Abstract:
rganizational commitment has a significant positive association with em ployee work engagement. Comparatively, organizational leaders recognize the
value and competitive advantage of inspiring employee work engagement for
sustainability in their industry. Numerous studies confirm that ethical lea dership predicts organizational commitment. However, as of 2019, research
suggested that alternative ethical leadership theories were needed to explain
the influence on work engagement better. This study aimed to investigate the
predictive power of Foundational Leadership Theory (FLT) developed by
Fuller in 2021. FLT is an inward (internal) and outward (employee perceived)
examination of ethical decisions based on integrity, assurance, and pragmat ism. The findings were based on responses from 248 full-time employees
across various industries in the United States of America. Pearson correlation
and regression analysis revealed that integrity, assurance, and pragmatism
predicted positive employee work engagement. FLT is a new theory and ad vances our understanding of employee commitment and work engagement in
an organization. Human resource managers (HRM) recognized that em ployee enthusiasm is reflected in their work engagement. Therefore, leaders
who rely on FLT are more likely to maintain a competitive advantage by
creating or improving employee enthusiasm and engagement on the job.
