The Effect of Transformational Leadership Style on Emotional Engagement of Salespersons and its Downstream Effect on Creative Performance: Role of Meaningfulness in Work

Abstract

Even though there is an immense level of research related to the effects of the transformational leadership style of managers, the role of meaningfulness in work as a mediator between this specific style and the emotional engagement of salespersons has yet to be cross-examined in previous literature. To understand how this mediating mechanism leads to emotional engagement, which ultimately leads to the creative performance of salespersons, we advanced a conceptual model using Social Exchange Theory (SET) and examined the data from a sample of 315 salespersons; results from the multivariate analysis show that the relationship between transformational leadership style and emotional engagement is partially mediated by salespersons’ perceptions of meaningfulness in work. The study also offers insights into one of the essential consequences, i.e., creative performance. The results also provide broad implications for managers and researchers in boosting emotional engagement and improving creative salespersons' performances. The study is one of the exceptional efforts to provide evidence regarding the role of meaning in work in the context of a relationship between transformational leadership style and the emotional engagement of salespersons.