Organizational climate and organizational politics: understanding the role of employees using parallel mediation
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/EBHRM-08-2020-0107 |
| Published date | 10 February 2022 |
| Date | 10 February 2022 |
| Pages | 241-256 |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour,Global HRM |
| Author | Swati Tripathi,Divya Tripathi |
Organizational climate and
organizational politics:
understanding the role of
employees using parallel mediation
Swati Tripathi
Psychology, University of Delhi, New Delhi, India, and
Divya Tripathi
Organizational Behaviour and Human Resource Management,
Indian Institute of Management Amritsar, Amritsar, India
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to inspect the influence of organizational climate on the social
desirability of political behaviour of employees. It also examines perception of politics and perceived
behavioural choice asthe underlying mechanisms that mediate the relationship between organizational climate
and social desirability of political tactics. Finally, the paper studies the influence of desirability of politics on
frequency of use of political tactics.
Design/methodology/approach –The study uses data (n5234) collected from a large public sector
organization in India. The inter-relationships are tested empirically using structural equation modelling.
Findings –The findings suggest that organizational climate significantly influences the social desirabilityof
political tactics such that positive climate leads to lower social desirability of political tactics. Also, perception
of politics and perceived behavioural choice mediate the relationship between organizational climate and
desirability of political tactics. Finally, the social desirability of political tactics positively and significantly
influences frequency of political tactics used.
Research limitations/implications –Because of the nature of the study, generalization must be made with
caution since it has been conducted in an Indian public sector organization, and errors due to measurement
method could be present. The study provides a better understanding of the relationship between organizational
climate and political behaviour and clarifies the mediating role of perception of politics and behavioural
choices. It also elucidates the need for organizations to accept the active role of employees in determining the
nature of workplace politics.
Originality/value –The study establishes political perceptions and perceived behavioural choice as
important mediators betwe en climate and political beha viour, fostering in-dep th research into the
environmental aspects of public sector organizations. It also establishes employ ees as autonomous
members of the organization who make political choices by taking into account their organizational
contexts, a concept much newer to highly formalized and codified public sector organizations.
Keywords Organizational climate, Perception of politics, Perceived behavioural choice, Organizational
politics, Political tactics, Public sector
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
There are two major perspectives in the field of organizational politics: macro and micro
(Vigoda, 2003). Macro-perspective focuses on the organizational processes, structures and
relations with other organizations while the micro-perspective takes into account individuals,
networks and perceptions with an empirical, positivist view (Kacmar and Ferris, 1991). To
understand the role employees play within the political context of the organization on a micro-
level, the interaction between the individual and the organization must be studied in greater
detail. The interaction between person and work environment gives rise to specific
perceptions about the workplace, which in turn shapes the semantics employees associate
with environmental factors. This individual–organizational interaction is centrally
The political
behaviour of
employees
241
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Received 7 August 2020
Revised 2 April 2021
26 September 2021
8 January 2022
Accepted 21 January 2022
Evidence-based HRM: a Global
Forum for Empirical Scholarship
Vol. 10 No. 3, 2022
pp. 241-256
© Emerald Publishing Limited
2049-3983
DOI10.1108/EBHRM-08-2020-0107
responsible for determining employee behaviour (Bamel et al., 2013). In such a scenario, where
employees use organizational climate as a point of reference to gauge political activities,
evaluate them and participate in them, an understanding of this interaction could be a
valuable contribution to organizational studies.
Kopelman et al. (1990) have conceptualized organizational climate as psychologically
meaningful descriptions of contextual influences that individuals use to apprehend order,
predict outcomes and gauge the appropriateness of their organizational behaviour.
Organizational climate has a value-based description. This value is attributed by the
employees according to their perceptions of important organizational aspects, such as policies,
practices, interpersonal relations, organizational and social support, training, welfare, leadership
and stress. The perception of these features depends on the cognitive representations employees
create to give psychological meaning to them. Thus, organizational climate emerges as a shared
perception among the employees of an organization (Schneider et al., 2017) and affects members’
motivation, perceptions and attitudes (Hemingway and Smith, 1999). Employees perceive t he
events around them not as standardized experiences but as unique to each employee (Li et al.,
2017). The present study aims to understand the uniqueness of the experiences of employees
through their perceptions of politicsand control.
It is often found that members of the organiza tion attach shared meanings to
organizational climate, which helps them experience the organization (Schneider et al.,
2011a,b). Ferris et al. (1996) suggest that the organizational influences (centralization,
formalization, hierarchical level and span of control), work environment influences (job
autonomy, job variety, feedback, advancement opportunity and interaction with others) and
personal influences (age, sex, m achiavellianism and self-monito ring) predict politics
perceptions in the organization. Research focuses more on perceived politics that is
described as “an individual’s subjective evaluation about the extent to which the work
environment is characterized by coworkers and supervisors who demonstrate such self-
serving behaviour”(Ferris et al., 2000, p. 90). When the climate is perceived to be negative,
unsupportive and lacks elements of democratic decision-making and welfare, the
organization is likely to experience high perceptions of politics (Witt et al., 2000;Poon,
2004,2006). These perceptions encourage employees to view political behaviour as socially
desirable. Vinarski-Peretz and Kidron (2018) also support the argument that organizational
climate intensifies engagement and promotes political behaviours (Hochwarter et al., 2020)
throughout an organization. Therefore, employees hold a vital position in organizations
because they are independent entities embedded within the framework of the organization.
This study contributes to the present literature on organizational politics in the following
ways. First, it emphasizes the importance of perceived behavioural choice and its influence on
the political behaviour of employees. Second, this study provides clues in understanding the
organizational climate of a public sector organization and its contribution towards
employees’decisions in finding political behaviour socially desirable. Third, we assert that
perceptions of politics and perceived behavioural choice, both, are formidable antecedents in
establishing employees’perception of social desirability of political tactics, which further
leads to engagement in political behaviour. And fourth, this study demonstrates that
employees participate and engage in political behaviour based on their perceptions of
behavioural choices presented to them, social desirability and organizational politics,
wherein, all are rooted in the climate of the organization.
2. Review of literature and hypothesis development
2.1 Organizational climate and social desirability of political tactics
The dynamic interaction between organizational climate and employees results in various
outcomes. The increased desirability of political tactics can be viewed as an outcome of
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