Participative Leadership and the Organizational Commitment of Civil Servants in China: The Mediating Effects of Trust in Supervisor

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Main author: Miao, Qing
Other authors: Newman, Alexander
Schwarz, Gary
Xu, Lin
Format: Journal Article           
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id eprints-21210
recordtype eprints
institution SOAS, University of London
collection SOAS Research Online
language English
language_search English
description The present study examines whether participative leadership engenders organizational commitment among Chinese civil servants, and analyzes the mechanisms by which it transmits its effects. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling revealed that there was a significant relationship between supervisor-level participative leadership and the affective and normative commitment of subordinates, but no relationship with continuance commitment. Affective trust was identified as the mediator variable underlying the relationship between participative leadership and organizational commitment. We show that participative leadership of supervisors elicits higher levels of trust, and leads subordinates to reciprocate through exhibiting higher levels of organizational commitment. Our study also reveals that Chinese civil servants who accept an unequal distribution of power between supervisors and subordinates typically exhibit lower levels of affective and normative commitment to the organization than those who do not. Our results provide greater support for the deepening of administrative reforms and the dissemination of participative leadership practices in China’s new civil service system.
format Journal Article
author Miao, Qing
author_facet Miao, Qing
Newman, Alexander
Schwarz, Gary
Xu, Lin
authorStr Miao, Qing
author_letter Miao, Qing
author2 Newman, Alexander
Schwarz, Gary
Xu, Lin
author2Str Newman, Alexander
Schwarz, Gary
Xu, Lin
title Participative Leadership and the Organizational Commitment of Civil Servants in China: The Mediating Effects of Trust in Supervisor
publisher Wiley
publishDate 2013
url https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/21210/

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