Volume 3 Issue 3
Authors: Ngozi Celestina Onyemeh; Lee Chan Wai; Yousif Abdalla Abakr
Abstract: This paper presented a snapshot of employee empowerment research studies from 1987 to 2013. It was aimed at fulfilling two objectives: diagnosing the current status of employee empowerment research, and contributing to the understanding and shaping of future research on the subject. To accomplish this, all scholarly articles published from 1987 to 2013 in the ABI/INFORM global database under direct and related subjects of employee empowerment and empowerment tools and techniques were compiled and analysed to present the current status, past trends, and potential future directions. The results indicated a decrease in the total number of articles on the subject in the 26 years under review after a peak in 1997, a marked increase from 165 publications in 2009 to 217 publications in 2010, and an increase in the study of management practices that influence empowerment perceptions. Additionally, articles on leadership management support, people-based management, employee involvement and participation, discretion, and autonomy, which create an empowering environment for organizational success, have been on a slight increase. These findings suggested that research on employee empowerment has moved from organizational performance to individuals in recognition of the criticality of individual contributions. It was concluded that employee empowerment is critical to organizational success and survival.
Keywords: Employee Empowerment; Management Empowerment Practice; Future Trend in Empowerment Study