The role organizational culture in the relationship between paternalistic leadership and psychological empowerment: Field study

The objective of this study is to determine whether organizational culture mediates the association between paternalistic leadership and psychological empowerment. The research sample has comprised a collection of teachers employed by Şırnak Provincial Directorate of National Education. The data has been gathered by means of survey forms combining the scales for assessing paternalistic leadership, psychological empowerment, and organizational culture. The sample of the study has involved 626 teachers working in the province of Şırnak (n=626). To analyze the data, a correlational survey model was applied for making use of Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). For this purpose, IBM SPSS 26 and IBM AMOS 20 software packages were picked. The scales were subjected to normality tests, reliability analyses, and exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. To ascertain the direction and strength of relationships between variables, correlation analysis was carried out. Consequently, the hypotheses were tested and the relationships were evaluated through setting up a structural equation model. The analysis revealed that the only sub-dimension of paternalistic leadership exhibiting a significant positive relationship with all dimensions of psychological empowerment (meaning, competence, autonomy, and impact) was "involvement in employees' non-work lives". The other two sub-dimensions, "family atmosphere in the workplace" and "loyalty and respect expectations," did not have a significant impact on all sub-dimensions of psychological empowerment. Also, a noteworthy correlation was discovered between the dimension of "involvement in employees' non-work lives" and all sub-dimensions of organizational culture (clan, adhocracy, competition, and hierarchy). The mediation analysis findings displayed that organizational culture mediates the relationship between paternalistic leadership and psychological empowerment partially. Specifically, all sub-dimensions of organizational culture were found to have a mediating effect in terms of the relationship between a certain sub-dimension of paternalistic leadership that is involvement in employees' non-work lives and all sub-dimensions of psychological empowerment partially. Since this study is a preliminary examination into how organizational culture mediates the association between paternalistic leadership and psychological empowerment, it is considered as a contribution for the literature. In conclusion, some recommendations have been provided for researchers and managers in accordance with the outcomes of the study.