Investigating the effects of strategic leadership on employees' job satisfaction and perceptions of organizational commitment: Ağrı province example

Universities are among the most important institutions due to their roles in producing knowledge, contributing to individuals' personal and professional development, supporting social and economic development, and providing solutions to societal problems. All these contributions provided by universities are carried out through their qualified, experienced, and knowledgeable staff. Therefore, ensuring the retention of these employees not only helps the university continue to provide quality services and benefit society but also enhances the university's standing among other universities. The purpose of this study is to contribute to the literature by examining the impact of strategic leadership behaviors of university administrators on employees' job satisfaction and organizational commitment. In line with this aim, a study was conducted with 400 employees working at Ağrı İbrahim Çeçen University. The results of the study indicated that strategic leadership has a positive effect on job satisfaction and organizational commitment, and job satisfaction also positively affects organizational commitment. Furthermore, the transformational leadership and ethical leadership dimensions of strategic leadership positively impact job satisfaction, affective commitment, and normative commitment. The managerial leadership dimension, on the other hand, has a negative effect on continuance commitment and a positive effect on normative commitment. Job satisfaction positively affects affective commitment, continuance commitment, and normative commitment. It is believed that the obtained results will contribute to the literature and practitioners. Accordingly, it is recommended that university administrators guide their employees, especially in terms of leadership, clearly communicate the institution's goals, align employees' goals with the institution's goals, support employees in their work, be honest with them, respect their opinions and private lives, stand by their decisions, prioritize the institution's interests over their own, and support employees in doing the right thing.