Research article summary (published 29 Apr 2009):

Context matters: the impact of unit leadership and empowerment on nurses' organizational commitment.

Full Abstract

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to test a multilevel model linking unit-level leader-member exchange quality and structural empowerment to nurses' psychological empowerment and organizational commitment at the individual level of analysis. BACKGROUND: Few studies have examined the contextual effects of unit leadership on individual nurse outcomes. Workplace empowerment has been related to retention outcomes such as organizational commitment in several studies, but few have studied the impact of specific unit characteristics within which nurses work on these outcomes. METHODS: We surveyed 3,156 nurses in 217 hospital units to test the multilevel model. RESULTS: A multilevel path analysis revealed significant individual and contextual effects on nurses' organizational commitment. Both unit-level leader-member exchange quality and structural empowerment had significant direct effects on individual-level psychological empowerment and organizational commitment. Psychological empowerment mediated the relationship between core self-evaluations and organizational commitment at the individual level of analysis. CONCLUSIONS: The contextual effects of positive supervisor relationships and their influence on empowering working conditions at the unit level and, subsequently, nurses' organizational commitment highlight the importance of leadership for creating conditions that result in a committed nursing workforce.

Author information

Author/s: Laschinger, Heather K Spence (HK); Finegan, Joan (J); Wilk, Piotr (P);

Affiliation: Arthur Labatt Family School of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada. hkl(-atsign-)uwo.ca

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article

Journal: The Journal of nursing administration (J Nurs Adm), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2009-May; vol 39 (issue 5) : pp 228-35

Dates: Created 2009/05/08; Completed 2009/05/28;

PMID: 19423988, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 5/28/2009, IMS Date: 28 May 2009 00:00:00)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Adult Attitude of Health Personnel Cross-Sectional Studies Decision Making, Organizational Female Health Facility Environment - organization & administration Humans Interprofessional Relations Leadership Male Models, Nursing Models, Psychological

Nurse Administrators - organization & administration; psychology Nursing Methodology Research Nursing Staff, Hospital - organization & administration; psychology Ontario Organizational Culture Personnel Loyalty Power (Psychology) Professional Autonomy Questionnaires Regression Analysis Self Assessment (Psychology) Workplace - organization & administration; psychology

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