Understanding Management Succession in Politicised Contexts: The Moderating Role of Leadership Style

Abstract

This paper develops a conceptual framework to explain how leadership style moderates the relationship between organisational politics and management succession outcomes. Although management succession is widely recognised as a critical governance process, it often unfolds within politically charged environments that shape leadership transitions in complex ways. Drawing on Full Range Leadership Theory and Leader–Member Exchange (LMX) Theory, the study advances the argument that leadership style conditions whether organisational politics produces constructive or dysfunctional outcomes during succession processes. The paper proposes that transformational leadership mitigates destructive political behaviour by fostering trust, transparency, and shared purpose; transactional leadership enhances procedural clarity and stability but may inadvertently reinforce patronage dynamics; and laissez-faire leadership exacerbates instability by enabling unchecked political contestation. These propositions are illustrated with reference to documented succession challenges in organisational contexts, including Nigerian universities. The study contributes to the literature by integrating leadership behaviour into the analysis of political dynamics in management succession and by offering a theoretically grounded moderation framework. The paper concludes by outlining implications for leadership development, governance practices, and future empirical research in organisational settings.