Influence of intellectual stimulation on employee engagement in parastatals in the energy sector in Kenya

Abstract

Employee engagement continues to pose a challenge to parastatals. Consequently, governments have adopted the transformational leadership style as an effective method of enhancing employee engagement. Nevertheless, it is still unknown whether the establishment of transformational leadership dimensions has boosted employee engagement in the Kenyan energy sector parastatals. The objective of this study was to investigate the influence of intellectual stimulation on employee engagement in parastatals in the energy sector in Kenya. Also, the study sought to determine the moderating influence of employee motivation on the relationship between intellectual stimulation and employee engagement. This study targeted the 10 parastatals within the energy sector in Kenya with a population of 315 middle-level managers. The study adopted a positivist research philosophy to examine the influence on intellectual stimulation on employee engagement and data was collected using structured questionnaires. A correlational research design was conducted with the purpose of determining the strength of the relationship between parameters of intellectual stimulation and employee engagement.The findings showed that employee engagement has a statistical significant relationship with creativity and innovation, r(166) = 0.540, p < 0.01; job design, r(166) = 0.452, p < 0.01 and employee involvement, r(166) = 0.512, p < 0.01. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that employee motivation positively and significantly moderates the relationship between intellectual stimulation and employee engagement, R2= .409, F(2, 159) = 55.115, p <.05; β = 0.259, p <.01. The study concluded that creativity and innovation, job design, employee involvement, and employee motivation positively enhance employee engagement.