Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1 Academic staff of Higher Education Research and Planning Institute
2 Assistant Professor, Department of Higher Education Management Studies, Institute for Research and Planning in Higher Education.
3 Assistant Professor Department of Educational and Curriculum Innovations Institute for Research and Planning in Higher Education, Tehran, Iran
Abstract
The present study aimed to investigate the mechanism by which empowering leadership influences organizational learning capability, with the mediating roles of knowledge management and employees' cognitive empowerment, in Farhangian University of Lorestan Province. This research employed a quantitative approach using a descriptive-correlational method based on structural equation modeling (SEM). The statistical population included all staff members of Farhangian University in Lorestan during the academic year 2023–2024 (N = 319), from which a sample of 174 individuals was selected using proportional stratified random sampling. Data were collected using the Empowering Leadership Questionnaire (Ahearne, Mathieu, & Rapp, 2005), Organizational Learning (Chiva et al., 2007), Knowledge Management (Hemati, 2010), and Psychological Empowerment (Spreitzer, 1995). Content validity was assessed qualitatively, and internal consistency reliability was confirmed through Cronbach's alpha coefficients. To examine the conceptual model and test the hypotheses, partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was applied using SmartPLS 3 software. This method is well-suited for analyzing complex relationships among variables and non-normally distributed data. The findings revealed that empowering leadership has a direct effect on organizational learning, knowledge management, and cognitive empowerment. Furthermore, both knowledge management and cognitive empowerment directly affect organizational learning. However, the mediating roles of knowledge management and cognitive empowerment in the relationship between empowering leadership and organizational learning were not statistically significant. Based on these findings, it is recommended that academic institutions emphasize the importance of empowering leadership and implement programs to enhance knowledge management and organizational learning among staff.
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