The Relationship Between Leadership Style and Organizational Commitment Among Employees of the Iraqi Ministry of Sport: The Mediating Role of Organizational Justice

Amir Hossein Monazami; Mohammad Ali  Salman; Meysam  Rahimizadeh

Authors

Amir Hossein Monazami Associate Professor, Department of Sports Management, Faculty of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, Shahid Rajaee Teacher Training University, Tehran, Iran Corresponding Author https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8020-7698
Mohammad Ali Salman MA student, Department of Sports Management, Faculty of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, Shahid Rajaee Teacher Training University, Tehran, Iran Author https://orcid.org/0009-0000-5829-656X
Meysam Rahimizadeh Assistant Professor, Department of Sports Management, Faculty of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, Shahid Rajaee Teacher Training University, Tehran, Iran Author https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6882-5592

Keywords:

Leadership Style, Organizational Commitment, Organizational Justice, Transformational Leadership, Transactional Leadership, Iraqi Ministry of Sport

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to examine the relationship between leadership style and organizational commitment among employees of the Iraqi Ministry of Sport, with organizational justice considered as a mediating variable.

Methods and Materials: This applied, quantitative, descriptive-correlational study was conducted among 300 employees of the Iraqi Ministry of Sport. Data were collected using standardized questionnaires assessing leadership style, organizational justice, and organizational commitment. Leadership style was measured through transformational, transactional, and laissez-faire dimensions, organizational justice through distributive, procedural, and interactional dimensions, and organizational commitment through affective, continuance, and normative dimensions. Data were analyzed using SPSS for preliminary analyses and SmartPLS for partial least squares structural equation modeling. The measurement model was evaluated using factor loadings, average variance extracted, composite reliability, and discriminant validity, while the structural model was assessed through path coefficients, bootstrapping with 5,000 resamples, coefficients of determination, SRMR, and NFI.

Findings: Leadership style had a significant effect on organizational justice (p < .001), and organizational justice had a significant effect on organizational commitment (p = .004). However, the direct effect of leadership style on organizational commitment was not statistically significant (p = .277). The model explained 48.4% of the variance in organizational justice and 68.5% of the variance in organizational commitment. The SRMR value was .082 and the NFI was .91, indicating acceptable overall model fit. The pattern of significant indirect relationships and nonsignificant direct effects supported the full mediating role of organizational justice in the relationship between leadership style and organizational commitment.

Conclusion: The findings indicate that leadership style contributes to employees’ organizational commitment primarily through its influence on perceptions of organizational justice, suggesting that fair procedures, equitable treatment, and respectful managerial interactions are essential mechanisms through which leadership can strengthen commitment among employees of the Iraqi Ministry of Sport.

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