Leading with purpose: unraveling the impact of motivating language on work engagement with a focus on psychological meaningfulness in the tourism and hospitality sector
| dc.contributor.author | Muhammad Zada | |
| dc.contributor.author | Alaa Amin Abdalla | |
| dc.contributor.author | Christophe Estay | |
| dc.contributor.author | Waleed Ahmed Nureldeen | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2026-01-29T07:59:16Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2026-01-29T07:59:16Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2025 | |
| dc.description.abstract | Drawing on speech act theory, this study examined the influence of transformational leadership on employee work engagement and motivating language. Further, this study examines the mediating role of motivating language. In addition, the study examined the moderating role of psychological meaningfulness. This study employed a questionnaire-based survey to collect data from 412 lower and mid-level Pakistani tourism and hospitality sector employees through a convenience sampling technique. To reduce common method biases, a time-lagged data collection approach was used. The hypothesis test was conducted using the hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) technique. The results showed that transformational leadership is positively related to the use of motivating language and work engagement. In addition, motivating language mediates the relationship between transformational leadership and employee work engagement. The psychological meaningfulness plays a moderating role in the relationship between motivating language behavior and employee work engagement. This study uniquely integrates transformational leadership, motivating language, and psychological meaningfulness to explain employee engagement in the Pakistani tourism and hospitality sector. It reveals the mediating role of motivating language and the moderating effect of psychological meaningfulness, offering novel insights into how leadership communication drives work engagement in this context. This study found that transformational leadership has a positive influence on both motivating language and employee work engagement in the Pakistani tourism and hospitality sector. Motivating language mediates this relationship, enhancing the impact of transformational leadership on work engagement. Additionally, psychological meaningfulness moderates this relationship, further strengthening employee engagement. These findings underscore the crucial role of leadership communication and psychological meaningfulness in cultivating a motivated and engaged workforce. Keywords: Transformational leadership, Work engagement, Psychological meaningfulness, Motivating language | |
| dc.identifier.citation | Zada, M., Abdalla, A. A., Estay, C., & Nureldeen, W. A. (2025). Leading with purpose: unraveling the impact of motivating language on work engagement with a focus on psychological meaningfulness in the tourism and hospitality sector. BMC psychology, 13(1), 708. | |
| dc.identifier.doi | https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-025-02977-6 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://repository.adu.ac.ae/handle/1/8149 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | |
| dc.publisher | Springer Nature Link | |
| dc.title | Leading with purpose: unraveling the impact of motivating language on work engagement with a focus on psychological meaningfulness in the tourism and hospitality sector | |
| dc.type | Article |