Assessing the Influence of Managerial Coaching on Employee Outcomes

• Date: 01 March 2014
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/hrdq.21175
• Published date: 01 March 2014
• Author: Sewon Kim

Assessing the Infl uence of

Managerial Coaching on

Employee Outcomes

Sewon Kim

The present study investigates relationships between managerial coaching

behavior and employee role clarity, attitude, and performance-related

responses. Using data from a sample of 234 South Korean employees in a

private conglomerate, structural equation modeling analysis was conducted

to test the hypothesized conceptual model. The results found support for the

proposed model and core structural relations, such that managerial coaching

had a direct impact on employee role clarity and satisfaction with work and

an indirect impact on satisfaction with work via role clarity, organization

commitment via satisfaction with work, and job performance via role clarity.

The study provides empirical evidence for managerial coaching effectiveness,

the identifi cation of mediating mechanisms between managerial coaching

and employee work-related outcomes, and fi nally cultural contexts and

perspectives to managerial coaching practice. Implications of these results

for theory and practice and directions for future research are discussed.

Key Words: managerial coaching, management and leadership, human

capital, organization learning and change, mediation

According to a study by the International Coaching Federation (ICF), more

than half of the general population knows about coaching (ICF, 2011).

Another survey found that a majority of the organizations surveyed already

use or are interested in utilizing coaching by their managers and leaders

(Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development [CIPD], 2007). Evident

with these reports, managerial coaching—defi ned as an effective managerial

practice that improves employee learning and effectiveness (Ellinger, Ellinger,

Hamlin, & Beattie, 2010; Hamlin, Ellinger, & Beattie, 2008; Peterson &

Hicks, 1996)—has become a topic of discussion for HRD and management

practitioners, especially for those interested in effective organization

HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT QUARTERLY, vol. 25, no. 1, Spring 2014 © Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com) • DOI: 10.1002/hrdq.21175 59

60 Kim

HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT QUARTERLY • DOI: 10.1002/hrdq

development (OD) and change strategies (Agarwal, Angst, & Magni, 2009;

Chen & Yang, 2012; Evered & Selman, 1989; Gilley, Gilley, & Kouider, 2010;

Hagen, 2010; Hamlin, Ellinger, & Beattie, 2009; McLean, Yang, Kuo, Tolbert, &

Larkin, 2005; Yukl, 2002).

An increasing emphasis on managerial coaching appears to be due to a

consistent requirement for workplace learning and innovation for contempo-

rary organizations to stay competitive. Dynamic, global organization environ-

ments generate continuous opportunities for positive change and require

learning organizations to capture and share learning experiences among their

members (Ellinger, Ellinger, Yang, & Howton, 2002). Thus, organizations

have begun to make considerable investments in human and social capital

development as well as organizational learning (Chen & Yang, 2012; Ellinger,

Ellinger, Bachrach, Wang, & Bas, 2011).

In addition to a highlight on workplace learning and change, there is

growing evidence of organizations transferring some responsibilities normally

associated with HRD practitioners, including coaching and development, to

managers and leaders within their organizations (Liu & Batt, 2010). This shift

in working roles is continuing as managers and leaders, who were previously

encouraged to only administrate, monitor, and control, are now often encour-

aged to assess, identify, and develop human capitals toward achieving an orga-

nization’s strategic goals (Ellinger, Ellinger, & Keller, 2003; Evered & Selman,

1989)—which are the primary goals achieved through managerial coaching

(Hamlin et al, 2009; Kim, Egan, Kim, & Kim, 2013).

However, despite the increasingly recognized value of managerial coach-

ing when put into practice in the workplace, academic literature and the study

of managerial coaching are far behind practitioner literature for both HRD and

management professionals (Gilley et al., 2010). There have been only a hand-

ful of studies conducted on this topic area, with even less empirical research

investigating managerial coaching outcomes (Agarwal et al., 2009; Ellinger

et al., 2011). Managerial coaching has been emerging as a relatively new para-

digm or concept for HRD and management, in spite of its recognized impor-

tance for workforce development-related advantages (Ellinger et al., 2003;

Evered & Selman, 1989; Zemke, 1996). Since empirical studies on managerial

coaching effi cacy are rare, only limited outcome variables have been investi-

gated (Agarwal et al., 2009; Burke & Hutchins, 2008; Ellinger et al., 2011;

Gilley et al., 2010; Hagen, 2012; Hamlin, Ellinger, & Beattie, 2006); employee

learning on the job role (Hagen & Aguilar, 2012; Park, 2007); job satisfaction

(Ellinger et al., 2003); organization commitment (Park, 2007); and in-role

performance (Agarwal et al., 2009; Ellinger et al., 2003; Hagen, 2010; Liu &

Batt, 2010), among others. Even fewer studies have examined managerial

coaching effectiveness in international contexts (Hamlin et al., 2006; Har,

2008; Li-yan, 2008) and, moreover, almost no studies have investigated inter-

vening variables and specifi c indirect relationships between managerial coach-

ing and outcomes (Hagen, 2012).