Perceptions of politics: Does measuring different foci matter?

Abstract

Recent research on perceptions of politics in organizations and other organizational phenomena (e.g., commitment) has suggested the use of a multiple-foci approach to understand important politics–outcome relationships. This study confirms separate measures of perceptions of politics at the organizational and work-group levels and demonstrates differential effects in the prediction of various outcomes. After controlling for the effects of the relationship with one's supervisor (leader–member exchange), perceptions of politics existing at the organizational level predicted turnover intentions, whereas citizenship behavior was predicted by perceptions of politics at the group level. Both foci of politics significantly predicted organizational commitment. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)