Organisational culture and engagement: the role of shared leadership and delegation in minimal teams

Purpose This study aims to examine the effect of organisational culture on engagement levels and whether this relationship was mediated by shared leadership and delegation. In this manuscript, a minimal team is defined as a small, functionally complete group typically comprising 3–10 employees. This definition aligns with the operational realities of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), ensuring a focused analysis of team dynamics within such organisations. Design/methodology/approach The sample consisted of 368 participants working in minimal teams in Portugal. A quantitative methodology was used to test the formulated hypotheses. Findings The results indicate that organisational culture has a positive and significant effect on engagement and shared leadership. Shared leadership and delegation have a positive and significant effect on engagement levels. Shared leadership has a positive and significant effect on delegation. Finally, shared leadership and delegation had a serial mediation effect on the relationship between organisational culture and engagement. Originality/value These results indicate that organisational culture is fundamental to promoting shared leadership, which leads to increased participation in decision-making and higher levels of engagement.