The Relationship between Leadership Style, Organizational Culture, and Job Satisfaction in the U.S. Healthcare Industry

The purpose of this quantitative, correlational study, based on the theoretical framework of transformational leadership, was to examine the relationships between leadership style, organizational culture, and job satisfaction in the U.S. healthcare industry. The study addressed a problem faced by U.S. healthcare leaders, who are currently unaware as to how transformational leadership and organizational culture can impact job satisfaction in an industry with high burnout and low satisfaction levels. The following research questions were posed: (1) Is there a statistically significant relationshipbetween transformational leadership and job satisfaction in the U.S. healthcare industry? (2) Is there a statistically significant relationship between organizational culture and job satisfaction in the U.S. healthcare industry? (3) Is the relationship between transformational leadership and job satisfaction in the U.S. healthcare industry mediated by organizational culture? Data to answer the research questions were collected through simple random sampling processes that resulted in a sample of 111 American healthcare employees and analyzed with Stata software. The main finding of the study was that an apparent effect of transformational leadership on job satisfaction disappeared when organizational culture variables were taken into consideration. The results suggest that healthcare organizations should attempt to move away from externally focused cultures in order to increase job satisfaction. Such a move could improve social outcomes by improving the quality of work for millions of stressed American healthcare employees.