Effect of CEO Political Orientation on Employee Satisfaction with Entrepreneurial Orientation as a Mediator

This study explores how CEO political orientation affects employee satisfaction, examining the role of entrepreneurial orientation as a mediator. Focusing on the interaction between CEOs' political beliefs, leadership styles, and firm performance, a multiple-respondents survey, aiming at CEOs and their subordinates, was conducted. Factor analysis, correlations, and mediated regression analysis were used in order to reach conclusions. Findings reveal that CEOs' political orientation significantly impacts employee satisfaction, with a notable trend: the more conservative the CEO, the higher the employee satisfaction. Regarding entrepreneurial orientation, two dimensions, innovativeness and risk-taking, were found to positively influence employee satisfaction. However, proactiveness showed no significant effect. A deeper dive into the dynamics shows that conservative CEOs positively drive innovativeness, enhancing employee satisfaction. This indicates that a conservative approach in leadership fosters an innovative environment, boosting employee contentment. On the other hand, conservatism is inversely related to organizational risk-taking, suggesting a cautious approach. Yet, this cautiousness, steered by a conservative CEO, still positively contributes to employee satisfaction, likely due to employees valuing the stability and prudent risk management it brings to the organization.