Explaining organizational commitment and job satisfaction: the role of leadership and seniority

Effective leadership is crucial for organizational success, enhancing productivity, profitability, and competitive advantage. Leadership efficacy, the outcome of the leader-follower interaction, is often reflected in increased employee commitment and job satisfaction. However, employee expectations about their leader's behavior can significantly influence leadership efficacy. The Leadership Efficacy Model (LEM) posits that congruence between a leader's intended actions (conceptual cycle) and actual actions (practical cycle) is key to enhancing leadership efficacy. This study aims to empirically test the LEM in an organizational context, examining the predictive role of leadership cycle congruence on organizational commitment and job satisfaction, and investigating the moderating effect of employee seniority on this relationship. The focus on seniority is justified by existing research indicating that employee perceptions and evaluations of the organization are influenced by their tenure. This study expands upon previous LEM research conducted in sports settings, applying it to a broader organizational context and explicitly examining the moderating influence of employee seniority, a critical yet under-researched aspect of the model.

Existing research strongly supports the link between effective leadership and positive organizational outcomes, including increased employee commitment and job satisfaction. Studies highlight the importance of leaders in fostering a shared vision and motivating employees toward organizational goals. However, the literature also emphasizes the role of employee expectations, suggesting that a mismatch between what leaders say and do can negatively impact leadership efficacy. The LEM offers a comprehensive framework, integrating trait, behavioral, and contingency leadership theories, focusing on the congruence between a leader's conceptualized and practical leadership cycles. Previous empirical tests of the LEM, primarily in sports settings, have shown a positive correlation between leadership cycle congruence and leadership efficacy. However, these studies lacked a detailed examination of the moderating role of employee characteristics, such as seniority. This study bridges this gap by focusing on the moderating role of seniority, given its known influence on employee perceptions and attitudes towards the organization.

This correlational study employed a questionnaire-based survey design. Data was collected from 318 employees across diverse sectors using a multi-source recruitment approach, including online platforms and organizational networks. The study included several demographic questions, then assessed leadership cycle congruence using the Leadership Efficacy Questionnaire (LEQ), organizational commitment using the Organizational Commitment Scale (OCS), and job satisfaction using a Portuguese version of the Job Satisfaction Questionnaire (JSQ). The LEQ measured congruence by comparing employees' perceptions of their leader's intended actions (conceptual cycle) and their actual actions (practical cycle). The sample comprised 55% males, with an average age of 35.78 years and average seniority of 8 years. Path analysis using AMOS software was performed to test the hypothesized relationships. The model tested the direct effects of leadership cycle congruence on organizational commitment and job satisfaction, and the moderating effect of seniority on these relationships. Normality and multicollinearity assumptions were checked before performing the path analysis. Model fit was evaluated using chi-square, RMSEA, SRMR, GFI, and CFI. To further explore the moderating role of seniority, a post-hoc analysis was conducted by dividing the sample into high and low seniority groups (≥60 months vs. <60 months) and performing separate regression analyses.

The path analysis results supported the hypotheses. Higher perceived leadership cycle congruence significantly predicted higher organizational commitment and job satisfaction. The model showed a good fit to the data. The standardized path coefficients indicated significant positive effects of leadership cycle congruence on both organizational commitment (β = .26, p < .001) and job satisfaction (β = .43, p < .001). Seniority was negatively associated with job satisfaction (β = -.20, p < .001) but not with organizational commitment. Critically, the interaction between leadership cycle congruence and seniority was significant for organizational commitment (β = .05, p < .05) but not for job satisfaction. Post-hoc analysis revealed that the positive relationship between leadership congruence and organizational commitment was significant only for the high seniority group, suggesting that more senior employees were particularly sensitive to the congruence of their leaders' actions and words.

The findings strongly support the core proposition of the LEM, demonstrating the significant positive relationship between leadership cycle congruence and both organizational commitment and job satisfaction. The results are consistent with previous research conducted in sports settings. The significant interaction effect for organizational commitment, present only for senior employees, reveals a nuanced relationship between leadership style and employee tenure. This suggests that the impact of congruent leadership may be more pronounced for employees with longer tenures. Possible explanations include the evolving nature of employee expectations over time, with more senior employees potentially having more established and less flexible expectations, thus making them more sensitive to the consistency and congruence of their leader's behaviors. The context of data collection, during the COVID-19 pandemic, could also have played a role, as leaders’ ability to maintain stability and address work-life balance may have resonated more strongly with senior employees.

This study provides robust empirical support for the LEM within an organizational context, highlighting the crucial role of leadership cycle congruence in fostering organizational commitment and job satisfaction. The findings emphasize the importance of leaders aligning their words with their actions, and the need for leaders to be sensitive to the varying needs and expectations of employees at different career stages. Future research should replicate the study in a non-pandemic context, explore the role of other antecedent factors in the LEM, and employ longitudinal designs to track the long-term effects of leadership congruence on organizational outcomes. Using objective measures of leadership efficacy would further enhance future investigations.

The cross-sectional nature of the study limits the ability to establish causality. Common method variance, a potential concern in self-report studies, was addressed through randomization of items and use of an online platform for data collection, but this remains a limitation. The data collection during the COVID-19 pandemic may have introduced contextual effects that could influence the findings. The study solely examined the moderating role of seniority; additional employee characteristics, such as personality traits, job roles, and psychological contract fulfillment, could be explored in future research.