The role of leadership behaviors for enhancing organizational effectiveness in the Chinese public sector

The threefold purpose of this study is as follows: (1) to verify whether three leadership styles (servant, ethical, and participative) contribute to enhancing organizational trust and commitment, (2) to test the full and partial mediating roles of organizational trust and commitment in the relationships between the three leadership styles and organizational outcomes (in-role performance and managerial accountability), and (3) to probe indirect leadership impacts on performance and accountability outcomes. First, we employed exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to operationalize the variables and to confirm the latent constructs from the relevant survey questions. Second, to confirm the total direct and indirect effects, we employed a full structural equation model (SEM) to test the interrelationships among variables, and to assess the relative strength of each variable. The results of this study demonstrate that ethical and participative leadership behaviors in the Chinese public sector are positively and significantly associated with organizational trust and commitment. Based on a discussion of the main findings, various research and practical implications for public management theory and practice are provided.