Moderating the Relationship between Leadership and Commitment: An Empirical Study on Personality and Values

Abstract

Attracting and retaining talent is considered to be among the most crucial challenges for contemporary leadership. Building on this notion, the present paper aims to foster an understanding of the complex interplay between leadership practices and employee commitment. In these regards, the moderating role of personality variables and personal values is critically assessed. Building on a two-dimensional model of organizational commitment, the study proposes that leadership variables predict both emotional and behavioral commitment, with the relationship being moderated by personality variables as assessed throughout the Big Five framework and by personal values. To determine the validity of these hypotheses, an empirical, quantitative study was conducted following an observational design focusing on the employee perspective. Standardized questionnaires were utilized to assess the levels of commitment, the perceived leadership style of the participants’ leaders, their personality and values. A total of n = 310 individuals were recruited for participation in the empirical study, conducted by using an online survey. The statistical analyses showed a stable, significant correlation between the perception of leadership style and both types of organizational commitment, with leadership communication taking on a noteworthy role. The relevance of personality variables and values also could be confirmed, with their predictive power being more substantial for behavioral commitment. This was established using multiple linear regression analyses that compared the predictive power of the individual predictors.