Examining the mediating role of employee engagement on transformational leadership, transparent communication and symmetrical communication towards employee advocacy

Employee advocacy (EA) has been increasingly recognised as a growing area of research in public relations. Yet, scholarly attention to this phenomenon remains relatively insufficient, particularly within an organisation that combines the characteristics of a public institution with corporate management practices, where communication and leadership dynamics operate in unique cultural and institutions. The present study examines the antecedents of employee advocacy and the mediating role of employee engagement (EE) in the context of China’s television broadcasting stations (CTBS). Specifically, the study examine employee engagement as a mediating mechanism linking transformational leadership (TL), transparent communication (TC), and symmetrical communication (SC) to employees’ advocacy behaviours, grounded in Transformational Leadership Theory and Social Exchange Theory. This research utilised a quantitative approach, and data were collected using proportionate stratified random sampling through a cross-sectional survey of 409 employees at Shandong Province Television Broadcasting Stations (SPTBS) in China. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) was employed to analyse the data. The findings indicate that TL has no direct influence on EA. In contrast, TL and SC demonstrate a significant, though relatively weak, direct effect on EA. Significant findings show that EE strongly influences EA and significantly mediates the relationships among TL, TC, SC, and EA. These findings suggest that within China Television Broadcasting Station, Transformational Leadership Theory alone cannot adequately explain EA instead, TL must be complemented by open, transparent, and symmetrical communication practices that foster EE, which drives advocacy. This study advances EA research by integrating Transformational Leadership Theory. Future research should adopt longitudinal and comparative designs across diverse industries and incorporate perspectives from other theories to advance a more comprehensive understanding of the factors underpinning EA. The findings suggest that leadership vision and inspiration by managers are insufficient to mobilise employees to act as advocates for organizational leadership.