EFFECT OF LEADERSHIP STYLE ON ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT

In the quantitative correlational research study the relationship between the leadership style of the senior managers and organizational commitment of the middle managers was investigated in a communications company in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Because middle managers are developmental resources in organizations and are crucial to the achievement of goals of the organizations, their job satisfaction and organizational commitment must be a priority in the communications industry. Aina, O. & Verma, K (2016) found that demographic variables moderated the relationship between leadership style of senior managers and job satisfaction of the middle managers (Aina, O. & Verma, K, 2016). Data was collected using preexisting validated instruments and a demographic questionnaire. A total of 166 middle managers participated in the quantitative correlational research study. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation coefficient, the analysis of variance (ANOVA), and multiple regression analysis were used to analyze the data. The results indicated a significant relationship between leadership style of the senior managers and organizational commitment of the middle managers. Organizational commitment was found to be higher for middle managers whose senior managers exhibited transformational leadership style than those with transactional and laissez-faire leaders. Demographic variable age moderated the leadership style and organizational commitment of the middle managers. An essential recommendation of the study is the need for further research involving more than one communications organization to enhance the generalizability of the results.