Employee feedback orientation: a paternalistic leadership perspective

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine the direct effect of paternalistic leadership on the employee’s feedback orientation in the Egyptian public sector. It also investigates the mediating effect of the employee’s workplace well-being on the relationship between paternalistic leadership and feedback orientation. Design/methodology/approach The study uses a questionnaire that consists of measures adopted from existing and tested scales. A mediation analysis is conducted using structure equation modelling to examine the hypothesized relationships. Findings The findings reveal that paternalistic leadership is positively associated with feedback utility, accountability, awareness and self-efficacy. Moreover, the employee’s workplace well-being significantly mediates the proposed relationship between paternalistic leadership and the aforementioned dimensions of feedback orientation. Originality/value The relationship between paternalistic leadership and feedback orientation has received an extremely limited academic attention. This study hypothesizes a mediation model which investigates the leadership, well-being and feedback associations in the traditionally under-researched Egyptian context.