Dissertation Abstract: Christelle LaPolice

Source: Dissertation Abstracts. Publisher contact: 300 N. Zeeb Rd., PO Box 1346, Ann Arbor, MI 48106-1346

Written at George Washington University, 2002
Advisor: David P. Costanza
106 pages

The author investigated the relationship between a three-factor model of leadership behavior and employee attitudes (organizational satisfaction, job satisfaction, turnover intention, and adequate job-related information). Subjects were 16,795 employees in 16 small and large government agencies. Organizational characteristics such as the amount of internal change in the organization and the size of the organization were tested as moderators of the leader behavior-employee attitude-relationship. Results suggest that a three-factor model is useful for predicting employee attitudes. Leader relations-oriented behavior was a strong predictor of employee comparative organizational satisfaction, employees' perceptions that they have adequate job-related information, and was negatively related to turnover intention. Leader task-oriented behavior was a strong predictor of employee job as was organizational satisfaction. Leader change-oriented behavior was a stronger predictor of employees' perceptions that they were well-informed about changes in their organization. Organizational change climate and size were not significant moderators of the behavior-attitude relationship. The results of the study are discussed in terms of theoretical implications and practical application for leader behavior.

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