Leadership Behavior in Public Organizations: A Study of Supervisory Support by Police and Medical Center Middle Managers

Leadership behavior is recognized as an important variable in the Human Resource Management (HRM)-Performance chain. However, in most studies, leadership behavior is viewed as an independent variable, and one that influences employees' attitudes and behavior. Because of this premise, claims that public managers' discretionary room for supervisory support is constrained, and that personal motivation is the most important reason for a manager engaging in supervisory support, have not been systematically examined. This article fills this gap by examining the antecedents of supervisory support by middle managers in the police force and in an academic medical center in the Netherlands. The results show that the extent of the discretionary room that middle managers experience has an effect on supervisory support and that this relationship is mediated by their willingness to support employees. Furthermore, a manager's supportive ability is an important additional antecedent.