Managerial competencies, innovation and engagement in SMEs: The mediating role of organisational learning

According to job demands-resources theory, resources promote positive attitudes, which results in several positive behaviors at work. However, there is little research that examines the effect of managerial competencies on positive attitudes at work. Our research proposes a scale of 7 managerial competencies that evidence to be connected with a particularly relevant attitude at work, namely, engagement. We find that the proposed managerial competencies scale overcomes the required psychometric properties, on the basis of a sample of 204 managers of Spanish SMEs. Following job demands-resources theory, our study confirms a direct and positive effect of the 7 managerial competencies on engagement. The implications of the study are that managerial competencies should be considered by managers to promote engagement at work.