Journal of Public Administration

Journal of Public Administration

Investigating the Effect of Inclusive Leadership on Employee Work Engagement with the Mediating Role of Psychological Conditions and Perceived Organizational Support: A Case Study of Tehran Municipality

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors
Niloofar Shikari Hir 1
Neda Mohammad Esmaeili 2
Mohammad Abooyee Ardakan 3
1 MSc., Department of Leadership and Human Capital, Faculty of Public Administration and Organizational Sciences, College of Management, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
2 Assistant Prof., Department of Leadership and Human Capital, Faculty of Public Administration and Organizational Sciences, College of Management, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
3 Associate Prof., Department of Leadership and Human Capital, Faculty of Public Administration and Organizational Sciences, College of Management, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
10.22059/jipa.2026.414133.3905
Abstract
Objective
In recent years, inclusive leadership has attracted considerable scholarly attention as an effective leadership style for enhancing employees' attitudes and fostering positive organizational outcomes, particularly work engagement. Within public sector organizations, which typically operate within formal and bureaucratic structures and face inherent constraints in decision-making processes, understanding how inclusive leadership influences employees' work engagement assumes particular significance. Although existing evidence points to the positive outcomes associated with inclusive leadership, the psychological mechanisms that explain this relationship, especially within the context of governmental and public organizations, have not yet been fully elucidated. Accordingly, the present study aims to examine the effect of inclusive leadership on employees' work engagement, with a specific emphasis on the mediating role of psychological conditions and perceived organizational support, as well as the moderating role of overall satisfaction with the leader.
Methods
This study is applied in terms of its overarching purpose and employs a descriptive–survey and analytical research design. The statistical population consisted of employees working in the affiliated units of Tehran Municipality. Data for the independent, dependent, and mediating variables were collected from 386 participants using standardized questionnaires administered through a two-stage cluster sampling method. In addition, to distinguish between groups with high and low levels of satisfaction with the leader, the study drew upon both survey results and supplementary interview data. To test the conceptual model and the proposed research hypotheses, partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was employed as the primary analytical technique. Furthermore, multi-group analysis (MGA) conducted via SmartPLS3 was utilized to compare the moderated mediation effects across the identified groups.
Results
The results indicated that inclusive leadership exerts a positive and significant effect on employees' work engagement. The findings further revealed that psychological conditions and perceived organizational support significantly mediate the relationship between inclusive leadership and work engagement. These results suggest that inclusive leadership plays an important role in enhancing employees' work engagement by strengthening positive psychological experiences and increasing perceptions of organizational support among employees. Moreover, the moderated mediation analysis demonstrated that the indirect effect of inclusive leadership on work engagement through perceived organizational support is significantly stronger among employees who report higher levels of satisfaction with their leader, in comparison to those with lower levels of satisfaction. This finding underscores the reinforcing role that leader-related satisfaction plays in amplifying the motivational and supportive mechanisms through which inclusive leadership operates.
Conclusion
By focusing on the psychological and social mechanisms that underlie the influence of inclusive leadership, the present study contributes meaningfully to the development of the literature on leadership and work engagement within the context of the Iranian public sector. The findings demonstrate that inclusive leadership, in addition to its direct positive effect, significantly enhances employees' work engagement through the improvement of psychological conditions and the augmentation of perceived organizational support. These results highlight that the presence of a meaningful, psychologically safe, fair, and supportive environment constitutes a fundamental condition for translating the effectiveness of inclusive leadership into tangible behavioral and attitudinal outcomes among employees. From a practical perspective, the study underscores the critical importance of developing inclusive leadership competencies among managers in public organizations. Such development is essential for strengthening trust, fairness, participation, accountability, and organizational learning, which in turn foster higher levels of work engagement, improved individual and collective performance, and sustainable motivation within public institutions. These insights offer valuable guidance for policymakers and human resource practitioners seeking to enhance both employee well-being and organizational effectiveness through leadership development initiatives.
Keywords
Inclusive leadership
Perceived organizational support
Psychological conditions
Work engagement
Subjects
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Journal of Public Administration
Volume 18, Issue 3
2026
Pages 633-664