"Multiple Supports, Commitment, Citizenship Behaviors, and Passive Leadership at the Hospital"

Abstract

Purpose: This paper examines the moderating role of passive leadership in the relationships of perceived support from organization, coworkers, and physicians to affective commitment and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) among hospital employees. Design/methodology/approach: Using a sample of 182 hospital employees and a time-lagged design in which predictors and moderator were assessed at Time 1 and self-reported OCB was obtained 2.5 years later, we examined whether passive leadership moderated the relationships of perceived supports to commitment and their indirect effects on OCB. Findings: Analyses reveal that passive leadership is associated with a weaker relationship between perceived supports and commitment and that perceived support from coworkers and physicians were indirectly related to OCB only when supervisors displayed low passive leadership. Research limitations/implications: Although data were self-reported, our analyses show that method variance account for only 6% of the variance among constructs. Findings contribute to highlight the boundary conditions associated with perceived support and establish that passive leadership severely limits the beneficial effects expected from support available to employees. Practical implications: Findings suggest that supervisors should be trained not only on improving positive leadership skills but also on reducing passive behaviors in the face of problems in their teams. Originality/value: This study extends our understanding of social exchange processes in organizations and invites managers and researchers to look at factors that slow down the development of social exchange relationships with employees.