Examining the Role of Psychological Climate in the Relationship between Management Style and Organizational Optimism – A Case Study of Farhangian University

This research examined the impact of management style on organizational optimism with respect to the mediating role of psychological climate in Farhangian University, South Khorasan Province, Iran.This descriptive-correlational research is of applied kind and was done through structural equation modeling. The samples are 145 lectures of Farhangian University selected by convenience method. In order to collect data, Management style questionnaire (Luthans, et al.), psychological climate questionnaire (Koys & Decotiis) and organizational optimism questionnaire (Smith, eta al.) were used. The validity of the questionnaires was confirmed by the convergent and divergent validity; the reliability of the measuring instruments was also confirmed by Cronbach's alpha method, hybrid reliability and factor loadings. Furthermore, the structural equation modeling and PLS2 Software were used for data analysis. Findings revealed that management style is not significantly related to organizational optimism, though there is a significant relationship between psychological climate and organizational optimism. Therefore, the major hypothesis of this study stating that psychological climate plays a meditating role in management style and organizational optimism relationship was approved. It was concluded that more than 67% of the total effect of management style indirectly can be explained by the psychological climate.