Investigating the mediating role of organizational politics between leadership style and followers' behavioral outcomes

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the mediating role of perceptions of organizational politics between leadership style, on the one hand and performance, commitment and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) on other hand.Design/methodology/approachA multifactor questionnaire was distributed among public employees of Pakistan (n=271). They were asked about their head of department's leadership style and perception of politics in the organization. In addition to this in‐role performance, commitment and OCB were also examined. The confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was analyzed with structure equation modeling and exploratory factor analysis (EFA) were analyzed for intra structure of the leadership variables. Two models were examined: first, with the mediation role and second,without the mediation role.FindingsA partial mediation of leadership style was found with commitment and OCB. Organizational politics was found to be negatively related with the behavioral outcomes (i.e. commitment, in‐role performance and OCB).Research limitations/implicationsThe models do not show clear results of mediation or the direct effect of politics between leadership styles on one hand and commitment, performance and OCB on other hand.Practical implicationsManagers and heads of departments should know about the merits and demerits of leadership styles, as these may affect the political behavior which ultimately damages the performance, commitment and OCB.Originality/valueThe findings of the present study will contribute to existing literature regarding leadership and politics.