design for which 187 employees responded. These employees were sourced from retail stores across ten shopping malls located in Trinidad. Findings Findings from a hierarchical multiple regression supported the first two hypotheses and showed that transformational leadership was positively related to employee engagement and job resources moderated the relationship between transformational leadership and employee engagement. However, findings from structural equation modeling did not support the third hypothesis because supervisor support was negatively related to employee engagement. Practical implications Implications for service organizations include the provision of adequate job resources so that the effect of transformational leadership on employee engagement can be realized. Specifically, organizations must provide job control to employees, promote free access to information, create an innovative climate and develop a supportive work climate. Instead of focusing on the job resource of supervisor support, service organizations may need to build an environment that stimulates coworker support. Originality/value This study not only adds to the limited body of research on organizational leadership in emerging markets, but also contributes to the field of organizational behavior by showing an important condition (i.e. job resources) under which the relationship between transformational leadership and employee engagement varies and unraveling the dimensions of job resources in relation to employee engagement.