The impact of coaching leadership on work engagement: an empirical study from Chinese context

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to unveil the efficacy of coaching leadership within Chinese organizations and bolster employees’ work engagement.Design/methodology/approachThe sample data were collected through employing the questionnaire method. The participants consisted of 234 employees and 53 supervisors in Chinese enterprises. Hypothesis testing was conducted using multiple regression analysis and the Bootstrap method.FindingsThe coaching leadership exhibited a positive association with employees’ work engagement, psychological safety and self-efficacy. It was observed that employees’ psychological safety and self-efficacy played a dual-mediation role between coaching leadership and work engagement. Additionally, employees with power distance orientation (POD) amplified the positive effects of coaching leadership on psychological safety and self-efficacy.Research limitations/implicationsThis study contributes to the literature on coaching leadership and work engagement by elucidating their direct influence, as well as the dual-mediating roles of psychological safety and self-efficacy. Besides, our findings underscore the moderating effect of POD in amplifying the impacts of coaching leadership. However, the nonlongitudinal survey design adopted by our study should be noted for its potential limitations in establishing causality.Practical implicationsThe findings demonstrate that coaching leadership, psychological safety and self-efficacy play a crucial role in fostering work engagement. Employees with higher POD are more likely to benefit from coaching leaders.Originality/valueThis study contributes to coaching leadership literature and provides insights into how and when coaching leadership affects work engagement in Chinese organizations.