Impact of organizational politics on employee work outcomes in higher education institutions of Pakistan

Abstract

Purpose Organizational politics has been a topic of conceptual and empirical interest for researchers and practitioners for many years. The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between organizational politics and employee work outcomes in educational institutions. In addition, this paper also aims to assess the moderating role of social capital. Design/methodology/approach Employee perceptions about organizational politics and its impact on their work outcomes have been assessed empirically with a sample of 270 full-time employees in higher education institutions of Pakistan. The data have been collected from faculty members of five universities of Pakistan using survey method. SPSS and AMOS have been used to analyze the data and SEM has been used to test the hypotheses. Findings The results indicate a moderating effect of social capital on the relationship between perceived organizational politics and employee outcomes, and the most significant employee outcomes are job stress, job satisfaction and turnover intentions. The findings of the study support the view that organizational politics has negative association with employee job stress and turnover intentions. Research limitations/implications Higher education sector in Pakistan is facing certain challenges, which affect talent retention. The findings of this study will help the administration of higher education institutions to develop effective strategies to cope with the challenges of organizational politics, such as motivation, satisfaction and retention of their employees. Originality/value The study adds to the literature on organizational politics by highlighting and validating its adverse effects on employee work outcomes in the context of Pakistani higher education.