Leadership’s Search for Meaning: Empirical Evidence on Resonant Leadership and Organizational Commitment

Cyprus Turkish Journal of Psychiatry & Psychology, Early View

Published Online: 29 July 2026, Doi:10.35365/ctjpp.26.3.14

RESEARCH ARTICLE / ARAŞTIRMA YAZISI

Leadership’s Search for Meaning: Empirical Evidence on Resonant Leadership and Organizational Commitment

Liderlikte Anlam Arayışı: Resonant Liderlik ve Örgütsel Bağlılık Üzerine Ampirik Bulgular

Emel Burak¹

Abstract:

This study approaches the search for meaning in leadership through the holistic subdimensions of resonant leadership: compassion, mindfulness, and hope. It evaluates the interaction of the two constructs from a multidimensional perspective by examining organizational commitment with its subdimensions of affective, continuance, and normative commitment. The population of this study, which is a quantitative research design, consists of employees working in private-sector organizations in the Marmara Region. In the study, convenience sampling was preferred, and employees from different sectors were reached via face-to-face and online methods using a questionnaire. Analyses were conducted on a complete and valid data set obtained from 405 voluntary business employees. The study reveals that resonant leadership significantly affects all subdimensions of organizational commitment, particularly affective commitment. The findings offer an original perspective by considering the holistic functions of compassion, hope, and mindfulness as components of leadership, not only as human emotions but also as strategic elements that influence the psychological dynamics of organizations. This holistic approach, which integrates fields such as management psychology, human resource management, organizational psychology, and organizational behavior, has important implications for enhancing employees’ psychological experiences within organizations.

Keywords: Resonant leadership, Organizational commitment, Compassion, Management psychology, Employee psychology, Affective commitment.

¹Kırklareli University, Vize Vocational School, Kırklareli, Türkiye.

Address of Correspondence/Yazışma Adresi: Emel Burak, Kırklareli University, Vize Vocational School, Kırklareli, Türkiye. E-mail: [email protected].

Date of Received/Geliş Tarihi: 07.10.2025, Date of Revision/Düzeltme Tarihi: 15.12.2025, Date of Acceptance/Kabul Tarihi: 26.12.2025, Date of Online Publication/Çevrimiçi Yayın Tarihi: 03.08.2026

 Citing/Referans Gösterimi: Burak, E. (2026). Leadership’s search for meaning: empirical evidence on resonant leadership and organizational commitment. Cyprus Turkish Journal of Psychiatry & Psychology, 1-9. https://doi.org/10.35365/ctjpp.26.3.14

© 2026 The Author(s). Published by Cyprus Mental Health Institute / Cyprus Turkish Journal of Psychiatry and Psychology (www.ktppdergisi.com). This article is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution, and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercial purposes. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/