Exploring the Influence of Leader-Member Exchange(s) on the Relationship Between Emotional Intelligence and Organizational Commitment Among Telecommunications Employees
Exploring the Influence of Leader-Member Exchange(s) on the Relationship Between Emotional Intelligence and Organizational Commitment Among Telecommunications Employees
Bobby Thomas Carmickle | 2018
Abstract
This study was designed to address the lack of data available regarding the extent of the relationship between leader emotional intelligence (EI) and employee organizational commitment (OC), and the potential influence leader-member exchange (LMX) might have as a moderating variable. I utilized a quantitative research design to test if a relationship existed between leader EI, as perceived by employees and member OC, and if LMX influenced (moderates) the relationship between leader EI and employee OC. The participants for this study were employees from a midsized southwestern telecommunications company in southern California. Three validated surveys were used to measure study variables. The Wong and Long Emotional Intelligence Scale (WLEIS; Wong & Long, 2002) was used to measure EI of leaders, as perceived by employees. The three component model (TCM) Employee Commitment Survey (Meyer & Allen, 1991) was used to measure OC of employees. Additionally, the LMX-7 instrument (Bell, 2017) was used to measure LMX. Study predictor variables included the 4 dimensions of EI (self-emotions appraisal [SEA], others-emotions appraisal [OEA], use of emotion [UOE], and regulation of emotion [ROE]). Criterion variables included the 3 components of OC (affective commitment [AC], normative commitment [NC], and continuance commitment [CC]), and the moderating variable was LMX. Multiple linear regression (MLR) analysis was conducted to determine the relationship among the variables. The research results did not support a predictive relationship between any of the 4 dimensions of EI and any of the 3 components of OC. These were consistent with prior research findings that failed to establish a relationship between EI and OC (Boivin, 2013; Brent, 2017; Willyard, 2017). Conversely, the results did indicate a significant predictive relationship between the moderating variable LMX and each of the 3 criterion variables of OC (AC, NC, and CC). The results also indicated that LMX significantly positively moderated the relationship between leader ROE and employee AC, leader OEA and employee AC, leader OEA and employee NC, and leader UOE and employee NC.