The Effect of Organizational Culture on Employee Job Performance in the Public Sector: Do Commitment and Politics Play a Role?

Though extensive research work has been done about organizational culture and job performance in general, there is huge theoretical and empirical research gap about the specific cultural values that affects job performance in Ghana’s public sector. This paper addresses the gap in literature, by investigating the effect of organizational culture on job performance within this context. We also test the mediating role of organizational commitment on this relationship as well as the moderating role of perception of organizational politics on employees’ commitment and job performance. The study employed a quantitative survey and sampled 556 employees from the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies in Ghana. The empirical results from hierarchical multiple linear regressions revealed that clan, market and adhocracy culture had positive effects on job performance but hierarchy culture had no effect. The outcome of the study further shown that organizational commitment acts as a mediator in the relationship between organizational culture and job performance. Finally, the moderation analysis revealed that perception of organizational politics plays a moderation role between organizational commitment and job performance indicating that perception of organizational politics weakens the relationship between affective and normative commitments and job performance. On the contrary, perception of organizational politics could not weaken the relationship between continuance commitment and job performance


Introduction
The Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) are key institutions that play essential role towards the achievement of sustainable development at the grassroots level in Ghana. Ayee (2008) highlights three significant objectives of the local government framework in Ghana: (a) to ensure local participation and contribution in decision making; (b) actively encourage responsive governance at the grassroots; and (c) support local government institutions to be efficient and effective in their service delivery as a means of ensuring accountable local governance.
For the local government institutions to execute their mandate effectively and efficiently as stipulated in the 1992 constitution of Ghana, the performance and behaviour of their employees is very crucial. However, employees' behaviour in an organization according to Desson & Clouthier (2010) is molded by the organizational culture (OC). Ahmady et al. (2016) argue that organizational culture is the identity of the organization and highlights the views and perception of the staff which influences their behaviour. Levering (2016) sees organizational culture as essential ingredient for the successful achievement of organizational goal. In line with this assertion, Desson & Clouthier (2010) postulates that organizational culture is the basic factor to consider not only in achieving the overall organizational objective, but also establishing a public image that is also key in enticing and retaining committed employees as well as creating a cordial working relationship with all relevant stakeholders. In simplistic form organizational culture defines how an organization executes its job since it's fundamental to the beliefs, values, attitudes as well as the inter-personal behaviours within the organization.
The literature postulates that organizational culture in general has effect on employee commitment (Aranki et al., 2019;Shim, Jo, and Hoover;Messner, 2013& Acar, 2012. The mediating function of organizational commitment is gaining tremendous attention in organizational research. Nikpour (2017) and Dewi et al. (2019) reported that employee organizational commitment is a mediator variable and helps in explaining the influence of organizational culture on employee performance. Akintayo (2010) believes that the commitment of an individual within an institution is a measure of dedication that an employee exhibits towards that organization. Organizational commitment is a reflection and an indication of the nature of attachment and loyalty that workers show towards their organization (Yao et al., 2019).
A number of scholars have demonstrated that organizational commitment has a positive influence on performance (Nirushan, 2017; Hafiz, 2017; Bandula & Jayatilake, 2016; Rafiei et al., 2014). The argument therefore can be made that workers who are committed to their organizations share whole heartedly the organizational vision and are willing and ready to go beyond their normal line of duty (exhibit citizenship behaviour). In view of this, Fares (2014) believes that if workers are said to be the biggest assets of an organization, then committed employees should be considered as a competitive advantage for organization. Hence, the working environment and the dedication of the staffs in the MMDAs are essential for the implementation of the assembly's plans; as the dedication and commitment of the staff, may be directed toward a number of policies and programmes that will improve the lives of their constituents. In our research we use organizational commitment as intervening variable to gain a deeper appreciation of the process by which organizational culture affects MMDAs employees' job performance. Taleb (2011), however, argues that the commitment of workers in an institution could be influenced by organizational variables such as leadership behaviour, perceived organizational politics (POP), perceived organizational system fairness, the nature of the working environment, and the job itself. These scholars' theoretical work has greatly added to the current literature on the effect of organizational culture on employee performance. Nonetheless, no strong empirical evidence exists about what kind of cultural values significantly influence employee job performance within Ghana's public sector especially the MMDAs. Moreover, it seems organizational researchers have not assessed the moderating influence of POP on organizational commitment and job performance relationship. Additionally, prior research works if any did not explicitly concentrate on the public sector of Ghana especially within the MMDAs. Minimal research on moderators that connects organizational culture, commitment and effectiveness of the organization have been performed (Gregory et al., 2009;Zheng, et al., 2010;Hartnell et al., 2011). Therefore, it is worth analyzing what kind of cultural values affect the output of the workers, as well as the role of organizational commitment and perception of organizational politics in achieving the overall goal of the MMDAs.
According to Gallagher & Laird (2008) POP is a measure of the degree to which an individual perceives his/her working environment as promoting others' self-interest and thus being unjust and unfair from an individual perspective. There is empirical evidence that POP as a moderating variable influences the interaction between organizational variables like conscientiousness, job security and satisfaction, commitment and performance (Hochwater et al., 2000;Sharafi & Seyedameri, 2019). In support of this Dhar (2009), asserts that POP frequently affects organizational decisions regarding incentives, promotions and other rewards which can have adverse consequences on both organizational and individual performance as well as productivity. Therefore, we introduced POP as a moderator to examine how it impacts on the perceived positive correlation involving organizational commitment and job performance of workers within the public sector. This present study set out to achieve the following objectives: (i) investigate the effect of organizational culture (clan, adhocracy, market and normative) on job performance; (ii) to test the mediating role of organizational commitment on the relationship between organizational culture and job performance; and (iii) to test the moderating role of POP on organizational commitment and Job performance relationship.
2. Literature review and hypotheses formulation 2.1. Organizational culture (OC) and job performance (JP) Organizational culture (OC) and job performance (JP) has featured predominantly on the scholarly works of organizational researchers. The reason being that OC establishes an institution's meaning not only through the actions and inactions of each person in the organisation, but also through the organization's collective attitudes and behaviors in general (Aksoy et al., 2014). That is, culture defines the organizational boundary, puts a sense of identity into the members of the organization, and generates a dedication for the collective interest of the organization. It is a management mechanism that allows the staff's views and attitudes to be shaped by providing acceptable conditions under which the success or otherwise of the organization can be determined. Azizollah et al. (2016) noted that a strong OC shapes the worker's commitment, organizational identity, shared beliefs as well as the employees' behavior.
Comprehensive understanding and appreciation of an organization's culture is essential in minimizing organizational challenges in the process of making alterations within the organization. On the basis of this, Ezirim et al. (2012) suggest that leaders need to create and nurture OC that benefits employees as well as the organization since it's very instrumental in the achievement of the overall organizational vision.
Some cultural typologies have been created in an attempt to get a clearer understanding of OC, since a specific type of culture creates a different outcome and an organization's success is to some extent dependent on the degree to which cultural traits are widely expressed (Ogbonna & Harris, 2000). There are many typologies of OC and related aspects in literature, such as Deshpande & Farley (1999), Cooke & Lafferty (1987), Deal & Kennedy (1982) and Competing Value Framework (CVF). However, one of the widely used frameworks in OC studies is the CVF which was created as a model for investigating and understanding of OC by Cameron and Quinn (2006). This paradigm applies to the predominance of an organization's internal or external orientation and whether it aims for flexibility and individuality or stability and control. The structure according to Tseng (2010) also focuses on six dimensions of OC and classifies OC into four groups of culture such as clan, adhocracy, market, and hierarchy.
The Clan Culture (CC): is based on shared ideals and common interests, an environment of cooperation and mutual support, with special focus on empowerment and advancement of employees. A sort of corporate community, where there is a clear sense of "family." Teamwork is emphasized, and the role of leader as a mentor. The Adhocracy Culture (ADC): is an OC that gives people far more freedom to evolve in their own way, as long as they are aligned with the aims of the organisation. Leaders are characterized as businessmen who are motivated by new ideas and creativity. The aim of the organization is to get the benefit from the external world as much as it can be. Individuals would be deemed accomplished and successful if they can produce new ideas and inventions and improve them. Market Culture (MC): focuses on sales outside the organization, rather than on internal operations, in the environment. The organizational aim is to make profit by competitive market. It is a form of culture that emphasizes on achieving mission effectiveness. Competition is a common condition for growing people, which creates less flexibility in personal relationships. Success metrics are based on individuals 'goal objectives, which are typically carried out through activities that link the organization to its market or (external) stakeholders. The Hierarchy Culture (HC): has a structure, uniform rules and procedures, strict supervision and well defined obligations. Within the organization, consistency is a prime orientation that should be preserved by a collection of fixed and tight rules and regulation. Success requirements are based on the degree to which individuals are able to execute their tasks correctly in line with organizations laid down procedures.
Borman & Motowidlo (1997) defined job performance (JP) as "effectiveness with which job occupants execute their assigned tasks, that realizes the fulfillment of organization's vision while rewarding organization and individual proportionately." JP from the perspective of a public institution refers to specific tasks accomplished within a standard unit of time by an employee that contributes to the achievement of organizational goal. Akta et al. (2011) contend that as a pattern of beliefs, opinions, value and traits corporate organizational culture has a profound influence on organizational behavior and outcome. Several research scholars in this research field postulate that workplace culture has a substantial positive effect on productivity and performance (Ojo

Organizational culture (OC) and organizational commitment
The concepts of OC and organizational commitment remain one of the thoroughly researched variables in organizational behaviour literature. Cameron and Quinn (2006) argue that OC is important tools that assist in clarifying the vision of the organization, gives collective identity to members of the organization and deepens employee commitment. Organizational commitment according Mowday et al., (2013) is the degree of acceptance and the trust an employee repose towards the organizational vision; the desire to make significant contributions for the success of the organization; and the seriousness with which the employee desires to be and remain part of the organization. Tahere et al. (2012) postulate that educational sensitization, frequent interaction with people as well as intrinsic and extrinsic rewards are essential means of creating employee commitment within the organization.
Allen & Meyer (1990) identified three distinctive forms of organizational commitment which are affective, normative and continuance commitment. Affective commitment (AC) is linked with the emotional attachment of the employee towards the organization. AC is rooted in the demographic characteristics as well as the working experiences of the individual (Cohen, 1999 Carvalho et al. (2018) studied the relationship between OC, organizational commitment and job satisfaction in the Brazilian banking sector and concluded that CC has significant relationship with affective, normative and continuance commitment and the three dimensions of job satisfaction. However, HC had no significant relationship with affective commitment but had significant relationship with normative and continuance commitment and the dimensions of job satisfaction. ADC had no significant relationship with continuance commitment and job satisfaction but had significant relationship with affective and normative commitment. Finally, the researchers reported that MC had significant effect on continuance commitment but had weak correlation with affective and normative commitment as well as the dimensions of job satisfaction.
Ch et al. (2013) conducted a comparative study on the impact of OC on organizational commitment in both public and private sector and reported that CC had the most significant relationship with organizational commitment dimensions (affective, normative and continuance). ADC and MC dimensions were found to have a weak but statistically significant relationship with normative commitment only. HC on the other hand had no statistically significant effect on affective, normative and continuance commitment. However, in the context of the MMDAs we hypothesize that: Hypothesis 2: Organizational culture (OC) will have a positive significant influence on organizational commitment.
Hypothesis 2a: Organizational culture (OC) will have positive effect on affective commitment Hypothesis 2b: Organizational culture(OC) will have positive effect on normative commitment Hypothesis 2c: Organizational culture (OC) will have positive effect on continuance commitment

Organizational commitment and job performance (JP)
Indridason & Wang (2008) argue that when workers are actively involved in the organizational decision making processes, it has the capacity of increasing their level of commitment to the organization. The logic is that they feel part of the entire decision making process, they see themselves as key and integral to the successful achievement of the organizational objectives. In such circumstances employee are mostly willing to go beyond their normal line of duty (show citizenship behaviour) to ensure that the organization succeeds, which leads to increased employee performance. Many studies have found positive correlations between organizational commitment and employee behaviors such as increased employee commitment in performing tasks, enhanced task performance, increased desire to engage in organizational citizenship behaviours and higher quality service delivery ( The study further showed that all three dimensions of commitment significantly affected JP. In a study by Nirushan, (2017) which investigated the impact organizational commitment on employee performance in banks in Trincomalee District, a positive relationship was reported between the variables. In a comparative analysis, the researcher demonstrated that the relationship between organizational commitment and JP within public banks was higher than the nonpublic banks among others. Also, in a study that investigated the link between code of ethics and organizational commitment in the public sector of Ghana, Kumasey et al. (2016) revealed that code of ethics had significant positive effect on organizational commitment of employees. Furthermore, Hafiz (2017), reported a significant relationship between affective, normative and continuance commitment and employee performance. Therefore, we formulate the following hypothesis that: Hypothesis 3: Organizational commitment will have positive influence on job performance (JP). Hypothesis 3a: Affective commitment will relate positively with job performance (JP) Hypothesis 3b: Normative commitment will relate positively with job performance (JP) Hypothesis 3c: Continuance commitment will relate positively with job performance (JP)

The mediating role of organizational commitment
A mediator variable clarifies the relationship between an independent variable and an outcome or dependent variable. Mediators help to explain better the effect of the independent variable on the outcome or dependent variable and why such impact happens   Iriqat (2016) investigated the impact of organizational culture (OC) dimensions (organizational values, beliefs, norms and expectations) on job satisfaction and the mediating role of organizational commitment in Palestine. The results of this empirical study showed that there was direct effect of organizational values on job satisfaction as well as indirect effect when organizational commitment mediated this relationship. In the same study however, there was no indirect effect of OC dimensions of organizational beliefs, norms and expectations on job satisfaction when organizational commitment mediates this relationship.
Also, Nikpour (2017) showed that beyond the direct effect of OC on organizational performance, the indirect effect of OC on organizational performance through the mediating role of organizational commitment was significantly greater than the direct effect. Furthermore, Dewi et al. (2019) investigated the mediation function of organizational commitment on the influence of OC and leadership on employees' performance in Indonesia, and reported among others that organizational commitment serves as a mediator between OC and employees' performance. On the basis of the above studies we propose that in the context of the MMDAs in Ghana: Hypothesis 4: Organizational commitment will mediate the relationship between organizational culture(OC)and job performance (JP) Hypothesis 4a: Affective commitment will mediate the relationship between organizational culture (OC) and job performance (JP) Hypothesis 4b: Normative commitment will mediate the relationship between organizational culture (OC) and job performance (JP) Hypothesis 4c: Continuance commitment will mediate the relationship between organizational culture (OC) and job performance (JP) Hair et al. (2010) stated that "a moderating effect occurs when a third variable or construct changes the relationship between two related variable/constructs". Ullah et al. (2011) suggest that POP and workplace politics are a common feature of both public and private organizations. Gallagher and Laird (2008), argue that POP can be conceptualized according to the degree by which an employee perceive their organizational environment as breeding unfair and unjust attitudes that encourages self-interest of a select few. POP is that part of the organizational life which has to with power, authority and influence (Hu,  . In other words POP has the potential of eroding the emotional attachment of employees' towards the organization which negatively affects employee JP. Scholars have made conscious efforts aimed at assessing its individual as well as its interactive effect on employees in different organizational settings.

Perception of organizational politics (POP) as a moderator
Mensah (2013) in a study of some selected public institutions in Ghana reported a negative correlation between employee's POP and organizational commitment. Furthermore, a negative relationship was reported for POP and organizational citizenship behaviour (OCB). However, a positive relationship was identified between organizational commitment and OCB. Vigoda-Gadot & Talmud (2010) investigated the moderating effect of trust and social support on the relationship between organizational politics and job outcomes. The outcome of the study showed that trust and social support moderator the relationship between POP and job satisfaction, organizational commitment, stress and burnout. The researchers demonstrated in their work that trust and social support mitigate the adverse effect of POP on job outcomes.
In an empirical study, Hu (2010) assessed the moderating effect of job insecurity on organizational politics and employee commitment. The findings of the researched revealed that POP relates negatively with affective and normative commitment. However, a positive correlation was reported between organizational politics and continuance commitment in the same study.
Furthermore,  studied the relationship between conscientiousness and JP using POP as a moderator. The study outcome revealed that conscientiousness correlates with JP among employees perceiving moderate to high levels of organizational politics but does not correlate with performance among workers perceiving low levels of organizational politics. In addition, POP was negatively linked to JP only among employees of moderate to low conscientiousness levels.
Moreover, Sharafi & Seyedameri (2019) investigated the correlation between organizational justice and job satisfaction among workers in Iran using POP as a moderator. The outcome of the research showed that POP moderates organizational justice and job satisfaction relationship. As a result, we formulate the following hypotheses: Hypothesis 5: POP will moderate the relationship between organizational commitment and job performance (JP) Hypothesis 5a: POP will moderate the relationship between affective commitment and job performance(JP) such that the relationship is weakened Hypothesis 5b: POP will moderate the relationship between normative commitment and job performance(JP) such that the relationship is weakened Hypothesis 5c: POP will moderate the relationship between continuance commitment and job performance(JP) such that the relationship is weakened

Participants, sample and procedures
The participants for this study are workers from the (MMDAs) in Western Region of Ghana. They are made up of Metropolitan, Municipal District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) or Mayors, Heads of Department (HOD), middle and junior staff from 16 departments. Given the complexity of the survey sample, we used a multi-stage sampling method (three main stages) that included proportionate and simple random sampling methods to select representative participants from the different departments within each of the selected MMDAs. We distributed 730 serial numbered questionnaires to respondents and received 556 valid questionnaires indicating 76% response rate. Out of the 556 participants surveyed for the study, 1

Measures
The questionnaire used for this study had four components measuring OC, organizational commitment, POP and JP. Organizational culture (OC) was measured using the Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument (OCAI) adapted from Cameroun and Quinn (2006). This instrument has 24 items with 6 each measuring clan, adhocracy, market and hierarchical cultures. These scales were adapted for the following reasons. Firstly, in the literature, the instruments are widely accepted and used as valid and reliable for measuring the variables used in this study. Secondly, the development of the instruments was influenced by theoretical underpinnings of organizational cultureperformance studies. Thirdly, they address multidimensional nature of the variables used in this study. Every item on the scales was measured on five point Likert scale ranging from 1 -5. In line with literature, the reliability results from the pilot testing of the instruments were consistent with the reliabilities established in the literature. The Cronbach alpha 'α' for the scales were Job performance (α=0.84), perception of organizational politics (α=0.81), clan culture (α=0.87), market culture (α=0.80), adhocracy culture (α=0.79), hierarchy culture (α=0.81), affective commitment (α=0.83), continuance commitment (α=0.79) and normative culture (α=0.80).

Data collection
Considering the comprehensive nature of the instruments and the desire to obtain reliable data, data was collected in three phases following repeated cross-sectional approach. In phase one, data on organizational culture and commitment was collected. In phases two and three, data on POP and job performance respectively were collected from the same participants involved in phase one. To ensure that the same respondents participated in all of the phases, we followed three approaches.
First, we coded each of the distributed questionnaires with the sampled MMDAs and specific departments/units codes. For instance, codes 010101 represented respondent one (01) from central administration (01) of MMDA one (01) and 020101 represented respondents one (01) from central administration (01) of MMDA one (02) respectively. Second, in all the phases, data on demographic characteristics were collected to allow for crosscheck. Finally, we matched each of the questionnaires from the three phases to become one. Data collection took approximately five months with roughly one-month interval after each phase. Ethical issues were considered especially using informed consent approach and participants' confidentiality.

Data Analysis
We used three analytical tools -Excel 2016, Amos version 22.0 and STATA version 15.0 to analyze our data. We followed series of analytical procedures and estimations to analyze the data. First, with the aid of excel, we crosschecked participants' unique codes with their demographic data and integrated the three phase data to become a complete dataset. Second, we used STATA software to calculate the coefficient of the fractal dimension in order to verify the stability and consistency of the data. Third, we used AMOS software and conducted confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) to establish the authenticity and relevance of the construct validity of the scales. Fourth, we used STATA software for performing hierarchical regression analysis to test the hypotheses guiding this study. As a general principle, we followed  procedures test for mediation and moderation analysis (Grotta & Bellocco, 2013).

Preliminary Results
We performed series of analysis as a preliminary analysis to understand the properties of the data and establish the validity and reliability of the data. Tables 1-3 present the preliminary results for this study. The CFA results presented in Table 1 show that the standardized factor loadings are greater than the required 0.60 and the t-values are significant for all the items. The correlation results in Table 2 show that OC dimensions and organizational commitment correlated positively with each other and JP. In addition, the dimensions of organizational commitment, JP correlated positively while POP correlated negatively with the rest of the variables. The composite reliabilities of the scales revealed that the reliabilities of the scales were all above the generally recommended 0.700 suggesting that the instruments are reliable. Similarly, the validity analysis revealed that the average variance extracted (AVE) for the scales were above the recommended threshold (0.50) for acceptable AVE (Gaskin and Lim, 2016) indicating evidence of convergence validity. The fact that the square of AVE (bolded figures in the correlation matrix) were above the inter-factor correlations among the constructs provide evidence of discriminant validity (Fornell & Larcker, 1981; Gaskin & Lim, 2016). The results in Table 2 provide prior support for testing the proposed hypotheses guiding the study.
Finally, conducting CFA analysis to establish model fitness using AMOS version 22.0. The results show that the model has goodness-of-fit index (GFI) of 0.951, comparative fit index (CFI) of 0.964, root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) of 0.049 and adjusted goodness-of-fit index (AGFI) 0.939. The results provide further evidence that the model is fit for testing the hypothesis guiding this study. According to Table 3, this study used a sample of 556 participants drawn from the MMDAs in the Western Region of Ghana. JP had the highest mean scores while continuance commitment had the lowest mean scores (Table 3).

Hypothesis testing 4.1. Testing the main effect
In Table 4, the results in model show other determinants of JP. Gender, age,position, location and educational background are among the key determinants of JP in the MMDAs in Ghana.In model 2 of Table  4. The results show that beyond these factors (as presented in model 1) OC dimensions -ADC, CC and MC had significantly positive effects on JP but not HC dimension. This findingsprovide support for hypotheses 1a, 1b and 1c, which hypothesized that OC(CC, ADC and MC) will exert positive effects on JP but rejects hypothesis 1d which posits that HC will exert positive effect on JP. Generally, OC hadpositive effect on JP. ***,*,* indicate significant at 10%, 5% and 1% levels of significance. Table 5. Analysis of organizational culture (OC), organizational commitment and job performance (JP) relationship ***,**,* indicate significant at 10%, 5% and 1% levels of significance. Table 5 shows the results of the relationship among OC dimensions, organizational commitment dimensions and JP. Using affective commitment as the dependent variable, the results in model 2 of Table 5 show that the dimensions of OC had significantly positive effects on affective commitment, controlling for other factors. Similarly, the results in model 4 show that dimensions of OC had significant positive effects on continuance commitment, other factors held constant. With normative commitment as the dependent variable, the results in model 6 of Table 5show that OC dimensions had significant positive effects on normative commitment while controlling for other organizational commitment determinants. The findings support hypothesis 2, which states that OC dimensions exert positive effects on organizational commitment. Furthermore, model 8 of JP results show that organizational commitment dimensions (affective, normative and continuance)had significantly positive effects on JP. These findings provide support for hypothesis 3, which states that organizational commitment has positive effects on JP among the MMDAs in Ghana. Table 6 presents the results of the mediating role of organizational commitment in OC and JP relationships.      With affective commitment as the mediator variable, the results in model 3 of Table 6 revealed that except HC, all the other constructs of OC is significant but with a relatively lower coefficients compared with the results in model 2 indicating partial mediation of affective commitment for CC, ADC and MC and JP relationships. Using continuance commitment as the mediator variable, the results in model 4 revealed that the coefficient of continuance commitment is significant indicating that continuance commitment mediates the relationship between OC dimensions and JP. In model 5 of Table 6, the results show that normative commitment mediate the relationship between OC dimensions and JP. The results in models 4 and 5 show a partial mediation for continuance and normative commitment. The results support hypothesis 4 that states organizational commitment have a mediating effect in the relationship between OC and JP. The results in model 6 of Table 6 show that all the three organizational commitment dimensions jointly mediate the relationship between OC and JP.

Testing the moderating effect of perception of organizational politics (POP)
The moderating effects of POP on the relationship between the dimensions of organizational commitment and JP is presented in Table 7.The results in models 3 of Table 7 show that the coefficient of the interaction terms of POP and affective commitment is significant while the coefficients of POP and affective commitment are all negative and significant suggesting that POP weakens the positive relationship between affective commitment and JP. Thus, this finding supports hypothesis 5a which states that POP will moderate the relationship between affective commitment and JP such that the relationship is weakened.
Similarly, the results in models 5 of Table 7 show that the coefficient of the interaction terms of POP and normative commitment is significant while the coefficients of POP and normative commitment are all negative and significant suggesting that POP weakens the positive relationship between normative commitment and JP. This finding supports hypothesis 5b which states that POP will moderate the relationship between normative commitment and JP and thus weaken the relationship. Finally, the results in models 7 of Table 7 show that the coefficient of the interaction terms of POP and continuance commitment is insignificant. In addition, the coefficients of POP and continuance commitment are insignificant suggesting that POP could not moderate the relationship between continuance commitment and JP. This finding rejects hypothesis 5cwhich states that POP will moderate the relationship between continuance commitment and JP and thus weaken this relationship.  ***,**,* indicate significant at 10%, 5% and 1% levels of significance. Figs. 2 and 3 show linear graphs of the moderating effects of POP on the relationships between affective commitment and JP; normative commitment and JP. Graph for the relationship between continuance commitment and JP was not presented since POP's moderating influence was not significant.

Moderating Graphs
As depicted in the graphs, higher values of POP (depicted with red lines) show low relationship between affective commitment and JP while lower values of POP (depicted with blue lines) show high relationship among the variables (see Fig. 2). Thus, POP weakens the relationship between affective commitment and JP.
Similarly, Fig. 3 shows that higher values of POP show low relationship between normative commitment and JP while lower values of POP show high relationship among the variables depicting that POP weakens the relationship between normative commitment and JP.

Effect of organizational culture (OC) on job performance (JP)
Our results show that CVF OC dimensions of clan (CC), adhocracy (ADC) and market (MC) had significant positive influence on the JP of the employees. This findings is at variance with the earlier research findings of Chatman et al. (2014) which claims that all four forms of CVF-based organizational cultural types have significant positive influence on performance. The outcome of our study also has similarities with the research findings of Joseph & Kibera (2019) with the major differentiation on the effect of hierarchy culture (HC) on performance. This is because contrary to their findings we did not find support for hierarchy culture. In this regard, our findings is consistent with earlier research by Fekete & Bocskei (2011) which identified hierarchy culture as having adverse effect on performance.
As stated earlier, we did not find support for hierarchy culture in the MMDAs. This is because as indicated by Cameron & Quinn (2006) HC is characterized by strict laid down procedures and this often leads to very rigid administrative bottlenecks especially in public institutions like the MMDAs in Ghana. However, this militates against the MMDAs ability to adjust to changes within their environment which adversely affects performance. Moreover, many Ghanaians are uncomfortable with strict bureaucratic and administrative processes which are alien to the traditional Ghanaian way of life. Familiarity and human face most of the time replaces rigid laid down procedures. It is therefore not surprising that we identified clan culture as the dominant cultural type that enhances performance within the MMDA since it focuses on human relationships. This is in line with the findings of Berrio (2003) and Ch et al. (2013) which found clan culture as the most preferred culture as against adhocracy, market and hierarchy cultures because it relates positively with employee attitudes and behaviour. Many employees within the MMDAs preferred clan culture because it values team work, participation, consensus building and has deep concern for employees welfare. Steyrer et al., (2008) argue that clan culture lays emphasis on social cohesion, collective responsibility and loyalty as well as promotes working environment that focuses on the employees. In the nut shell as the name suggest clan culture operates like a family. Shahzad et al. (2013) established the importance of workplace culture in influencing performance and argues that a good organizational culture is a means for achieving excellent performance and consistent accomplishments that support our findings.

Mediating effect of organizational commitment
To establish the mediating effect of organizational commitment on the relationship between OC and JP, we first find out the effect of OC on organizational commitment and that of organizational commitment on JP. The outcome of our study showed that OC (CC, ADC, MC and HC) all had significant positive effect on the three organizational commitment dimensions. Our research findings is contrary to that of Ch. et al. Wambui & Gichanga (2018) reported that OC is fundamental in determination of organizational commitment as well as employee satisfaction that is positively linked to their task performance. We therefore postulate that a serene working environment which promotes strong corporate culture within the MMDAs in Ghana is an essential tool for encouraging workers to be committed and exhibit high levels of performance.
Furthermore, the outcome of the mediation analysis revealed that affective, normative and continuance commitment mediated the relationship between OC and JP. This gives the clearest indication that organizational commitment is a mediator in the OC and JP relationship. The result thus gives further support to earlier research findings of Nikpour (2017) and Dewi et al. (2019) that organizational commitment is a mediator in the relationship between OC and performance. The commitment of the employees of the MMDAs is therefore an important mechanism through which we can understand the effect that the corporate culture within the MMDAs have on JP. In line with the earlier argument of Wambui & Gichanga, (2018) we postulate that OC is essential in building and sustaining employee commitment within the MMDAs in Ghana. This is because once the employees accept and share the core values and norms of the MMDAs the greater their commitment and performance.

Moderating effect of POP
Our research findings indicate that POP had observable moderating effect on affective and normative commitment thus weakening the positive relationship existing between organizational commitment and JP of employees within the MMDAs. This gives further support to earlier studies by Vigoda & Drory, (2006) Samad, (2011b) Sarminah & Shahrul, (2011) and Hashimi & Akhtar, (2016) which reported that POP often leads to lower levels of commitment and performance on the part of workers. It is also corroborate the research findings of Hu (2010) who reported negative relationship between affective and normative commitment and POP but positive relationship between POP and continuance commitment. However, POP could not moderate the relationship between continuance commitment and JP within the MMDAs in Ghana. In simplistic terms, POP did not weaken the positive relationship between continuance commitment and JP. Meyer & Allen (1997) argue that employees with continuance commitment always weigh the social and economic cost of leaving their organization. This largely explains why in the mists of high political behaviours within the MMDAs some employees still stick with the organization. Ghana is a developing country with huge unemployment rate. The public sector which the MMDAs belong to offers the safest form of employment though with low salaries. Therefore, the lack of job opportunities in the country largely explains why employees still remain with the MMDAs even when POP is high.
The outcome of our study generally demonstrates that POP moderates the relationship between organizational commitment and JP and weakens the positive correlation existing between these variables. This gives credence to the assertion of Weber et al. (2009) that the tendency to political behaviour in organizations decreases the organizational commitment of workers, contributes to work aversion, and has adverse effect on performance. It must be emphasized that the high political behaviours within the MMDAs contributed to the conclusion drawn by Crook  However, the high political behaviour within the MMDAs in Ghana is partly due to the fact that Ghana's local governments administrative set up gives the president and the national governing party broad, centralized power over the affairs of all districts in the country. Article 243 (1) of the 1992 of the constitution of Ghana allows the President to appoint District Chief Executives (DCEs) equivalent of mayors elsewhere as political heads of the MMDAs. The head of the Local Government Service a public institution responsible for recruitment and coordination of the activities of local government employees in Ghana is also appointed by the president. The political appointment and affiliation of these people within the ruling party which according to Gyampo (2015) is due to the Winner Takes All politics (WTA) we identified breeds political behaviours within the MMDAs in Ghana. This is largely as a result of unfair distributive system with respect to rewards and other incentives by the MMDCES. The mayors are perceived to giving preferential treatment to their favorites mostly workers believed to be affiliated to their political parties. This retards efficient and effective local governance and decentralization in Ghana as it negatively affects employee commitment and performance, since employees are the conduits through which the MMDAs achieve their constitutional mandate.

Theoretical and practical contributions
The outcome of our study validates the fact that balanced CVF typologies of clan (CC), adhocracy (ADC), market (MC) and hierarchy culture (HC) is necessary for better employee job performance (JP). The study also revealed that clan culture (CC) is the most important culture for achieving better in-role performance within the MMDAs in Ghana. Hierarchical culture however retards employees' job performance. These findings are very innovative and contribute enormously to literature for two main reasons: (a) The results contributes to knowledge regarding which cultural values influence performance within the Ghanaian public sector framework as well as the type of cultural orientation that impedes performance. This is because no theoretical and empirical evidence exist in literature with respect to the cultural values that substantially affect job performance of workers within the framework of Ghanaian public sector. The findings of this study therefore fill this research gap; (b) Earlier research works by Calciolari et al. (2018) for example had found significant support for hierarchy culture with respect to its effect on performance in a study conducted in Italy which is at variance with our findings. This brings to the foe the importance of the cultural context within which a study is conducted as this study in particular was done in a western context which has a different national culture and working environment from the Ghanaian context. Most institutions in western countries normally have strict administrative laid down procedures which is a dominant feature of their workplace and national culture and fits their employees' way of life. This partly explains why a number of studies in advanced countries found support for hierarchy culture. On the contrary in Ghana, most people are 'allergic' to strict bureaucratic processes which is a bit alien to the traditional Ghanaian way of life. Familiarity and human face sometimes replace rigid laid down procedures. People feel comfortable in a family-like environment which partly explains why we identified clan culture as the dominant cultural value that affects performance. By highlighting the unique contributions of national culture and organizational context in determining which cultural orientation will influence performance we make great contribution to literature. Secondly, we have also shown that organizational commitment mediates the relationship between OC and JP. The intermediary role of organizational commitment in aiding our comprehension of the processes through which CVF-based organizational culture typologies influences job performance is an innovative contribution to extant literature. This is because it gives researchers in-depth understanding of the role of commitment in explaining culture and job performance relationship in an African context especially Ghana since no study has explored this relationship within the Ghanaian public sector.
Also, in this study, we have done a verification of the moderating role of POP with respect to the correlation between employee commitment and job performance and demonstrated that POP generally acts as a moderator in this relationship. In this verification process, we have provided further support to the research findings of Hu (2010) that POP is negatively related to affective and normative commitment but relates positively with continuance commitment. In the sense that, in our study POP as a moderator weakened the positive relationship existing between affective and normative commitments and job performance but could not weaken the relationship between continuance commitment and job performance. Even though earlier empirical research by scholars such as Vigoda & Drory, (2006) Samad, (2011b) Sarminah & Shahrul, (2011) and Hashimi & Akhtar, (2016) alludes to the fact that POP adversely affects commitment and performance, the outcome of our study shows that when used as a moderator, not all dimensions of commitment is negatively affected by POP. We also show that in a developing country like Ghana, in spite of the negative repercussions of workplace politics on an employee within the public sector due to limited job opportunities people stick to their jobs unlike in most advance countries where an employees' consider resignation.
In reality, we have shown that culture management can bring about major improvement in the performance of local government employees in Ghana's public sector. MMDAs in Ghana tend to have structural rigidities and bureaucratic processes which make it difficult for them to adapt internally and react quickly to alterations in their environment and thus inhabit their employee's output. In this respect, Ghana's Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development (MLGRD) should have a second look at the rigid administrative procedures within the MMDAs as it impedes the ability of the staff to perform effectively.
Secondly, looking at the towering role of clan culture in enhancing employee performance in our findings, we recommend the creation of an organizational environment that is cozy, family like and encourages consensus building where employee's welfare issues is a priority to be one of the major focus of MMDCEs and management of the MMDAs.
Furthermore, since our findings largely alludes to the fact that the political appointment of MMDCEs and their affiliation with the ruling party as result of the Winner Takes All policy breeds political behaviours within the MMDAs in Ghana, the Government and parliament must take steps to amend article 243 (1) of the constitution and allow for a non-partisan election of MMDCEs at the district level as it is done for the Assembly members at the electoral area level. This is likely to help reduce the POP level within the MMDAs and enhance employee commitment and performance. Finally, because POP has a major impact on organizational outcomes by interfering with institutional processes like incentives and promotions which can increase or reduces efficiency and performance at both organizational and individual levels, MMDCEs as heads of MMDAs should provide leadership by creating and sustaining enabling working environment that is fair and just to their employees. Since POP is strongly linked to justice and fairness which can increase or decrease employee commitment and performance.