Bridging leadership and engagement: a bibliometric and science mapping analysis of global research trends

Purpose This study synthesises global research on leadership styles and employee engagement using a bibliometric and science-mapping approach. It addresses persistent fragmentation across theoretical lenses, methodologies and regional contexts by examining how the field has evolved, identifying influential contributors, and uncovering dominant themes and research gaps. Design/methodology/approach Following the PRISMA protocol, we retrieved 349 peer-reviewed journal articles published between 2000 and 2024 from the Scopus database. We conducted performance analysis and science mapping covering co-authorship, co-citation, bibliographic coupling and keyword co-occurrence. We used VOSviewer and bibliometrix (Biblioshiny) to map the intellectual structure, collaboration networks and thematic evolution of leadership style–engagement research. Findings Publications increased sharply after 2010, with transformational leadership and employee engagement forming the dominant thematic backbone. The maps show strong linkages between leadership styles, motivation, job satisfaction and organisational outcomes, yet they also expose underdeveloped themes around digital and hybrid leadership, cross-generational engagement, and engagement in virtual work settings. The evidence base remains methodologically and geographically imbalanced, relying predominantly on cross-sectional surveys and concentrating research outputs in Western contexts, with comparatively limited contributions from emerging economies. Originality/value This article offers a comprehensive bibliometric synthesis of leadership-driven employee engagement research. It contributes (1) methodologically, by providing a transparent PRISMA-based mapping of the field; (2) theoretically, by consolidating key explanatory lenses (e.g. transformational leadership theory and the job demands–resources model) and clarifying how thematic clusters align with these perspectives; and (3) practically/policy-wise, by outlining actionable implications for leadership development and engagement strategies, particularly in digital and hybrid work contexts.