The mediating role of control mechanisms used by school principals in the effect of leader-member exchange of middle school teachers on their organizational happiness

This study aimed to determine the mediating role of school principals' control mechanisms in leader–member exchanges on organizational happiness, focusing on middle school teachers' perceptions. The study was conducted within a relational survey model. The study sample comprised teachers working in public middle schools on the Anatolian side of Istanbul during the 2023-24 academic year. Using convenience sampling, data were collected from 776 teachers at public middle schools in Üsküdar, Ümraniye, and Sultanbeyli districts. The data were gathered through the Leader–Member Exchange, Control Mechanisms Used by School Principals, and Organizational Happiness scales and were analyzed. The results indicated that teachers' perceptions of organizational happiness were determined as "frequently," their perceptions of leader–member exchanges as "agree," and their perceptions of school principals' control mechanisms as "most of the time." Correlation analysis revealed that the subdimensions were significantly related to each other—a positive, moderate, and significant relationship was observed between leader–member exchanges and organizational happiness; a weak, positive, and significant relationship was observed between leader–member exchanges and school principals' control mechanisms; and weak, significant, and positive relationships were found between school principals' control mechanisms and organizational happiness. Mancova was used. The mediating relationship and the scales' predictive levels were examined using structural equation modeling. The study found that school principals' control mechanisms had a partial, weak, significant, and positive mediating role in the impact of leader–member exchanges on organizational happiness. Statistically, leader–member exchanges had a strong, positive, and significant effect on organizational happiness and a moderate, positive, and significant effect on school principals' control mechanisms; school principals' control mechanisms had a weak, positive, and significant impact on organizational happiness was found to be weak, positive, and significant. The mediating roles of formal and informal control mechanisms was examined using Hayes's model, which revealed that both formal and informal control mechanisms had an indirect, positive, and significant mediating role; but when both dimensions were combined, they had a weak, partial, significant, and negative mediating role. The findings were discussed in the context of the literature, and recommendations were presented in line with the conclusions. KEYWORDS: School principals' control mechanisms; Organizational happiness; Leader–member exchanges; School principal; Teacher.