Does Positive Relational Management Benefit Managers Higher Up the Hierarchy? A Moderated Mediation Study of New Zealand Managers

Jarrod Haar, Annamaria Di Fabio and Urs Daellenbach
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Jarrod Haar: Department of Management, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland 1142, New Zealand
Annamaria Di Fabio: Department of Education, Languages, Intercultures, Literatures and Psychology (Psychology Section), University of Florence, 50121 Florence, Italy
Urs Daellenbach: School of Management, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington 6012, New Zealand

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 16, 1-15

Abstract: Interpersonal relationships play an important role in work success, and this is especially so for managers. The present study tests the Positive Relational Management (PRM) Scale and its influence on organizational trust, with the effects potentially mediated by work-life balance. Hence, more positive relationships at work shape better management of work-life issues, and ultimately build trust perceptions. We test this on a sample of 600 New Zealand managers and include managerial hierarchy as a moderator to determine whether positive relationships become less important as management level increases. Ultimately, we test a moderated mediation model in PROCESS and confirm the dimensionality and reliability of the scale. We find PRM is positively related to work-life balance and organizational trust, while work-life balance partially mediates this effect. In addition to two significant two-way interactions, we find support for a moderated mediation effect, with the indirect effect of PRM being positive and strongest for low-level managers, but a reduction in the strength of the indirect effects for middle- and senior-managers. Hence, the importance of interpersonal relationships is especially powerful for low-level managers. The implications for understanding the importance of PRM for managers are discussed.

Keywords: positive relational management scale; work-life balance; organizational trust; management hierarchy; moderated mediation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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