The Mediating Role of Employee’s Work Engagement in the Effect on Organizational Identification of Paternalistic Leadership Behaviour

Abstract

This study examines the influence of perceived paternalist leadership behavior on the level of organizational identification of employees with benevolent, ethical and authoritarian leadership subdivisions, and in this effect the mediator role of employees' levels of work engagement. In this scope; the conceptual framework established primarily for paternalist leadership, organizational identification and work engagement is presented. Then, findings and conclusions related to the survey implemented within the scope of the research are included. The sample of the study consists of a total of 1032 employees working in the public sector and private sector organizations operating in the province of Kırşehir, which is reached through the face-to-face survey method. Likert type scale was used in the questionnaire form and structural equality model (SEM) was chosen as the research model. For the analysis of the data, the SPSS 22.0 package program and AMOS 24 SEM program were used together. The findings of the research show that the paternalist leadership’s authoritarian leadership subdimension does not have a meaningful effect on the organizational identification and therefore the role of mediation of work engagement can not be examined as well as that the paternalist leadership’s the benevolent leadership subdimension has a positive and meaningful effect on the organizational identification and the work engagement has a fully mediator role in this effect. It is also found that the moral leadership subdimension of the paternalist leadership has a positive and meaningful effect on organizational identification, but that work engagement has partly mediator role in this effect.