The Mediating Effects of Employee and Team Empowerment on the Relationship between Leadership and Performance within a Context

Purpose: The aim of this study is to investigate the mediating role of employee and team empowerment in the relationship between transformational leadership and organizational performance in Tehran-based R&D centers in the oil industry. Design/Methodology/Approach: A quantitative approach was adopted for this study with a questionnaire in which participants (n=133) were asked to express their viewpoints about the variables under investigation. The average respondent age was 42, and 33% were female. The participants in the survey were all well educated professionals and senior research fellows, as well as project managers. The results were analyzed through Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) using LISREL 8.8. Findings: Team empowerment was found to mediate the relationship between transformational leadership and organizational performance, while employee empowerment did not mediate such a relationship. Furthermore, transformational leadership had a positive and significant impact on employee empowerment. Research Limitations/Implications: The geographical scope of the research was restricted to the city of Tehran. The results, however, have important implications for both academics and practitioners who can take advantage of promising value of team empowerment. Originality/Value: The current research introduces a new conceptual model of team empowerment and leadership-performance