Empowering leadership navigating the employee's entrepreneurial orientation through work uncertainty: Evidence from tourism and hospitality industry

Qadir, Farhan; Basheer, Muhammad Farhan; Chaudhry, Shafaq Arif; Lodhi, Rab Nawaz Article Empowering leadership navigating the employee's entrepreneurial orientation through work uncertainty: Evidence from tourism and hospitality industry Pakistan Journal of Commerce and Social Sciences (PJCSS) Provided in Cooperation with: Johar Education Society, Pakistan (JESPK) Suggested Citation: Qadir, Farhan; Basheer, Muhammad Farhan; Chaudhry, Shafaq Arif; Lodhi, Rab Nawaz (2024) : Empowering leadership navigating the employee's entrepreneurial orientation through work uncertainty: Evidence from tourism and hospitality industry, Pakistan Journal of Commerce and Social Sciences (PJCSS), ISSN 2309-8619, Johar Education Society, Pakistan (JESPK), Lahore, Vol. 18, Iss. 2, pp. 527-551 This Version is available at: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/301678 Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen: Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden. Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen. Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. Terms of use: Documents in EconStor may be saved and copied for your personal and scholarly purposes. You are not to copy documents for public or commercial purposes, to exhibit the documents publicly, to make them publicly available on the internet, or to distribute or otherwise use the documents in public. If the documents have been made available under an Open Content Licence (especially Creative Commons Licences), you may exercise further usage rights as specified in the indicated licence. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ Pakistan Journal of Commerce and Social Sciences 2024, Vol. 18(2), 527-551 Pak J Commer Soc Sci Empowering Leadership Navigating the Employee’s Entrepreneurial Orientation Through Work Uncertainty: Evidence from Tourism and Hospitality Industry Farhan Qadir (Corresponding Author) Lahore Business School, University of Lahore, Lahore, Pakistan Email: [email protected] Muhammad Farhan Basheer Lahore Business School, University of Lahore, Lahore, Pakistan Email: far[email protected]ol.edu.pk Shafaq Arif Chaudhry School of Business at University of Central Lancashire, United Kingdom. Email: [email protected] Rab Nawaz Lodhi Hailey College of Commerce, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan. Email: [email protected] Article History Received: 20 Mar 2024 Revised: 17 June 2024 Accepted: 21 June 2024 Published: 30 June 2024 Abstract This research investigates the impacts of empowering leadership (EL) on work uncertainty (WU) and employee’s entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and its dimensions (risk-taking, pro-activeness, and innovativeness). Furthermore, this study also exploring the intervening role of work uncertainty in the connection between empowering leadership and entrepreneurial orientation and its dimension. The data (n=271) were gathered from individuals employing in hospitality and tourism industry of Pakistan by utilizing a timelag research approach. Using AMOS software for data analysis, findings suggested that empowering leadership is meaningfully related with work uncertainty and individual’s entrepreneurial orientation. Similarly, work uncertainty mediates the relationship between empowering leadership and entrepreneurial orientation and its dimensions. This study suggests that empowering leadership can be an effective tool for encouraging employee’s entrepreneurial orientation. Therefore, managers and leaders of hospitality and tourism sector, who aim to achieve employee’s entrepreneurial orientation need to induce empowering leadership in their organization. The article bridges the gap relating to factors Empowering Leadership Navigating the Employee’s Entrepreneurial Orientation 528 and antecedents that impact individual’s entrepreneurial orientation in a time lag research design. This research is one of the pioneer studies which examining, how empowered leadership affects entrepreneurial orientation, with employing work uncertainty as a mediating role. The practitioners of tourism and hospitality industry such as investors, managers, employees and other stakeholders, will find this study quite useful as well. Keywords: Empowering leadership, work uncertainty, entrepreneurial orientation, selfdetermination theory, tourism and hospitality industry. 1. Introduction The tourism and hospitality industry significantly contribute to the economy of developing countries like Pakistan by creating jobs, generating foreign exchange, and earning money for the government through tax collection (Kyei-Frimpong et al., 2024). However, this industry has been totally disregarded because of the state of law and order, terrorism, and the dearth of government-provided infrastructure (Kyei-Frimpong et al., 2024). According to recent research, the tourism and hospitality sectors are linked to a number employment issues, including job uncertainty, little opportunity for personal development, and reliance on seasonal demand. Therefore, this sectors need to encourage a higher level of dedication among their employees in every area of competence if they want to boost performance and nurture entrepreneurial orientation (EO) in the workforce through the effective leadership (Kyei-Frimpong et al., 2024). Employee efficiency and productiveness are essential for organizational functioning, growth and development. Especially, in the case of tourism and hospitality industry, the efficiency of the individual employees is an essential element for superior services since the customers' feelings and expectations related to service quality is influenced by the communication and interactions of the employees with the customers (Nunkoo et al., 2020). Zhang and Bartol (2010) argued that it had been observed that employees could not achieve their optimal level without complete autonomy and control over their work. Excessive observance of rules and regulations adversely influences their performance (Kark et al., 2018). The period of the conventional organizational hierarchical model, controlling and directing employees, has departed and now, it is the era to authorize, empower, and enable them (Jung et al., 2020; Riaz et al., 2021). Empowered and authorized employees can achieve higher performance as they observe the perception of control of resources to perform their jobs (Al-Omari et al., 2020; Riaz et al., 2020). In this perspective, EL might arise as a vital tool that can actively improve the level of employees’ empowerment in the firm and thus inducing entrepreneurial orientation (EO) in the employees. The leadership and management literature have repeatedly emphasized on the leader's crucial influence on individual empowerment (Yadav et al., 2023). Empowering leaders encourage individuals to abandon passive mindsets, increase their self-responsibility and risk taking and make them responsible for their performance (Jada et al., 2019). Particularly, empowering leadership (EL) refers to a collection of behaviors exhibited by a Qadir et al. 529 leader who provides autonomy, assigns more responsibilities, and shares the power with their subordinates by providing autonomy from bureaucratic constraints, articulating confidence in high performance, encouraging participation in decision making, and improving meaningfulness of the work (Zhang & Bartol, 2010). Entrepreneurship is a key factor in achieving socio-economic development and play a crucial role in economic growth (Covin et al., 2020). Entrepreneurship helps in job creation, competitiveness and enhances productivity which stimulates organizations to operate effectively and efficiently (Wales et al., 2020), resulting in wealth generation and reduced unemployment (Hizarci et al., 2023). Hence, Entrepreneurial Orientation has acquired substantial significance (Ferreira et al., 2019). Moreover, there is ample empirical evidence and consensus that implementing EO leads to improved organizational performance, economic outcomes, and success rates (Ferreira et al., 2019). Multiple studies have demonstrated that businesses that employ a robust entrepreneurial orientation outperform enterprises that fail to adopt an EO (Kreiser et al., 2020; Wales et al., 2020) Entrepreneurial orientation is one of the critical variables of examination that need to be investigated at the employee level in the field of entrepreneurial research (Wales et al., 2020; Hizarci et al., 2023). Research determinants advised that entrepreneurial orientation undergo a vigorous research concept and necessitates researchers' ongoing attention and vigorous involvement (Alalawi, 2020). EO has already been observed at the firm or business unit level (e.g., Kreiser et al., 2020; Wales et al., 2020). Yet, little empirical research has been conducted on entrepreneurial orientation at the employee level (Rigtering et al., 2019; Shahid et al., 2022). Moreover, despite several calls for a deeper understanding of how individuals can contribute to the entrepreneurial spirit of an organization (Wales, 2020; Clark et al., 2023). Consequently, it is essential to analyze entrepreneurial orientation at the employee level (Covin et al., 2020). Employees' entrepreneurial orientation characterize as an individual’s propensity for pro-activeness, innovativeness, and risktaking (Covin et al., 2020). This concept emphasizes that entrepreneurial employees are more motivated to be proactive, take risks, and be innovative in their behaviors (Lee & Peterson, 2000). Therefore, entrepreneurial individuals are more enthusiastic to take risks, more proactive in realizing and utilizing available possibilities, and more likely to engage in innovation. Furthermore, researchers have also emphasized on investigating the antecedent’s side of the employees’ entrepreneurial orientation (Bernoster et al., 2020). Multiple scholars have conducted investigations and proposed that the hospitality and tourist industry is regarded as a crucial element in the economic development of various countries (Mzembe et al., 2019 Usman et al., 2023). The Pakistani hospitality and tourism industry's economic impact remains relatively small in comparison to that of other industrialized and developing nations. Pakistan possesses significant tourism potential and provides an extensive infrastructural network for international tourists, including the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and a comprehensive system of motorways Empowering Leadership Navigating the Employee’s Entrepreneurial Orientation 530 (Nazneenet al., 2019). In addition, Pakistan's tourism revenue is comparatively smaller than that of other South Asian countries (Khan et al., 2020). However, there are few exceptions where capital investments in the tourism sector are higher. This is a significant opportunity for the hotel and tourism industry to optimize and elevate their performance in order to bolster the economic growth of the nation. Economic growth and development are crucial for promoting expansion, improving company performance, increasing productivity, and reducing unemployment and internalization (Insan et al., 2021; Subhan et al., 2013). The hospitality and tourist industries constantly face significant strain as a result of fierce rivalry both domestically and internationally. The hospitality and tourism business must implement and enforce reforms, such as adopting entrepreneurial and effective leadership, to maintain productivity and compete on a global scale (Afsar et al., 2017). According to Afsar et al. (2017), effective leadership is crucial for organizations to maintain growth and profitability, as well as to inspire individuals to embrace new challenges and achieve exceptional business outcomes. Prior research has also emphasized the relationship between leadership and entrepreneurial orientation in developed economies, with less investigations undertaken in developing economies. This research suggested a mediating role of work uncertainty (WU) between empowering leadership and EO and its dimensions in Pakistani setting. In multiple ways, our study adds to the existing body of knowledge. First, this research contributes to the entrepreneurial orientation literature by examining entrepreneurial orientation at the employee level. Previously, only a few researches have looked into entrepreneurial orientation among employees (Santos et al., 2020; Shahid et al., 2022). Secondly, this is one of the pioneer studies that investigates the crucial relationship between EL and entrepreneurial orientation via work uncertainty. Third, there is a recent call for researchers to investigate the antecedent of entrepreneurial orientation (Bernoster et al., 2020). Thus this study is proposing and empirically investigating the empowering leadership as a significant antecedent of employee’s entrepreneurial orientation. Lastly, this study will also add to the present literature on the Pakistani hospitality and tourism industry, which is a neglected and under-researched field. The current study analyses the links between empowering leadership, work uncertainty, and entrepreneurial orientation among Pakistani hospitality and tourism personnel. The tourism and hospitality industry in Pakistan faces unique challenges, such as political instability, security concerns, economic fluctuations, and infrastructural deficiencies. These factors create a high level of work uncertainty, making it crucial to explore how leadership can navigate this uncertainty to enhance employee performance. The pertinence of the problem to contextual performance in the Pakistani hospitality and tourism industry lies in the interplay between cultural differences, leadership styles, employee entrepreneurial orientation, and the unique challenges of the industry. Empowering leadership can significantly enhance employees' ability to perform contextually by fostering a proactive, innovative, and resilient workforce capable of navigating the uncertainties inherent in this sector. The study's focus on this dynamic offers valuable Qadir et al. 531 insights into improving organizational performance and employee satisfaction in a critical industry for Pakistan's economy. 2. Literature Review and Hypotheses Development The study utilizes the self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 2000, 2002) to propose that empowered leadership positively influences employees' inclination towards innovativeness, pro-activeness, and risk-taking, referred to as the employee's EO (Lumpkin & Dess, 1996). In this reference, empowering leadership (EL) (involves delegating authority and power to people, so enhancing their autonomy and accountability (Amundsen & Martinsen, 2014). An empowered leader influences their followers in such a way that made them autonomous individuals, who can initiate tasks by their own-selves, take responsibilities, and coordinate activities in order to achieve organizational goals in desired manners (Zhang et al., 2010). The main focus of this motivating procedure to enhance the follower's confidence and self-assurance by promoting participative decision-making (Jung et al., 2020; Riaz et al., 2021). Although there is a sufficient amount of evidence available in literature that supports the significant impact of empowering leadership on employees (Riaz et al., 2021; Kwan et al., 2022; Kim et al., 2023), but the various aspects of empowering leadership and entrepreneurial orientation has not yet been investigated. Remarkably, there has been a lack of research conducted to investigate the influence of empowered leadership on entrepreneurial attitude in business organizational contexts. While there is limited scholarly research on the impact of transformational leadership, a widely recognized leadership style, on individuals' entrepreneurial orientation and its dimensions, Oncer (2013) has examined the dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation, including innovativeness, proactive behavior, and risk-taking behavior among employees. In contrast, Dapper (2019) emphasizes the use of intellectual stimulation, idealized influence, customized consideration, and inspirational motivation, as described by Bass (1985), to foster entrepreneurial orientation among employees. On the other hand, entrepreneurial orientation (EO) refers to the strategy-creating procedures which facilitate an entrepreneur establish a solid basis for entrepreneurial decisions and actions (Benevolo et al., 2021; Pérez & Guevara, 2023). Entrepreneurial orientation also includes the principles, preferences, management-related values, results, and behaviors exhibited by the organization's highest-level leaders (Covin et al., 2020). EO dimensions are conceptually associated with a company's proactivity and willingness to innovate, its capacity to adapt to expected modifications, and its risk-taking behavior (Kreiser et al., 2020. Innovativeness is the disposition to abandon the status quo by promoting new ideas and creative thinking. Proactivity refers to an organization's capacity to predict and capitalize on new business possibilities, usually gaining an edge over rivals. Finally, risk-taking can be described as a company's willingness to invest significant money in projects with high failure costs and unknown results. Empowering Leadership Navigating the Employee’s Entrepreneurial Orientation 532 In the continuing the above argument, the underpinning theory SDT, theorizes that humans retain three fundamental psychological needs: autonomy, competence, and relatedness (Deci & Ryan, 2000, 2002). The urge for autonomy pertains to individuals' desire for selfgovernance and independence in their actions and decisions concerning their own conduct. The demand for competence pertains to the desire to proficiently do tasks and gain acknowledgement from others. The concept of relatedness pertains to the inherent need to establish connections and gain acknowledgement from others (Deci & Ryan, 2000). According to Deci and Ryan (2002), individuals experience a stronger sense of entrepreneurial orientation when their wishes are met to a larger extent. We argue that when leaders empower their people, it promotes the satisfaction of their autonomy, competence, and relatedness needs. As a result, this enhances employees' sense of entrepreneurial orientation by reducing job uncertainty. Satisfaction of these need encourage the innovativeness, pro-activeness and risk-taking behavior of employees. The core idea behind the self-determination theory is that people have an inherent drive to grow and develop to their full potential (Ryan, et al., 2021). According to (Haggar and Hamilton, 2020), the self-determination theory states that employees' actions are impacted by personal factors. As further discussed in the theory that the important mechanism for comprehending the development of intrinsic drive shed light on the relevance of the interaction between people and their social environments (Ryan, et al., 2021). In a supportive environment, people are encouraged to pursue their goals and objectives in a way that takes into account their unique organization-specific inclinations as well as their associated developmental requirements. On the other hand, various degrees of selfalienation may manifest in behavior in response to negative environmental conditions (DeRobertis & Bland, 2020). According to the self-determination theory proposed by Deci and Ryan (2002), sentiments of autonomy and competence play a vital role in intrinsic motivation. Empowering leadership entails inspiring and equipping individuals to assume responsibility and supervise their own tasks, leading to heightened autonomy for staff members. By empowering leaders, faith in their colleagues' capacities is demonstrated (Amundsen & Martinsen, 2014; Cheong et al., 2016), leading to an enhancement in employees' attitudes regarding their own competence. According to Kim et al. (2018), empowering leadership has a clear positive impact on employees' intrinsic motivation and resources. Based on selfdetermination theory (Deci & Ryan, 2000, 2002; Ryan & Deci, 2017), people that are under empowering leadership will be intrinsically motivated and have a strong belief in their own capabilities to autonomously exhibit innovation, proactivity, and willingness to take risks. The current investigation rested on the self-determination theory of workplace motivation. It seeks to clarify how empowering leadership relates to entrepreneurial orientation of the employees through the work uncertainty. Employees are gradually expected to engage in entrepreneurial orientation in the current work environment, characterized by instability, insecurity, complexity, and vagueness. Entrepreneurial orientation is employees' involvement in proactive, innovative, and risk-taking behavior (Covin et al., 2020). Qadir et al. 533 According to the SDT theory, autonomy, competence, and relatedness enhance employees' confidence levels. Therefore, the motivation of autonomy, competence, and relatedness provided by the empowering leader will lessen work uncertainty by enhancing task control and encouraging the entrepreneurial orientation of employees. ➢ H1: EL is positively connected with the employee's entrepreneurial orientation. ➢ H2a: EL is positively connected with innovativeness. ➢ H2b: EL is positively connected with pro-activeness. ➢ H2c: EL is positively connected with risk-taking. Work uncertainty (WU) can be defined as the absence of predictability in the activities and responsibilities of a job (Wall et al., 2002). The presence of uncertainty as a specific risky factor is mostly linked to interim employment, unemployment, or a combination of both (Bilal et al., 2021). The current work environment is undergoing significant fluctuations, which intensify the amount of uncertainty in the workplace. The presence of job ambiguity has a detrimental impact on the firm's employees and can lead to a decline in overall work performance (Wall et al., 2002). The ability of any business to survive in an unstable environment depends on its leadership's entrepreneurial spirit, skills, and talent (Lombardi et al., 2021). Scholars have studied the abilities and characteristics of empowering leaders for many years (Cheong et al., 2016; Kim & Beehr, 2023). Empowering leaders need the necessary knowledge and experience (Kim & Beehr, 2023), particularly creativity (Chow, 2017; Zhang & Bartol, 2010), opportunity orientation (Cheong et al., 2019), and interpersonal skills (Kwan et al., 2022), as these qualities may help them articulate the expected future picture and inspire employees to follow their view. ➢ H3: EL is negatively related to the work uncertainty. SDT is helpful in comprehending individual thriving by decreasing work uncertainty (Deci & Ryan, 2000, 2002). The individuals have profound emotional needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Therefore, workplaces that satisfy these needs promote job engagement, innovation, self-initiative behavior, and psychological well-being by lowering work uncertainty (Bilal et al., 2021; Kamel & Abou Hashish, 2015). Leading the entrepreneurial process inside an organization is a crucial duty of industry executives. To do this, a leader must create an environment that will encourage all employees to contribute through creating and applying fresh ideas, resulting in creative practices (Bilal et al., 2021). In addition, empowering leadership fosters employees' adventurous behavior and lessens job uncertainty by fostering a supportive environment (as an outcome of providing employees autonomy, competence, and relatedness). The "absence of predictability in work activities and expectations" is one way to describe work uncertainty (Wall et al., 2002, p. 151). Uncertainty is a risk factor primarily linked to unemployment, temporary employment, or a combination of both (Ferrie et al., 1998). According to Armenakis and Bedeian (1999), the workplace is experiencing fast change, Empowering Leadership Navigating the Employee’s Entrepreneurial Orientation 534 consequently raising uncertainty. The employees are negatively impacted by this employment insecurity, which might lead to a general decline in work execution (Ferrie et al., 1998). Despite all theoretical and empirical support, no studies have looked at the role of work uncertainty (WU) in mediating the connection between EL and entrepreneurial orientation and its dimension. The present study intended to address this lacuna in the body of knowledge. At the organizational level, it is imperative for business leaders to assume responsibility for cultivating an entrepreneurial mindset. A leader should create a favorable environment where all employees can generate and utilize innovative ideas, thereby promoting creative and proactive behaviors (Bilal et al., 2021). Empowering leadership is the act of a leader giving power to their team members by including them in decision-making, giving them control over resources, and assigning them more responsibility. This method motivates team members to surpass expectations and accomplish objectives in a manner that is both efficient and impactful. Additionally, it aids in diminishing ambiguity in work. Despite the presence of theoretical and empirical data, there is currently no empirical research that explores the function of WU in the relationship between empowering leadership and entrepreneurial orientation, including its various dimensions. The current study aims to fill this existing vacuum in the literature. The empowering leader promotes autonomy and a sense of connection among team members, reducing work uncertainty by increasing task control and competence. Consequently, this fosters the entrepreneurial orientation of employees, which includes innovativeness, pro-activeness, and risk-taking behavior. Based on the information provided, we can infer that: ➢ H4: Work uncertainty mediates the connection of EL with the employee’s entrepreneurial orientation. ➢ H5a: Work uncertainty mediates the connection of EL with innovativeness. ➢ H5b: Work uncertainty mediates the connection of EL with pro-activeness. ➢ H5c: Work uncertainty mediates the connection of EL with risk-taking. Considering the above literature and arguments, following is the research framework of the study: Figure 1. Research Framework Qadir et al. 541 4.3 Regression Results AMOS was applied to examine the direct connection between EL and work uncertainty, entrepreneurial orientation, and its dimensions. Table 4: Regression Results Hypothesis Hypothesis Path Path coefficient SE C.R. p-Value H1 EL -> EO 0.36 0.062 5.38 .000 H2a EL -> Inno 0.40 0.078 5.54 .000 H2b EL -> ProA 0.37 0.083 4.85 .000 H2c EL -> RT 0.45 0.082 5.93 .000 H3 EL -> WU -0.44 0.064 -7.53 .000 As seen in Figure 2 and 3 the findings demonstrate that the connections between EL, EO, innovativeness, proactiveness, risk-taking, and WU were significant (β = .36, SE = .062; β = .40, SE = .078; β = .37, SE = .083; β = .45, SE = .082; β = -.44, SE = .064 respectively), H1, H2a, H2b, H2c, and H3 hypotheses are supported presented in table 4. Figure 3: Structural Model Empowering Leadership Navigating the Employee’s Entrepreneurial Orientation 542 4.4 Mediation and Bootstrapping In addition, bootstrapping investigates were performed utilizing Hayes and Scharkow's (2013) PROCESS macro to conduct more rigorous mediation analyses, as proposed in Hypotheses 4 and 5a, 5b, and 5c. Table 5 displays bootstrapped estimation's indirect and direct effects with 95 percent confidence intervals (CIs). Work uncertainty mediated the association between EL and entrepreneurial orientation and its dimensions significantly. In addition, their CIs did not contain zero value supporting the effects of mediation. Table 5: Mediation Analysis with 5000 Bootstrapping Hypothesis Hypothesis Path Indirect Estimate SE LLCI ULCI p-Value H4 EL -> WU -> EO 0.16 0.04 0.11 0.24 .000 H5a EL -> WU -> Inno 0.16 0.04 0.10 0.24 .000 H5b EL -> WU -> Pro 0.18 0.04 0.12 0.26 .000 H5c EL -> WU -> RT 0.18 0.04 0.12 0.26 .000 Note. N = 271. SE = standard error. LLCI = lower limit confidence interval, ULCI = upper limit confidence interval For example, the model consisted of EL as a predictor and entrepreneurial orientation as a dependent variable, and work uncertainty mediated this connection. The indirect effect of EL on entrepreneurial orientation through work uncertainty was significant (estimate =.16, [95 percent confidence interval]: LLCI =.11, ULCI =.24, p > .001). The evidence supports hypothesis 4. Hypothesis 5a, 5b and 5c were also statistically significant as the confidence intervals did not include zero value; the intervening effects were revealed in the second (estimate = .16, [CI 95 percent]: LLCI = .10, ULCI = .24, p > .001), third (estimate = .18, [95 percent confidence interval]: LLCI =.12, ULCI =.26, p > .001), and fourth row (estimate =.18, [95 percent confidence interval]: LLCI =.12, ULCI =.26, p > .001) of Table 5 respectively. 5. Discussion and Conclusion Utilizing self-determination theory (Ryan & Deci, 2002) as the primary theoretical framework, this study developed and examined a mediation model. The model showed that the impact of empowered leadership on entrepreneurial orientation and its dimensions was highly influenced by work uncertainty. Consistent with prior OB research influenced by Deci and Ryan's work, our findings affirm that empowering leadership behavior, such as setting an example, involving employees in decision-making, providing guidance and information, and displaying attention, has a favorable impact on entrepreneurial orientation. The study demonstrated a noteworthy and positive correlation between EL and EO. The discovery is consistent with prior studies that have examined the correlations between leadership conduct and employee entrepreneurial orientation and its many aspects. In a study conducted by Öncer (2013), it was discovered that there is a direct correlation Qadir et al. 543 between the perception of empowering behavior exhibited by leaders and the entrepreneurial orientation of employees. The study was conducted on a sample of 171 employees from three multinational firms located in Istanbul. The study found a strong inverse correlation between empowering leadership and work uncertainty. This work uncertainty, in turn, had a substantial correlation with employees' entrepreneurial orientation and its many aspects. These results are consistent with the conclusions of recently published studies. Bilal et al. (2021) highlighted the crucial significance of work uncertainty as a mediator in the relationship between leadership and proactive work behavior of employees. The results confirm our argument that empowering leadership can lead to positive work behaviors in employees by influencing work uncertainty. Thus, it is confirmed that the results as well as the theoretical implications of self-determination theory are verified. 5.1 Practical Implications The study's findings can be practically exploited by leaders to promote employees' entrepreneurial orientation. The authors suggest implementing an empowering leadership style to promote employees' entrepreneurial orientation (Kim & Beehr, 2023). The findings indicate that when a leader empowers their followers by delegating power and authority (Riaz et al., 2021), it instills a sense of confidence in the followers, encouraging them to take risks and explore new ideas (Zhang & Bartol, 2010), ultimately resulting in workplace entrepreneurial orientation. Effective leaders provide ample opportunities for their followers to explore and innovate in their jobs, which in turn promotes employee entrepreneurial orientation (Majali et al., 2022). An empowering leader elicits a sense of reciprocation among followers. This, in turn, motivates them to engage in creative thinking (Kim & Beehr, 2023; Riaz et al., 2021; Zhang & Bartol, 2010). Consequently, followers generate unique ideas and suggestions to contribute to the organization's growth. Furthermore, the research confirms that leaders who empower their subordinates effectively decrease the level of uncertainty in the workplace within businesses (Kim & Beehr, 2023), hence promoting entrepreneurial orientation. A leader who empowers others takes the initiative to eliminate work uncertainty by serving as a role model and openly sharing information with colleagues in the organization (Zhang & Bartol, 2010). Leaders can empower their team members by promoting participative decision-making and encouraging collaborative problem-solving. This fosters a supportive environment for information sharing and helps reduce uncertainty among team members in the organization. Supporting the mediating function of WU between EL and EO, the authors propose that leaders should not only delegate power and authority to team members but also boost employee confidence in order to effectively confront and resolve uncertain situations with greater courage and enthusiasm. Employee empowerment promotes individuals' autonomy and boosts their self-assurance (Coun et al.,2022), thereby fostering a culture of Empowering Leadership Navigating the Employee’s Entrepreneurial Orientation 544 information sharing among followers to minimize work uncertainty and collaboratively seek inventive solutions within the organization. The suggested beneficial effect of EL in diminishing work uncertainty provides additional support for selecting an EL approach to foster entrepreneurial orientation in the workplace. In theory, this work makes several contributions to the academic literature. The study enhances our understanding of how empowering leadership can facilitate and promote an employee's entrepreneurial orientation. This is demonstrated by the positive impact of empowerment on an employee's entrepreneurial mindset, as shown in previous research conducted by Covin et al. (2020), Rigtering et al. (2019), and Yodchai et al. (2022). This study enhances the current understanding of leadership and entrepreneurship by investigating the role of WU as a mediator in the connection between empowering leadership and entrepreneurial orientation. Scholars have not previously examined this particular issue. The research conducted also confirms the significance of the characteristics of entrepreneurial orientation. This study is distinctive due to its emphasis on the importance of the components (innovativeness, pro-activeness, and risk-taking) of the entrepreneurial orientation. It offers excellent insights that contribute to the existing body of knowledge on self-determination theory and the literature on leadershipentrepreneurial orientation. The results of the study suggest that EL is an effective method for enhancing EO, as opposed to transformative leadership, which has demonstrated inconsistent results in terms of increasing employees' EO (Majali et al., 2022; Obeidat et al., 2018). 5.2 Conclusion Conclusively, this study emphasized on the importance of EL in fostering EO in Pakistani tourism and hospitality industry employees and in addressing the present issues that tourism and hospitality-associated firms are facing. This work emphasizes the importance of promoting EL and incorporating entrepreneurial-oriented conduct, or EO (Bernoster et al., 2020), into EO theory and research advancement. This study also highlighted the need for tourism and hospitality businesses to employ empowering behavior of leaders in the execution of jobs to cultivate EO in their employees. This study, like other investigations, has limitations that must be focused on upcoming investigations. The first research examined the intervening effect of WU on EO. Future research should include the moderating effect of contextual factors like team climate for innovation on EO. Second, this study examines the EO of employees. Future studies should use a multilevel approach to assess the effect of the team on employees EO in identical investigations, with EL as a team-level variable. At the group and individual levels, EL is a powerful activator of EO; therefore, it is crucial to identify its antecedents. EL encourages employees' pro-activeness, innovativeness, and risk-taking behaviors, which are in the company's best interest. Future research must investigate the individual and team EO interactions with the team's climate for innovation. To emphasize the relevance of EL and EO, we propose conducting the same study in different cultural contexts with the same Qadir et al. 545 variables. Another option is to investigate how organizations dealing with the COVID-19 situation are acting innovatively. As a result, this study may assist discover cultural and non-cultural factors which impact EO. Furthermore, the components found might inspire further study, it is especially important in developing and expanding economies, such as Pakistan. Research Funding The authors received no internal research grant or external funding for this research study. REFERENCES Afsar, B., Badir, Y. F., Saeed, B. B., & Hafeez, S. (2017). Transformational and transactional leadership and employee’s entrepreneurial behavior in knowledge–intensive industries. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 28(2), 307-332. Ahearne, M., Mathieu, J., & Rapp, A. (2005). To empower or not to empower your sales force? An empirical examination of the influence of leadership empowerment behavior on customer satisfaction and performance. Journal of Applied psychology, 90(5), 945-955. Alalawi, G. N. S. (2020). The influence of entrepreneurship orientation on Omani SMEs’ Performance (Doctoral dissertation), University of Plymouth. Al-Omari, Z., Alomari, K., & Aljawarneh, N. (2020). The role of empowerment in improving internal process, customer satisfaction, learning and growth. Management science letters, 10(4), 841-848. Amundsen, S., & Martinsen, Ø. L. (2014). Empowering leadership: Construct clarification, conceptualization, and validation of a new scale. The leadership quarterly, 25(3), 487-511. Armenakis, A. A., & Bedeian, A. G. (1999). Organizational change: A review of theory and research in the 1990s. Journal of management, 25(3), 293-315. Ashford, S. J., Blatt, R., & VandeWalle, D. (2003). Reflections on the looking glass: A review of research on feedback-seeking behavior in organizations. Journal of management, 29(6), 773-799. Beliaeva, T., Shirokova, G., Wales, W., & Gafforova, E. (2020). Benefiting from economic crisis? Strategic orientation effects, trade-offs, and configurations with resource availability on SME performance. International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, 16, 165-194. Benevolo, C., Penco, L., & Torre, T. (2021). Entrepreneurial decision-making for global strategies: a “heart–head” approach. Management Decision, 59(5), 1132-1157. Bernoster, I., Mukerjee, J., & Thurik, R. (2020). The role of affect in entrepreneurial orientation. Small Business Economics, 54, 235-256. Empowering Leadership Navigating the Employee’s Entrepreneurial Orientation 546 Bilal, M., Chaudhry, S., Amber, H., Shahid, M., Aslam, S., & Shahzad, K. (2021). Entrepreneurial leadership and employees’ proactive behaviour: Fortifying self determination theory. Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity, 7(3), 176. Browne, M. W., & Cudeck, R. (1992). Alternative ways of assessing model fit. Sociological methods & research, 21(2), 230-258. Chang, S., Witteloostuijn, A., & Eden, L. (2010). From the Editors: Common Method Variance in international business research. Journal of International Business Studies, 41, 178-184 Chaudhry, S. A., Shahid, M., & Bilal, M. (2021). Impact of Inspirational leadership and team support for innovation on the team Innovative performance: A Multilevel Approach. Competitive Social Science Research Journal, 2(3), 1-16. Cheong, M., Spain, S. M., Yammarino, F. J., & Yun, S. (2016). Two faces of empowering leadership: Enabling and burdening. The Leadership Quarterly, 27(4), 602-616. Cheong, M., Yammarino, F. J., Dionne, S. D., Spain, S. M., & Tsai, C. Y. (2019). A review of the effectiveness of empowering leadership. The Leadership Quarterly, 30(1), 34-58. Chow, I. H. S. (2017). The mechanism underlying the empowering leadership-creativity relationship. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 39(2), 202-217. Clark, D. R., Pidduck, R. J., Lumpkin, G. T., & Covin, J. G. (2023). Is It Okay to Study Entrepreneurial Orientation (EO) at the Individual Level? Yes!. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 48(1), 349-391. Coun, M., Peters, P., Blomme, R. J., & Schaveling, J. (2022). ‘To empower or not to empower, that’s the question’. Using an empowerment process approach to explain employees’ workplace proactivity. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 33(14), 2829-2855. Covin, J. G., & Slevin, D. P. (1989). Strategic management of small firms in hostile and benign environments. Strategic management journal, 10(1), 75-87. Covin, J. G., & Wales, W. J. (2019). Crafting high-impact entrepreneurial orientation research: Some suggested guidelines. Entrepreneurship theory and practice, 43(1), 3-18. Covin, J. G., Rigtering, J. C., Hughes, M., Kraus, S., Cheng, C. F., & Bouncken, R. B. (2020). Individual and team entrepreneurial orientation: Scale development and configurations for success. Journal of Business Research, 112, 1-12. Dapper, R. E. E. (2019). Leadership styles and entrepreneurial orientation. Leadership, 11(8), 88-94. Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2000). The" what" and" why" of goal pursuits: Human needs and the self-determination of behavior. Psychological inquiry, 11(4), 227-268. Qadir et al. 547 Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2002). Self-determination research: Reflections and future directions. In E. L. Deci & R. M. Ryan (Eds.), Handbook of self-determination research (pp. 431–441). University of Rochester Press. DeRobertis, E. M., & Bland, A. M. (2020). Lifespan human development and “the humanistic perspective”: A contribution toward inclusion. The Humanistic Psychologist, 48(1), 3-27. Duncan, R. B. (1972). Characteristics of organizational environments and perceived environmental uncertainty. Administrative science quarterly, 17(3), 313-327. Ferreira, J. J., Fernandes, C. I., & Kraus, S. (2019). Entrepreneurship research: mapping intellectual structures and research trends. Review of Managerial Science, 13, 181-205. Ferrie, J. E., Shipley, M. J., Marmot, M. G., Stansfeld, S. A., & Smith, G. D. (1998). An uncertain future: the health effects of threats to employment security in white-collar men and women. American journal of public health, 88(7), 1030-1036. Gordon, L., & Narayanan, V. (1984). Management accounting systems, perceived environmental uncertainty and organization structure: An empirical investigation. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 9(1), 33–47. Hagger, M. S., & Hamilton, K. (2020). General causality orientations in self-determination. Hayes, A. F., & Scharkow, M. (2013). The relative trustworthiness of inferential tests of the indirect effect in statistical mediation analysis: does method really matter?. Psychological science, 24(10), 1918-1927. Hizarci, A. K., Bıçakcıoğlu-Peynirci, N., & Ipek, I. (2023). A meta-analysis on entrepreneurial orientation in the export context. Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, 38(5), 1163-1175. Hoang, G., Wilson-Evered, E., Lockstone-Binney, L., & Luu, T. T. (2021). Empowering leadership in hospitality and tourism management: a systematic literature review. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 33(12), 41824214. Insan, A. N., & Andriani Yasin, N. (2021). Transglobal leadership as a driver for increasing the employee performance. International Journal of Organizational Leadership, 10(1), 54-71. Jada, U. R, Mukhopadhyay, S., & Titiyal, R. (2019). Empowering leadership and innovative work behavior: a moderated mediation examination. Journal of Knowledge Management, 23(5), 915-930. Jung, K. B., Kang, S. W., & Choi, S. B. (2020). Empowering leadership, risk-taking behavior, and employees’ commitment to organizational change: The mediated moderating role of task complexity. Sustainability, 12(6), 2340. Empowering Leadership Navigating the Employee’s Entrepreneurial Orientation 548 Kamel, N. F., & Abou Hashish, E. A. (2015). The relationship between psychological need satisfaction, job affective wellbeing and work uncertainty among the academic nursing educators. Journal of Nursing Education and Practice, 5(8), 99. Kark, R., Van Dijk, D., & Vashdi, D. R. (2018). Motivated or demotivated to be creative: The role of self‐regulatory focus in transformational and transactional leadership processes. Applied Psychology, 67(1), 186-224. Khan, A., Bibi, S., Lorenzo, A., Lyu, J., & Babar, Z. U. (2020). Tourism and development in developing economies: A policy implication perspective. Sustainability, 12(4), 1618. Kim, M., & Beehr, T. A. (2023). Employees' entrepreneurial behavior within their organizations: empowering leadership and employees' resources help. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, 29(4), 986-1006. Kim, M., Beehr, T. A., & Prewett, M. S. (2018). Employee responses to empowering leadership: A meta-analysis. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 25(3), 257276. Kreiser, P. M., Anderson, B. S., Kuratko, D. F., & Marino, L. D. (2020). Entrepreneurial orientation and environmental hostility: A threat rigidity perspective. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 44(6), 1174-1198. Kwan, H. K., Chen, H., & Chiu, R. K. (2022). Effects of empowering leadership on followers’ work–family interface. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 33(7), 1403-1436. Kyei-Frimpong, M., Kodwo Amoako, E., Akwetey-Siaw, B., Owusu Boakye, K., Nyarko Adu, I., Suleman, A. R., & Abdul Bawa, A. (2024). Employee empowerment and organizational commitment among employees of star-rated hotels in Ghana: does perceived supervisor support matter?. Journal of Work-Applied Management, 16(1), 6583. Leach, D. J., Wall, T. D., & Jackson, P. R. (2003). The effect of empowerment on job knowledge: An empirical test involving operators of complex technology. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 76, 27-52. Leach, D., Hagger‐Johnson, G., Doerner, N., Wall, T., Turner, N., Dawson, J., & Grote, G. (2013). Developing a measure of work uncertainty. Journal of occupational and organizational psychology, 86(1), 85-99. Lee, S. M., & Peterson, S. J. (2000). Culture, entrepreneurial orientation, and global competitiveness. Journal of world business, 35(4), 401-416. Lombardi, S., e Cunha, M. P., & Giustiniano, L. (2021). Improvising resilience: The unfolding of resilient leadership in COVID-19 times. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 95, 102904. Qadir et al. 549 Lumpkin, G. T., & Dess, G. G. (1996). Clarifying the entrepreneurial orientation construct and linking it to performance. Academy of management Review, 21(1), 135-172. Majali, T. E., Alkaraki, M., Asad, M., Aladwan, N., & Aledeinat, M. (2022). Green transformational leadership, green entrepreneurial orientation and performance of SMEs: The mediating role of green product innovation. Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity, 8(4), 191. Mzembe, A. N., Novakovic, Y., Melissen, F., & Kamanga, G. (2019). Institutional bricolage as an antecedent of social value creation in a developing country's tourism and hospitality industry. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 26(4), 997-1008. Najam, U., & Mustamil, N. (2020). Servant leadership: A bibliometric review. International Journal of Organizational Leadership, 9(3), 138-155. Nazneen, S., Xu, H., & Din, N. U. (2019). Cross‐border infrastructural development and residents' perceived tourism impacts: A case of China–Pakistan Economic Corridor. International Journal of Tourism Research, 21(3), 334-343. Nunkoo, R., Teeroovengadum, V., Ringle, C. M., & Sunnassee, V. (2020). Service quality and customer satisfaction: The moderating effects of hotel star rating. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 91, 102414. Obeidat, D. B. Y., Nofal, R., & Masa'deh, R. E. (2018). The effect of transformational leadership on entrepreneurial orientation: The mediating role of organizational learning capability. Modern Applied Science, 12(11), 77-104. Oncer, A. Z. (2013). Investigation of the effects of transactional and transformational leadership on entrepreneurial orientation. International Journal of Business and Social Research, 3(4), 153-166. Pérez, J. J., & Guevara, R. (2023). Mediating effect of entrepreneurial passion in the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and innovative work behavior. Measuring Business Excellence, 27(3), 483-500. Podsakoff, P. M., MacKenzie, S. B., & Podsakoff, N. P. (2012). Sources of method bias in social science research and recommendations on how to control it. Annual review of psychology, 63, 539-569. Podsakoff, P. M., MacKenzie, S. B., Lee, J. Y., & Podsakoff, N. P. (2003). Common method biases in behavioral research: a critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. Journal of applied psychology, 88(5), 879-903. Preacher, K. J., & Kelley, K. (2011). Effect size measures for mediation models: quantitative strategies for communicating indirect effects. Psychological methods, 16(2), 93-115. Empowering Leadership Navigating the Employee’s Entrepreneurial Orientation 550 Riaz, A., Shahid, M., & Ali, Q. (2021). A moderated mediation model of empowering leadership and employees’ innovative work behavior. Journal of Management and Research, 8(2), 252-274. Rigtering, J. C., Weitzel, G. U., & Muehlfeld, K. K. (2019). Increasing quantity without compromising quality: How managerial framing affects intrapreneurship. Journal of Business Venturing, 34(2), 224-241. Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2017). Self-determination theory. Basic psychological needs in motivation, development, and wellness. Guilford publications. Ryan, R. M., Deci, E. L., Vansteenkiste, M., & Soenens, B. (2021). Building a science of motivated persons: Self-determination theory’s empirical approach to human experience and the regulation of behavior. Motivation Science, 7(2), 97-110. Santos, G., Marques, C. S., & Ferreira, J. J. (2020). Passion and perseverance as two new dimensions of an Individual Entrepreneurial Orientation scale. Journal of Business Research, 112, 190-199. Shahid, M., Chaudhry, S., Bilal, M., Amber, H., Aslam, S., Malik, S., & Shahzad, K. (2022). The Link Between Team Identification, Entrepreneurial Orientation, and Innovative Work Behavior and Its Dimensions in the Context of Pakistan. SAGE Open, 12(1), 21582440221079893. Siddiqui, A. W., Shaukat, M. B., Fancy, W. M., & Latif, K. F. (2023). From KnowledgeOriented Leadership to Information Technology Project Success: Modelling the Mediating Role of Team Empowerment. International Journal of Organizational Leadership, 12(Second Special Issue 2023), 91-312. Subhan, Q. A., Mehmood, M. R., & Sattar, A. (2013, January). Innovation in Small and Medium Enterprises (SME’s) and its impact on Economic Development in Pakistan. In Paper was presented in 6th International Business and Social Sciences Research Conference (pp. 3-4). Supriyanto, A. S., Ekowati, V. M., Rokhman, W., Ahamed, F., Munir, M., & Miranti, T. (2023). Empowerment Leadership as a Predictor of the Organizational Innovation in Higher Education. International Journal of Professional Business Review, 8(2), e01538. Tang, G., Chen, Y., van Knippenberg, D., & Yu, B. (2020). Antecedents and consequences of empowering leadership: Leader power distance, leader perception of team capability, and team innovation. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 41(6), 551-566. Tomarken, A. J., & Waller, N. G. (2005). Structural equation modeling: Strengths, limitations, and misconceptions. Annu. Rev. Clin. Psychol., 1, 31-65. Usman, M., Luo, F., & Anwar-ul-Haq, M. (2023). Examining the linkage between political skill, emotional labor strategies, and individual outcomes: Evidence from Chinese hotel industry. Pakistan Journal of Commerce and Social Sciences, 17(3), 484-506.