| The positive and negative use of leader influence tactics plays a crucial role in 2013's workplace. Accordingly, the extent to which law enforcement officers (LEOs) perceive and then respond to the negative influence tactics of their agency's chief executive officer (CEO) is a serious problem for CEOs, LEOs, their agencies, and society in general. When LEOs are negatively influenced by their CEO, they could engage in reckless behaviors with potentially devastating consequences such as overly aggressive enforcement activities leading to claims (or actual use) of excessive and/or deadly force. To address this problem, this non-experimental quantitative correlational study examined the relationship of LEO commitment with four specific leader influence tactics used by CEOs' of New Jersey law enforcement agencies, while controlling for respondent demographics. The predictor variables were the four "core" influence tactics of rational persuasion, consultation, inspirational appeals, and collaboration contained in the Influence Behavior Questionnaire. The criterion variable was follower commitment measured by the Influence Outcome Questionnaire. The demographic control variables were captured with the Respondent Information Questionnaire. Data were gathered from LEOs attending training programs at the Raritan Valley Regional Public Safety Institute. A priori power analysis indicated that 135 respondents would provide an adequate sample size, and a sample of 138 (N) was gathered. After controlling for demographics, results revealed a significant positive correlation between commitment and rational persuasion, r(128) = .555, p < .001, and moderate positive correlations with consultation, r(128) = 372, p < .001; inspirational appeals, r(128) = .384, p < .001; and collaboration, r(128) = 390, p < .001. After controlling for demographics, an OLS regression analysis was significant, F(11, 126) = 5.79, p < .001, and revealed that rational persuasion (β = .490, p < .001) was a significant predictor in the model. While by no means inclusive and in the absence of any published data specifically dealing with follower perception of leader influence tactics in a law enforcement environment, this study provides important leadership information for CEOs on how their influence tactics are perceived by their LEOs, while also establishing a basic foundation for future research of this problem. |
