Exploring the relationship among transformational and transactional leadership behavior, job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and turnover on the IT Department of Research and Development in Shanghai, China

This study examined the causal effects of transformational and transactional leadership and the mediating role of trust on follower outcomes. Information was collected from 150 employees who worked in 12 organizations in the IT Department of Research and Development in Shanghai, China. Leadership styles were manipulated using transformational leadership and transactional leadership, and subordinates' outcomes were evaluated via the four measures of: trust, job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and turnover intention. Results, based on path analyses and specification of the search model in AMOS 5, indicated that transformational leadership had both direct and indirect effects on job satisfaction; and organizational commitment mediated through followers' trust in the leader and did not result in turnover of employees. However, transactional leadership had only direct effects on followers' job satisfaction and did not influence followers' organizational commitment or employees' intention to leave. Sufficient trust by subordinates, high job satisfaction and organizational commitment to the organization did not result in intention to leave. This study also found that different educational levels would interfere with job satisfaction, and moderate the relationship between job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Gender would moderate the relationship of transformational leadership and transactional leadership style to followers' job satisfaction both trust and job satisfaction to organizational commitment.; A theoretical model was tested via structural equation analysis using AMOS 5. Organizational justice was found to be an important predictor of trust in all samples, indicating the importance of these concepts in the organizational life of different cultures. Economic development, region, political policy, and organizational culture were found to influence the development of organizational and leadership behavior.