This study sought to explore the causal links between materialistic incentives and powers granted by the senior management of public relations practitioners, the quality of their relationship, and the role of these links as a mediator between the locus of control and job performance. In this study, the researcher based its analyses on the theory of attribution, which depends on the cognitive process that the individual uses when trying to provide causal explanations for behavior, closely related to the content of the subject of locus of control emphasized in this study. The researcher also employed the Excellence theory of Public Relations, which embodies the ideal relationship between the Public Relations Department and senior management. The latter provides the necessary power for this department to determine its real and influential role within the institution. Additionally, the researcher's employed the Role theory, which builds perceptions of the importance and sequence of roles in the organization, and predicts people's actions according to their roles. Finally, the researcher relied on the Leader-Member exchange theory (LMX), which reflects the quality of the relationship between senior management and public relations practitioners and its reflection on organizational behavior in the Palestinian government service sector. The researcher concluded by measuring five different variables through four scientific and approved scales of measurement to obtain accurate and generalizable results. She gauged the independent variable (locus of control) through the multidimensional causality scale of Lefcourt (1981), which is used in all relevant modern research. It measures the locus of control through the dimensions of achievement and affiliation, in proportion to the subject under study. The researcher also measured the dependent variable (job performance) through the role-based performance scale (RBPs) by Brown and others (1998). While for the mediating variable (satisfaction with incentives), the researcher used the multidimensional payment satisfaction measure (Pay Satisfaction Questionnaire) (PSQ) by Heinemann and Schwab (1985). She also relied on measuring the quality of the relationship with the leader (as a second mediating variable) on the LMX scale of Scandora and Grain (1984) while taking into consideration the clauses of the theory of privilege to measure the mediating and third variable (the powers granted by the top management).
The researcher used the quantitative method through the questionnaire to collect data. She conducted a holistic survey of the study community, which included public relations practitioners in all directorates of the government service sector in Jenin and Nablus, with 37 respondents distributed over 19 directorates. The researcher also adopted the path analysis method to link the variables and test the statistical relationships. The study results showed that 91.2% of the respondents had an internal locus of control, while only 8.8% had an external locus of control. The results also showed a statistically significant relationship between both the locus of control and the quality of the relationship with the leader and the locus of control and performance in working teams. Results showed that there is a relationship between performance in work teams and daily job performance, and professional performance. In addition, the researcher found a significant correlation between the quality of the relationship with the leader and the powers granted by the higher management on the one hand and with performance in work teams on the other. The results also indicated no statistically significant differences between the locus of control and the variables of sex, age, years of experience, and monthly income.