Date of Conferral
6-17-2025
Degree
Doctor of Business Administration (D.B.A.)
School
Business Administration
Advisor
Michael Campo
Abstract
Disengaged employees present significant challenges to firm profitability and competitiveness in the U.S. medical device industry. Leaders of U.S. medical device firms are concerned disengaged employees could negatively impact organizational sustainability. The purpose of this qualitative pragmatic inquiry study was to explore strategies used by leaders in the U.S. medical device industry to enhance employee engagement. Purposeful sampling of six medical device leaders in Massachusetts was used; participants held leadership roles, had at least five years of leadership experience, and were directly involved in employee engagement. The study was grounded in Kahn’s engagement theory, focusing on psychological meaningfulness, safety, and availability. Data were collected through semistructured interviews and analysis of publicly available documents, then analyzed using thematic analysis. Three themes emerged: emphasizing a greater purpose, proactively addressing employee challenges to foster engagement, and building authentic leader-employee connections. A key recommendation is for leaders of medical device firms to connect employees’ work to patient outcomes, support eliminating barriers, and focus on building trust and open communication. The implications for positive social change include the potential for organizational leaders in the medical device industry to build more engaged, resilient workforces, improving patient outcomes and contributing to stronger communities and long-term economic growth.
Recommended Citation
Brockway, Jason, "Successful Strategies Used by Leaders in the U.S. Medical Device Industry to Increase Employee Engagement" (2025). Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies. 17992.
https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/17992
