Meaningful leadership and sustainable HRM: catalysts for follower calling – a moderated mediational model

Abstract

PurposeThe aim of the study is to identify the ways of making work a calling for employees. Based on signaling theory, the authors present an integrated model to develop calling in employees by finding an indirect effect of meaningful leadership on calling through sustainable human resource management (SHRM) practices. Furthermore, the authors predict that meaningful work will moderate this mediating effect.Design/methodology/approachIn a three-wave time-lagged study, the authors followed 187 workers from multiple organizations across Pakistan to examine how meaningful leadership influences employee calling through SHRM practices in the form of signals. The authors established that this indirect effect is stronger when employees perceive their work as meaningful. The authors used structural equation modeling in MPlus to test a moderated mediational model.FindingsThe results show that meaningful leadership is positively related to calling through SHRM practices, and meaningful work significantly moderates this mediating relationship. Specifically, the indirect effect of meaningful leadership is stronger when meaningful work is high.Originality/valueThe study substantiates the high importance of meaningful leadership as a signaler and provides insight into the mechanism of meaningful work as a contingency to develop a calling. The uniqueness of the study lies in testing meaningful leadership empirically and identifying external antecedents of calling among employees.