Leadership Style as a Moderator of the Relationships Between Role Stressors and Organizational Commitment

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to examine the moderating effect of leadership style on the relationships between role stressors and organizational commitment. The study hypothesized that negative relationships between role conflict and role ambiguity and both affective and normative commitment would be weaker for employees who perceived their supervisors as relationship-oriented rather than task-oriented. Furthermore, the study explored the direct relationship between role stressors and continuance commitment, along with the moderating effect of leadership style on this relationship. Responses to an online survey from 126 employees were analyzed using hierarchical multiple regression. Results showed that leadership style did not moderate the relationships between role conflict and role ambiguity and all three types of organizational commitment. Results also indicated that there were nonsignificant relationships between role conflict and role ambiguity and continuance commitment. Results implied that role stress impacts organizational commitment to the same extent for employees who have task-oriented leaders and those who have relationship-oriented leaders. Based on these findings, there is a need for research examining additional leadership styles that may serve as moderators of role stress-organizational commitment relationships.