Broken engagement: The role of grit and LMX in enhancing faculty engagement

As the roles of faculty members have continued to expand, leaders in higher education need a better understanding of the drivers of faculty engagement. The current paper develops and tests a hypothesized model of faculty engagement in which faculty member grit is positively related to faculty member engagement both directly and indirectly through faculty member-academic chair leader member exchange (LMX). Using a sample of 156 faculty members in a mid-sized public university in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States, we tested the hypothesized model using PROCESS Model 4 with 5000 boot-strapped samples and a 95% confidence interval. Results show significant direct positive relationships between faculty member grit and faculty member engagement and between faculty member-academic chair LMX and faculty member engagement, but no significant indirect relationship of faculty member grit through LMX. Implications for higher education leaders are discussed, along with limitations and directions for future research.