Exploring Organisational Power Dynamics as a Moderator between Adaptive Leadership and Employee Empowerment in Bureaucracies

Abstract

This study examines how adaptive leadership fosters employee empowerment in the Sarawak Civil Service (SCS), with a focus on the moderating influence of organisational power dynamics. Guided by Adaptive Leadership Theory, Spreitzer’s Psychological Empowerment Model, and the construct of Perceived Supervisor Social Power (PSSP), the research examines leadership effectiveness in hierarchical yet decentralised public organisations. A positivist approach shaped the design, drawing on survey data from 199 mid-level managers, preceded by a pre-test with 30 respondents. Validated instruments, including the Adaptive Leadership Behaviour Scale, Psychological Empowerment Scale, and PSSP Scale, ensured measurement reliability. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS 29.0 for descriptive statistics and SmartPLS 4.0 for structural modelling. Results demonstrate that adaptive leadership significantly enhances empowerment, strengthening effects when supervisors are perceived as holding substantial informal power. Organisational power dynamics thus play a pivotal role in shaping how leadership behaviour translates into psychological empowerment. The study contributes to public sector leadership scholarship by situating empowerment within Malaysia’s bureaucratic and cultural landscape, while offering practical implications for leadership development initiatives in the SCS, particularly in advancing managerial autonomy and distributed decision-making.