The Influence of Leadership Style on Telecommuters in the Insurance Industry: A Contingency Theory Approach

Abstract

This study examining how telecommutes’ in the insurance industry view their supervisor’s leadership style and how this determination influences the employee’s perceptions of their supervisor’s communication competence and their communication satisfaction with their supervisor, as well as their own job satisfaction and organizational commitment. The study applied Contingency Theory as a theoretical underpinning. The results indicated that for supervisors to be perceived as leaders they must effectively communicate task related information more than relational oriented messages. These findings add to research by identifying situations in which leaders are to behave in a fashion unique to the computer mediated work setting