The Impact of Paternalistic Leadership Styles on Employee Engagement in the Pharmaceutical Distribution Industry: The Mediating Role of Psychological Capital

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought great challenges to health workers. In view of the impact of paternalistic leadership styles on employee psychology and engagement, this study aims to explore the relationship between paternalistic leadership styles and employee engagement during the COVID-19 pandemic and the mediating role of psychological capital. Paternalistic Leadership Questionnaire (PLQ), Psychological Capital Questionnaire (PCQ) and Employee Engagement Scale (EES) were used to investigate 557 employees of pharmaceutical distribution enterprises in Shanghai. Statistical software was used for data analysis. Correlation analysis showed that the benevolence, morality and strictness of paternalistic leadership style were significantly positively correlated with the level of psychological capital and engagement, while the autocracy of paternalistic leadership style showed a significant negative correlation with it. Regression analysis showed that paternalistic leadership styles could significantly predict psychological capital and employee engagement, and psychological capital could also significantly predict employee engagement. The results of the mediation effect showed that psychological capital played a complete mediating role between morality, strictness and autocracy of paternalistic leadership style and employee engagement, while psychological capital played a partial mediating role between benevolence and employee engagement in paternalistic leadership style. The four styles of paternalistic leadership in the pharmaceutical distribution industry have a significant impact on employee psychological capital and employee engagement. These findings provide a certain reference value and supplement for the pharmaceutical distribution industry to adjust the management style of leaders, improve the psychological capital of employees, and enhance their level of work engagement.

Positive Effect of Narcissism on Employees’ Whistleblowing: The Role of Felt Accountability and Ethical Environment

“…Employees who experience higher feelings of accountability believe that their action will be closely watched and scrutinized by a salient audience. 27 , 37 , 38 Researchers have suggested that there exist individual differences in how felt accountability influences cognitions and behaviors in the workplace. 37 , 39 We argue that several elements of narcissism potentially trigger feelings of accountability when organizational wrongdoing is discovered.…”

“…The actors believe that they will be required to give a salient audience explanation. 27 Prior research has shown that narcissistic CEOs are more likely to forgo irresponsible behaviors which can easily lead to criticism from stakeholders and therefore engage in more corporate social responsibility. 32 Narcissistic individuals prefer to stand out from the crowd and get attention and recognition.…”

“… 23–26 The possibility that ethical environment is likely to influence the relationship between felt accountability and whistleblowing may also explain why previous studies have shown inconsistent relationships between felt accountability and extra-role behaviors. 27–30 …”

“…[23][24][25][26] The possibility that ethical environment is likely to influence the relationship between felt accountability and whistleblowing may also explain why previous studies have shown inconsistent relationships between felt accountability and extra-role behaviors. [27][28][29][30] The theoretical model is shown in Figure 1. We examine the model using data obtained from MBA students in the study.…”