Follow the Leader? the Effect of Commissioners from Eurosceptic Countries on Commission Staff Attitudes

The socialisation of staff in International Organisation (IOs) is central to our understanding of the internal workings of these organisations and their decision-making. A substantial literature in International Relations research is concerned with the question whether, and when, employment in an IO induces the acquisition of internationalist attitudes. In this paper, we argue that individuals in prominent organisational positions are likely to have an important influence on the socialisation of IO staff. This builds on research in organisation psychology and leadership studies maintaining that leaders can represent a key factor influencing staff’s role orientations and identity perceptions.

We assess the empirical validity this theoretical proposition by comparing the same respondents’ opinions across two waves of a large-scale survey conducted within the European Commission in 2008 and 2014. Identification of leadership effects on Commission’s AD-level staff derives from changes over the 2009-2014 period in top political (i.e. Commissioners) and administrative (i.e. Directors-General) leadership positions within the Commission. Our main findings show that a Commissioner from a more Eurosceptic country causes a statistically significant decline in AD-level staff’s internationalist attitudes. It also has a negative effect on staff members’ opinion that decision-making authority in specific policy areas should lie with the Commission rather than the Member States. No similar significant effects are observed for changes in Directors-General, which is consistent with the important institutional differences between both types of leadership positions.