Leadership style and organizational commitment: mediating effect of role stress.

Second, to help build the positive superior-subordinate interactions that may result from leader consideration, managers should strive for employee involvement. The employees actually performing the work have a lot of insight into organizational activities. It is important to get input from subordinates in order to make effective decisions. Employees feel that they are part of the organization when they are involved in making decisions that guide the future of the organization (Dastmalchian and Javidan, 1998). It is also important to foster good two-way communication. Managers should talk face-to-face with employees and establish a comfortable rapport, encourage the employees to offer input, and consider carefully what is said (Kane, 1996). Employees become more loyal when communication processes keep them informed about what is happening in the company (Heffner and Rentsch, 2001). It is important for managers to respond to every issue and answer every question whether by an explanation or by some type of action.

Lastly, managers should inspire workers by sharing a vision of some future desired state for the organization. It is important for managers to articulate and help employees imagine their idea. A vision helps to create meaning for the employee and often attracts people to its pursuit because it is challenging and it is important.

In conclusion, the findings suggest that organizations may benefit from employing interventions aimed at reducing perceived role stress and developing interpersonal factors. Leader behavior may be a key to developing intrinsic reward systems that focus on personal importance and integrate the individual and organizational goals, thus leading to OC.

References

Abdulla, M. and J. Shaw. 1999. "Personal Factors and Organizational Commitment: Main and Interactive Effects in the United Arab Emirates." Journal of Managerial Issues 11 (1) : 77-94.

Agarwal, S. and S. Ramaswami. 1993. "Affective Organizational Commitment of Salespeople: An Expanded Model." Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management XIII: 40-68.

Aiken, L. and S. West. 1991. Multiple Regression: Testing and Interpreting Interactions. Newbury Part, CA: Sage.

Allen, N. and J. Meyer. 1996. "Affective, Continuance, and Normative Commitment to the Organization: An Examination of Construct Validity." Journal of Vocational Behavior 49: 252-276.

-- and -- 1990. "The Measurement and Antecedents of Affective, Continuance, and Normative Commitment to the Organization." Journal of Occupational Psychology 63: 1-18.

Angle, H. and J. Perry. 1981. "An Empirical Assessment of Organizational Commitment and Organizational Effectiveness." Administrative Science Quarterly 26: 1-14.

Baron, R. and D. Kenny. 1986. "The Moderator-Mediator Distinction in Social Psychological Research: Conceptual, Strategic, and Statistical Consideration." Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 51: 1171-1182.

Bass, B. 1990. Bass and Stodgill's Handbook of Leadership (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Free Press.

--. 1985. Leadership and Performance Beyond Expectation. New York, NY: Free Press.

Bateman, T. and S. Strasser. 1984. "A Longitudinal Analysis of the Antecedents of Organizational Commitment." Academy of Management Journal 27:95-112.

Becker, T., R. Billings, D. Eveleth and N. Gilbert. 1996. "Foci and Bases of Employee Commitment: Implications for Job Performance." Academy of Management Journal 39: 464-482.

Brooke, P., Jr., D. Russell and J. Price. 1988. "Discriminant Validation of Measures of Job Satisfaction, Job Involvement, and Organizational Commitment." Journal of applied Psychology 73:139-145.

Buchanan, B. 1974. "Building Organizational Commitment: The Socialization of Managers in Work Organizations." Administrative Science Quarterly 19: 533-546.

Chow, S. and R. Holden. 1997. "Toward an Understanding of Loyalty: The Moderating Role of Trust." Journal of Managerial Issues 9 (3): 275-299.

Cohen, J. and P. Cohen. 1983. Applied Multiple Regression/Correlation Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences (2nd ed.). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

Dastmalchian, A. and M. Javidan. 1998. "High-Commitment Leadership: A Study of Iranian Executives." Journal of Comparative International Management 1 : 23-37.

DeCotis, T. and T. Summers. 1987. "A Path Analysis of a Model of the Antecedents and Consequences of Organizational Commitment." Human Relations 40: 445-470.

Fiedler, F. 1967. A Theory of Leadership Effectiveness. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Fisher, C. and R. Gitelson. 1983. "A Meta-analysis of the Correlates of Role Conflict and Ambiguity." Journal of Applied Psychology 68: 320-333.

Flynn, D. and E. Solomon. 1985. "Organizational Commitment: A Multivariate Test Within the Banking Industry." Psychological Reports 57:119-130.

Fox, M., D. Dwyer and D. Ganster. 1993. "Effects of Stressful Job Demands and Control On Physiological and Attitudinal Outcomes in a Hospital Setting." Academy of Management Journal 36: 289-318.

Glisson, C. and M. Durick. 1988. "Predictors of Job Satisfaction and Organizational Commitment in Human Service Organizations." Administrative Science Quarterly 33: 61-81.

Graen, B. 1976. "Role-Making Processes within Complex Organizations." Chapter in Handbook of Industrial Organizational Psychology. Ed. M. Dunnette. Chicago, IL: Rand McNally.

Halpin, A. 1966. Theory and Research in Administration. New York, NY: Macmillan.

Heffner, T. and J. Rentsch. 2001. "Organizational Commitment and Social Interaction: A Multiple Constituencies Approach." Journal of Vocational Behavior 59: 471-490.

Hersey, P. and K. Blanchard. 1977. Management of Organizational Behavior. New York, NY: Prentice Hall, Inc.

Hogan, N., E. Lambert, M. Jenkins and S. Wambold. 2006. "The Impact of Occupational Stressors on Correctional Staff Organizational Commitment." Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice 22: 44-62.

Hom, P., R. Katerberg and C. Hulin. 1979. "Comparative Examination of Three Approaches to the Prediction of Turnover." Journal of Applied Psychology 64: 280-290.

Ivancevich, J. and M. Matteson. 1993. Organizational Behavior and Management. Chicago, IL: Erwin.

Jackson, S. 1983. "Participation in Decision Making As a Strategy for Reducing Job-Related Strain." Journal of Applied Psychology 68: 3-19.

--and R. Schuler. 1985. "A Meta-analysis and Conceptual Critique of Research on Role Ambiguity and Role Conflict in Work Settings." Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 36: 16-78.

Johnston, M., A. Parasuraman, C. Futrell and W. Black. 1990. "A Longitudinal Assessment of the Impact of Selected Organizational Influences on Salespeople's Organizational Commitment During Early Employment." Journal of Marketing Research 27: 333-344.

Judge, T., R. Piccolo and R. Ilies. 2004. "The Forgotten Ones? The Validity of Consideration and Initiating Structure in Leadership Research." Journal of Applied Psychology 89: 36-51.

Kahn, R., D. Wolfe, R. Quinn, J. Snoek and R. Rosenthal. 1964. Organizational Stress: Studies in Role Conflict and Ambiguity. New York, NY: Wiley.

Kane, P. 1996. "Two-Way Communication Fosters Greater Commitment." HR Magazine 41: 50-53.

Kanter, R. 1968. "Commitment and Social Organization: A Study of Commitment Mechanisms in Utopian Communities." American Sociological Review 33: 499-517.

Karasek, R. 1979. "Job Demands, Job Decision Latitude, and Mental Strain: Implications for Job Redesign." Administrative Science Quarterly 24: 285-306.

Keller, R. 2006. "Transformational Leadership, Initiating Structure, and Substitutes for Leadership: A Longitudinal Study of Research and Development Project Team Performance." Journal of Applied Psychology 91 (1): 202-210.

--. 1989. "A Test of the Path-Goal Theory of Leadership with Need for Clarity as a Moderator in Research and Development Organizations." Journal of Applied Psychology 74:208-212.

Koch, J. and R. Steers. 1978. "Job Attachment, Satisfaction, and Turnover Among Public Employees." Journal of Vocational Behavior 12:119-128.

Kornhauser, W. 1962. "Social Bases of Political Commitment: A Study of Liberals and Radicals." Chapter in Human Behavior and Social Process. Ed. A. M. Rose. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin.

Lankau, M., D. Carlson and T. Nielson. 2006. "The Mediating Influence of Role Stressors in the Relationship between Mentoring and Job Attitudes." Journal of Vocational Behavior 68: 308-322.

Larson, E. and C. Fukami. 1984. "Relationships between Worker Behavior and Commitment to the Organization and Union." Academy of Management Proceedings: 222-226.

Lee, B. 2003. "Using Hierarchical Linear Modeling to Illustrate Industry and Group Effects on Organizational Commitment in a Sales Context." Journal of Managerial Issues 15 (3): 353-368.

Lee, C. and R. Schuler. 1980. "Goal Specificity and Difficulty and Leader Initiating Structure as Strategies for Managing Role Stress." Journal of Management 6: 177-187.

Lee, T. and T. Mitchell. 1991. "The Unfolding Effects of Organizational Commitment and Anticipated Job Satisfaction on Voluntary Employee Turnover." Motivation and Emotion 54:99-121.

Leiter, M. and C. Maslach. 1988. "The Impact of Interpersonal Environment on Burnout and Organizational Commitment." Journal of Organization Behavior 9: 297-308.

Likert, R. and J. Likert. 1976. New Ways of Managing Conflict. New York, NY: McGraw Hill Book Company.

Lodahl, T. M. 1964. "Patterns of Job Attitudes in Tow Assembly Technologies." Administrative Science Quarterly, 8: 482-519.