The interplay between psychological empowerment and employee engagement: identifying research trends using SPAR-4-SLR process

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to examine the research that examines psychological empowerment (PE) and employee engagement (EE) via bibliometric analysis. The study also aims to offer an overview of the present state of research and indicate potential future research topics.

Design/methodology/approach

The literature on PE and engagement was reviewed using bibliometric analysis based on publications in the Scopus database. The analysis comprises a three-field plot, theoretical framework examination, thematic analysis and quantitative analysis of the most frequently referenced publications, affiliations, countries and authors.

Findings

The study identifies research trends such as the use of the leadership lens, the examination of the different degrees of empowerment, the examination of alternate mechanisms to improve engagement and the impact of supervisor resources on these constructs. The study also suggests areas for future research, such as the influence of leadership and organizational culture on these two factors, the link between PE and EE and the impact of the changing structure of work via the increased use of technology and new work relations like gig work on these concepts.

Originality/value

This study offers a thorough and systematic overview of the state of the research in the area of PE and EE. This study emphasizes the significance of PE and engagement in management by giving a thorough overview of the present state of research and outlining future research possibilities.

Citation

Kaul, N., Deshpande, A., Mittal, A., Raut, R. and Bhandari, H. (2024), "The interplay between psychological empowerment and employee engagement: identifying research trends using SPAR-4-SLR process", Global Knowledge, Memory and Communication, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/GKMC-09-2023-0322