Leadership and Organizational Factors as Predictors of Employees Organisational Commitment in Nigeria: An Empirical Analysis

Abstract

This study examined the relationship between leadership-behaviour and organizational factors as predictors of workers organizational commitment. Ex-Post-Factor research design was employed. A total number of 504 workers selected from private and public sector organizations located in Lagos and Abuja in Nigeria participated in the study. The study was anchored on Graen and Scandura Leader-member exchange theory. It was hypothesized that job tenure, management cadre and organizational type will significantly predict workers’ organizational commitment. Also, workers who perceived their bosses to be high on interpersonal relations and emancipatory leadership behaviour will identify more with their organization, demonstrate high loyalty and show high commitment to their organizations. Results revealed a positive progression in the influence of organizational factor on organizational commitment variables. Specifically, junior workers reported more commitment compared to senior management level workers for at least 1.03 times. Interpersonal relations contributed about 19.9% of the total variance of the observed job indentification and 28.8% to workers’ job loyalty, and 19.3% to organizational commitmen respectivelyt. Emancipatory leadership-behaviour contributed 17.2% and10.2% to loyalty and organizational commitment. Autocratic/control contributed 19.3% to the observed variance in job involvement. Meanwhile, autocratic/control leadership-behavior accounted for about 15.4% of workers’ disloyalty to their organizations. Findings in the study were discussed in the light of emergent literatures on leadership and organizational research.