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Peer-reviewedCC BYFrontiers in psychology

A social exchange perspective on employee performance in Sierra Leone’s public sector: the roles of authentic leadership, participative decision-making, and trust

  • Ibrahim Sallieu Jalloh1
  • Shixiang Li1
  • Guangjin Zhang1
  • H. M. Wasif Rasheed2
  • Rashid Khurshid3
  1. 1School of Public Administration, China University of Geosciences , ,
  2. 2School of Management, Institute of Business Management , ,
  3. 3Institute of Business Management & Administrative Sciences, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur , ,
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Abstract

Purpose

Based on Social Exchange Theory (SET) and Social Information Processing (SIP), this research attempts to explore the effect that Participative Decision-Making (PDM) has on the performance of employees working in Sierra Leone's public sector using Affective Trust, Work Engagement, Affective Commitment, and Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB) as mediating variables in relation to Authentic Leadership as a moderating variable.Design/methodology/approach

The study used a quantitative and cross-sectional research design. Data collection was conducted among public sector employees in Sierra Leone using a convenience sampling method. The study applied Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) to assess the measurement and structural model hypotheses.Findings

The empirical results reveal that participative decision-making (PDM) associate with employee performance through affective trust, which associate to work engagement and affective commitment, resulting in organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). The variable of work engagement proved itself as a better predictor of OCB than affective commitment. Besides, authentic leadership moderated the relationship between affective trust and work engagement/affective commitment.Originality/value

The current research contributes to the SET and SIP frameworks by validating a step-by-step process leading to PDM, which ultimately influences Employee Performance. The study fills one of the significant gaps in the literature by providing evidence from an unexplored area of public sector employees in Sierra Leone.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{jalloh2026social,
  title = {{A social exchange perspective on employee performance in Sierra Leone’s public sector: the roles of authentic leadership, participative decision-making, and trust}},
  author = {Ibrahim Sallieu Jalloh and Shixiang Li and Guangjin Zhang and H. M. Wasif Rasheed and Rashid Khurshid},
  journal = {Frontiers in psychology},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1885753},
  url = {https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13716561},
  note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - A social exchange perspective on employee performance in Sierra Leone’s public sector: the roles of authentic leadership, participative decision-making, and trust
AU  - Ibrahim Sallieu Jalloh
AU  - Shixiang Li
AU  - Guangjin Zhang
AU  - H. M. Wasif Rasheed
AU  - Rashid Khurshid
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/15
JO  - Frontiers in psychology
DO  - 10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1885753
UR  - https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13716561
AB  - Purpose  Based on Social Exchange Theory (SET) and Social Information Processing (SIP), this research attempts to explore the effect that Participative Decision-Making (PDM) has on the performance of employees working in Sierra Leone's public sector using Affective Trust, Work Engagement, Affective Commitment, and Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB) as mediating variables in relation to Authentic Leadership as a moderating variable.Design/methodology/approach  The study used a quantitative and cross-sectional research design. Data collection was conducted among public sector employees in Sierra Leone using a convenience sampling method. The study applied Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) to assess the measurement and structural model hypotheses.Findings  The empirical results reveal that participative decision-making (PDM) associate with employee performance through affective trust, which associate to work engagement and affective commitment, resulting in organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). The variable of work engagement proved itself as a better predictor of OCB than affective commitment. Besides, authentic leadership moderated the relationship between affective trust and work engagement/affective commitment.Originality/value  The current research contributes to the SET and SIP frameworks by validating a step-by-step process leading to PDM, which ultimately influences Employee Performance. The study fills one of the significant gaps in the literature by providing evidence from an unexplored area of public sector employees in Sierra Leone.
SN  - 1664-1078
ER  -