Trust as a Gateway to Engagement in Fragile Institutions: How Authentic Leadership and Justice Sustain Motivation in Post-Revolution Tunisia

Abstract

In crisis contexts characterized by institutional fragility, traditional human resource practices may falter. This study investigates how authentic leadership and organizational justice foster work engagement through a sequential trust pathway—mediated first by trust in the supervisor and then by trust in the organization—in post-revolution Tunisia, a setting marked by chronic instability and institutional voids. Drawing on Job Demands-Resources theory and Social Exchange Theory, we analyze cross-sectional survey data from 412 industrial employees collected between 2022 and 2024. Results reveal that while authentic leadership and justice enhance trust in the supervisor, this interpersonal trust alone does not drive engagement unless it is “institutionalized” into trust in the organization. Moreover, job insecurity—measured via a validated multi-item scale—acts as a powerful boundary condition that nullifies the motivational effects of these resources, particularly at the supervisor level. This study advances theory by demonstrating that in contexts of systemic distrust, supervisor trust is necessary but insufficient for engagement, thereby extending JD-R and SET beyond Western, stable institutional settings. Practically, it offers an actionable HR framework for fragile states: leadership and justice must be leveraged not as ends in themselves, but as mechanisms to rebuild organizational legitimacy, and must be paired with efforts to mitigate job insecurity to sustain employee motivation.