How do leaders’ political influence tactics affect dissent, cynicism and negligence? A research into medical representatives in Turkey

Abstract

The primary objective of this study was to investigate the influence of leaders' deployment of Political Influence Tactics (PIT) on the manifestation of articulated/upward dissent and negligent behavior among employees, with a specific focus on the mediating role of employee cynicism (EC). The study was theoretically grounded in both Psychological Contract Theory and Independent-Mindedness Theory. Data for this investigation were collected through surveys from a sample of 308 medical representatives in Turkey. The collected data underwent rigorous analysis employing the Partial Least Squares Based Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) method with the assistance of the SMART PLS 3.3.3 software. The findings of this study revealed that EC serves as a partial mediator in the relationship between pressure and ingratiation tactics and employee negligence. Notably, existing research within the realm of organizational politics often centers on Perceptions of Organizational Politics (POP), which encapsulates the subjective aspect of perceiving politics within an organization. In contrast, there has been relatively limited exploration into PIT, which adopts an objective standpoint. Furthermore, this study represents a pioneering effort as it identified a gap in the existing literature where no prior research has directly assessed the linkages between PIT and other key variables within the proposed model, namely cynicism, negligence, and articulated/upward dissent. Consequently, this study is poised to contribute significantly to the organizational politics and organizational behavior literature by addressing this notable gap.