The relationship between perceived leadership style and firefighter organizational commitment

This study was designed to determine if a relationship exists between the perceived leadership style of fire service supervisors and the organizational commitment level of the subordinate firefighter. Additionally, the study was intended to examine whether a difference exists in the organizational commitment level of firefighters (high versus low) based on the career status of firefighters (paid versus volunteer). There were 77,146 fire service members who were invited to participate in this study. A total of 1,919 participants filled out surveys that identified the leadership style of the participant's supervisor (transformational, transactional, or laissez-faire) and the self-reported organizational commitment level of the subordinate participating in the study.;The findings of the study revealed that a positive linear relationship exists between transformational leadership style and organizational commitment levels as well as transactional leadership style and organizational commitment levels while a negative linear relationship exists between laissez-faire leadership style and organizational commitment levels. The study also showed a statistical difference did exist in the organizational commitment levels of firefighters (high versus low) based on the career status of firefighters (paid versus volunteer). A larger portion of the participants who were classified in the paid career status category tended to report lower levels of organizational commitment. Of the participants in the volunteer category, a larger portion tended to report higher levels of organizational commitment. There was a large amount of variance in the responses generated from the Organizational Commitment Questionnaire, indicating strong perceptions of commitment.