Distributed leadership and organizational commitment: moderating role of confidence and affective climate

The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of distributed leadership on organizational commitment and the role of trust and open group climate as moderator variables in this relationship.

To test the conceptual model and research hypotheses empirically, the authors collected data based on an investigation over a sample of 318 engineers in the Information Technology telecommunication sector in Tunisia. The results were analyzed using factor analysis and structural equation modeling.

The results show a significant and positive impact of the support function, of the participation in decision-making and cooperation on organizational commitment. The authors find evidence for the existence of a positive moderating effect of trust and affective climate at the level of the causal link between distributed leadership and organizational commitment dimensions.

These results provide useful indications for managers within the framework of leadership style that is more appropriate to the group’s proper functioning. Throughout this work, managers will know that distributed leadership is adapted to create a social climate based on dialogue and trust, an essential element of distributed leadership. Supervision and authority should give up a coercive vision in a more cooperative and constructive approach. Coordination should be founded on a horizontal and transversal vision of the organization.

Distributed leadership is increasingly seen as a key vehicle for firms’ improvement and renewal. However, research on this concept was largely conducted in the field of education and health. Studies dealing with small and medium-sized companies are rather scarce. There are not, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, any works in the Tunisian context because the majority of the reference studies are Anglo-Saxon. The originality and value of this research lies in its anchoring in the context. Moreover, this study provides empirical evidence of the importance of the role of the affective climate on organizational commitment. Indeed, engagement is a behavioral and attitudinal indicator of organizational climate. This paper is intended to provide a stimulus for exploring the distributed leadership area in terms of shaping thinking and designs for organizational change to enhance organizational commitment in a highly digital world.