In recent years there has been considerable academic and practitioner interest in the topic of
empowerment. Empowerment programs have been introduced in a number of organizations
in order to improve productivity, increase customer satisfaction and enhance competitive
advantage (Forrester, 2000). According to Perkins and Zimmerman (1995), empowerment
includes organizational processes and structures that enhance employee participation and
improve goal achievement for the organization. A number of researchers look at the concept
of employee empowerment as an antecedent and predictor of favorable outcomes at the
workplace. Furthermore, a close look at the organizational literature on to the topic of
empowerment, the majority of research studies on organizational empowerment and
organizational behavior are mainly done in the context of western culture and the
measurement scales were also constructed by the western scholars. However, Malaysia has a
collective culture like any other part of Asia and South East Asian countries that is different
from western cultures in terms of how empowerment is perceived and interpreted by people
in general and within organizations in particular. Hence, there has been little research that has
examined mediating role of psychological empowerment on the links between organizational
empowerment and organizational commitment (Chang, Shih, & Lin, 2010). Yet an
understanding of the Malaysian work context that facilitates empowerment has important
theoretical and practical implications. Theoretically, such knowledge would extend our
understanding of the antecedents of empowerment, in particular, the psychological appraisals
of the work environment that are important determinants of empowerment. For the
practitioner, it provides concrete suggestions about the work place that can be targeted to
develop feelings of empowerment. The main purpose of this study was to test a model that psychological empowerment mediates the relationship between organizational empowerment
and commitment.