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.
The sample consisted of 368 participants working in minimal teams in Portugal. A quantitative methodology was used to test the formulated hypotheses.
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.
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.
