The Mediation Role of Leadership Support in the Relation between Conflict Management Styles and Job Satisfaction among Hospital Managers in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

This study investigated the mediating role of leadership support on the relationship between conflict management styles and job satisfaction of hospital managers in Saudi Arabia. The study adopted a quantitative, deductive, and cross-sectional research design. The researcher collected data with the aid of a structured self-administered questionnaire from 331 hospital managers. The participants were hospital managers from different healthcare institutions in Saudi Arabia. The items on the questionnaire used to collect data on conflict management styles, leadership support, and job satisfaction were adapted from validated questionnaires. The researcher employed Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling to assess the measurement model, the structural model, and the mediation effect. The results indicated that conflict management styles positively contribute to the job satisfaction of hospital managers. This means that constructive conflict management styles contribute to the satisfaction of hospital managers. The results indicated that conflict management styles positively contributed to leadership support, and that leadership support positively contributed to job satisfaction. Most notably, the results indicated that leadership support mediated the relationship between conflict management styles and job satisfaction. This study explains the impact of different conflict management styles on job satisfaction in hospitals in Saudi Arabia. This study suggests the hospital leadership in Saudi Arabia should endorse constructive conflict resolution and supportive leadership to enhance hospital management satisfaction and improve organizational effectiveness.