Abstract:
This paper investigates the relationship between perceptions of organisational
culture, organisational subculture, leadership style, and commitment. The impact of culture and leadership style on commitment has been previously noted, but
there is a lack of detail regarding how different types of culture and leadership
styles relate to commitment. The paper particularly addresses the notion of
organisational subcultures and how the perception of those cultures relates to
commitment, subculture being a neglected variable in the commitment literature.
These issues were addressed in a survey of 258 nurses drawn from a range
of hospital settings and wards within the Sydney metropolitan region. Results
indicate that perceived organisational subculture has a strong relationship
with commitment. Furthermore, the results identify the relative strength of
specific types of leadership style and specific types of subculture with commitment.
Both innovative and supportive subcultures have a clear positive relationship,
while bureaucratic subcultures have a negative relationship. In terms
of leadership style, a consideration style had a stronger relationship with commitment
than a structuring style. Regression analysis was used to investigate
the possible role of subculture as a mediator for the influence of leadership on
commitment. Both direct and indirect effects of leadership on commitment
were found. Implications for practice and for further research are discussed.
