Leadership Behavior And Job Satisfaction Among Bank Officers: The Impact Of Task Characteristics

The purpose of this research was to test the hypothesis that relations between perceived leadership behavior and job satisfaction are affected by the type of task that subordinates performed. Specifically, it is predicted the unique (positive) contribution of perceived leadership behavior and task as well as their interaction to subordinate job satisfaction. A sample of 170 managers was drawn from six commercial banks located in Northern Malaysia. Participation in the research was voluntary. Data were gathered by means of a survey questionnaire that consisted of a series of psychometrically sound scales to assess the employed variables in the study. Hierarchical multiple regression results provided support that nurturant task leadership behavior would lead to the most effective supervision, followed by participative and autocratic. Further analyses found that task structure and task variety did not moderate the relationship between leadership behaviors all the dependent variables. However, significant interactions were convincingly evident only in the case of task autonomy. Task autonomy showed significant impact on leadership behavior and dullness of work. Key implications of the survey findings both for theory and practice are discussed, potential limitations are specified, and directions for future research are suggested