The moderating role of paternalistic leadership in the relationship between nepotism and burnout: A study on SME employees

The relationship between burnout and nepotism has been extensively examined across various professions. This study aims to explore the moderating role of three dimensions of paternalistic leadership—authoritarianism, benevolence, and morality—on the link between burnout and nepotism. It is hypothesized that authoritarian leadership may strengthen the relationship between nepotism and burnout, while benevolence and morality may weaken it. The study will involve 154 blue- and white-collar employees from SMEs operating in different sectors. Participants will complete a demographic form, the Maslach Burnout Inventory (Maslach & Jackson, 1981), the Nepotism Scale (Abdalla et al., 1994), and the Paternalistic Leadership Scale (Cheng et al.). Participants must be Turkish citizens, aged 18–65, literate in Turkish, free of diagnosed psychiatric disorders, and employed full-time. Individuals who do not meet these criteria will be excluded. Participants will be randomly selected from three companies with institutional permission. Data will be collected face-to-face and participation will be voluntary. In addition to assessing the moderating role of paternalistic leadership, the study will examine how burnout, nepotism, and leadership perceptions vary by demographic factors such as age, gender, education, job type, tenure, total experience, and social/kinship ties with leaders. All data will be analyzed using SPSS, with planned statistical procedures detailed in the data analysis section.