1 Copyright © 2019, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited. Chapter 1 DOI: 10.4018/978-1-5225-6301-3.ch001 ABSTRACT In this chapter, as a critical contemporary management approach and a vital factor for organizations to gain competitive advantage, the concept of empowerment of employees is evaluated. The main purpose of this chapter is to investigate the antecedents and consequences of employees’ empowerment. To achieve this, a meta-analysis was conducted including 216 independent studies. Among these are: organizational culture, organizational support, supervisor support, organizational justice, human resources practices, job characteristics and employees’ personality characteristics. Moreover, by scanning the literature, the consequences of empowerment were remarked as, task performance, organizational citizenship behav- ior, organizational commitment, job satisfaction and creativity. Throughout the meta-analysis, positive relationships were witnessed between empowerment and these consequences. Moreover, empowerment was found to decrease turnover intentions and occupational stress of employees. INTRODUCTION As the business context is emerging and changing faster than ever, old-fashioned management styles are far from being effective. The continuous change in environment in which organizations operate, ne- cessitates up to date management approaches. In today’s world, not only information, communication, transportation and computer technologies emerge but also, human element of organizations evolves. The wants and needs of employees adjust due to changes in both business and social life. Besides, the core of management principles does not change, it is not effective to lead and manage employees regardless of their changing needs in today’s turbulent business environment (Drucker, 1980). Meta-Analysis of Antecedents and Consequences of Empowering Employees as a Contemporary Management Approach Çağlar Doğru Ufuk University, Turkey