Associations among authoritative leadership, organizational climate, job embeddedness and voice behavior in clinical nurses: a cross-sectional study in China

Abstract

Introduction: The voice behavior of clinical nurses significantly influences the development of the healthcare industry. Understanding the factors influencing clinical nurses' voice behavior can help enhance the effectiveness of leadership styles across different cultures, promote a positive organizational climate, and increase employees' sense of job embeddedness, thereby encouraging more voice behavior. Therefore, this study examines the relationships between authoritative leadership, organizational climate, job embeddedness, and voice behavior. Aim: The aim of this study was to examine the chain mediating effects of organizational climate and job embeddedness on the relationship between authoritativeleadership and clinical nurses’ voice behavior in China. Methods: A cross-sectional survey study. We employed a convenient sampling method to recruit 809 clinical nurses from 5 comprehensive hospitals in Henan Province, China from October to November 2023.The scale questionnaires were used to assess, SPSS 25.0 was used for data analysis, and AMOS 26.0 software was used to examine the relationship between variables. Results: The results showed that authoritative leadership and voice behavior were significantly negatively correlated (r = - 0.18, P＜0.01), and organizational climateand job embeddedness were positively correlated with voice behavior (r = 0.27, P＜0.01; r = 0.40, P＜0.01). Organizational climate and job embeddedness played a chain mediating role in the relationship between authoritative leadership and voice behavior of clinical nurses, accounting for 31.41% of the total effect. Conclusions: Authoritative leadership has a negative impact on the clinical nurses’ voice behavior. More voice behavior may be taken by choosing appropriate leadership styles, such as recognizing potential drawbacks of authoritative leadership. Meanwhile, organizational climate and job embeddedness acted as a chain mediator between authoritative leadership and clinical nurses’ voice behavior. Nursing managers should focus on developing a positive organizational climate, enhancing employees' sense of job embeddedness, and promoting positive voice behavior among clinical nurses.