Followership and job satisfaction in the public sector: The moderating role of perceived supervisor support and performance-oriented culture
International Journal of Public Sector Management
ISSN: 0951-3558
Article publication date: 11 April 2016
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explicate the role of followership behavior on employee job satisfaction as well as the conditions that may moderate its impact.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses a large n survey data from federal agencies and investigates an additive moderation model in which two situational factors, perceived supervisor support (PSS) and performance-oriented culture (POC), interact with followership behavior.
Findings
Employees high on active followership perceived greater job satisfaction when PSS was high, rather than low. On the other hand, employees high on active followership perceived greater job satisfaction when POC was low, rather than high.
Research limitations/implications
This is, to the knowledge, the first empirical study based on a cross-sectional survey that tests how the effects of active followership on employee job satisfaction may vary depending on the different types of situational factors. As such, more studies are needed to validate the causal directions of the findings.
Practical implications
The present findings show that active engagement had greater association with job satisfaction when leader involvement was high and performance orientation was low. For highly engaged employees, leaders are encouraged to show higher degree of involvement in their work but with less emphasis on the performance orientation of the organization.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the broader literature in public sector leadership in two ways. First, research on the relationship between followership and job satisfaction has been sparse. Second, and most importantly, this study is the first empirical study that tests the moderating roles of situational (organizational) factors on the relationship between followership and employee attitude (job satisfaction).
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korean Government (NRF-2013S1A3A2055108).
Citation
Jin, M., McDonald, B. and Park, J. (2016), "Followership and job satisfaction in the public sector: The moderating role of perceived supervisor support and performance-oriented culture", International Journal of Public Sector Management, Vol. 29 No. 3, pp. 218-237. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPSM-05-2015-0101
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2016, Emerald Group Publishing Limited