Organizational Xenophobia: Effects of Leadership with Moderation of Satisfaction with Life: A field study in the Sample of Dense Migrated Province

Abstract

While workplace leadership is widely discussed in the management literature, less is known about the outcomes and influence process of leaders, under which xenophobic behaviours are generating. In other words, even if xenophobia is likely to be generated from economic losses and social factors according to literature, leadership can deliberately produce a “hostile environment” for migrant employees. This paper scrutinizes the effect of paternalistic leadership and its dimensions on xenophobia in the context of business organizations. Besides, the life satisfaction factor has been functionalized as a moderator in this process. Cross-sectional survey data (n=395) were obtained from employees and analysed with a variance-based structural equation modelling (VB-SEM) and multivariate regression technique. Research findings prevail that paternalistic leadership significantly decreases personal or individual fears, on the other hand; it increases political and cultural fears against “others” in organizations. To avoid xenophobia, a special effort should be made to ensure that the relevant styles and broader organizational context are accurately assessed when reducing fear against others.