Linking leader power use and performance: The mediating role of follower satisfaction and commitment

This study examined the intermediate role job satisfaction and organizational commitment play between leaders' perceived use of power and followers' performance. Based on a sample of 365 cadets at the U.S. Air Force Academy, this study found followers' job satisfaction and commitment mediated the positive relationships between their leaders' use of expert, referent, and reward power and the followers' organizational citizenship behavior. Further, while the use of legitimate or coercive power were both related negatively to followers' in-role job performance, these relationships were not mediated by the followers' job satisfaction or organizational commitment. This study then discusses the practical implications of these findings, highlights its theoretical contributions toward understanding power's direct and indirect relationships with performance in the leadership dynamic, and recommends future research avenues to leverage and build upon these findings.