Humanistic leadership and organisation commitment among p-hailers: mediating role of perceived organisational support and moderating role of government support / Rezashah Mohd Salleh

The uncertainty of the gig economy has raised concerns about welfare and safety, especially for p-hailers working in the food delivery industry. The lack of digital platform support and leadership governance has prolonged and exacerbated p-hailers' commitment issues in adhering to safety and work regulations, leading to an increase in fatality accidents and strikes. This study investigates the impact of humanistic leadership on digital platforms and its effect on the commitment of p-hailers. The research adopts a quantitative approach based on a framework derived from literature reviews. Despite the limited discussion of humanistic leadership in the existing body of knowledge, it has been demonstrated to contribute to the success of many major corporations. This study suggests that digital delivery platforms adopt humanistic leadership to improve organisational support and commitment. Hypotheses were developed to investigate the relationship between humanistic leadership, perceived organisational support, government support, and organisation commitment. Convenience sampling was used, and an online survey questionnaire was distributed to collect information from 161 p-hailers in Malaysia. The analysis employed PLS-SEM to examine the hypotheses. The results showed a significant relationship between humanistic leadership and both perceived organisational support and organisation commitment. However, the relationship between perceived organisational support and organisation commitment was found to be insignificant. Similarly, the mediating role of perceived organisational support was also found to be insignificant. Nevertheless, government support was found to have a significant moderating effect on the relationship between humanistic leadership and perceived organisational support. This study highlights the significance of humanistic leadership in increasing organisational support and commitment to address the well-being, social security and safety concerns of p-hailers in the gig economy. Through this leadership, organisations can create favourable working conditions for p-hailers, thereby contributing to the sustainability of the national digital gig economy.