A moderation model of political behavior

The study tests a moderation model of political behavior. Specifically, we propose that an individual´s perceptions of organizational politics (POPs) influence his or her own political behavior engagement, while the POPs-political behavior linkage varies across different individual political skill levels. For those politically skilled individuals, the POPs-political behavior relationship will be positively stronger. In the model we also specify the positive effect of political behavior on his or her promotion in the organization. To test the model, a sample that included 157 civil servants is collected. Regression analyses on the sample show that both POPs and political skill are positively related to political behavior; POPs and political skill complement each other to influence political behavior, which can, in turn, help the civil servant get more promotion opportunities. Theoretical and practical implications of the results are discussed.