William Mapena, Derick de Jongh

Impact of ethical leadership on organizational citizenship behaviour: Group- and individual-level mediators

Introduction

Impact of ethical leadership on organizational citizenship behaviour: group- and individual-level mediators. Discover how ethical leadership positively influences organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) via group- and individual-level mediators. This study offers key insights from a South African water services company.

Abstract

Numerous occurrences of unethical conduct by leaders over the last decade, as well as the proliferation of unethical conduct, have had detrimental effects on their respective organisations and businesses. The undesirable behaviour affects the ability of followers to voluntarily perform beyond contractual obligations. The article examines the impact of ethical leadership on organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB), focusing on individual- and group-level mediators. The domain of ethical leadership and its impact on OCB is not sufficiently investigated. The research focused on a South African state-owned company in the water services industry using a qualitative case study approach. The research findings identified group- and individual-level mediators and found thatethical leadership positively influences employee OCB. The research findings add to the literature on ethical leadership–OCB by examining how followers respond to the sequential mediation effect and by offering insight on integrating mediation variables.

Review

The article addresses a highly pertinent and critical issue concerning the impact of ethical leadership on organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), especially in light of recent decades marred by widespread leadership misconduct. The authors rightly highlight the detrimental effects of unethical conduct on organizations and its specific erosion of followers' willingness to perform beyond contractual obligations. The study’s primary objective, to examine the influence of ethical leadership on OCB through the lens of individual- and group-level mediators, positions it to contribute significantly to an area acknowledged by the authors as insufficiently investigated. This focus on the mediating mechanisms is particularly valuable for understanding the pathways through which ethical leadership fosters positive employee outcomes. The research adopted a qualitative case study approach, centering on a South African state-owned company in the water services industry. This specific contextual choice offers a unique and interesting setting, potentially revealing dynamics not observable in private or alternative cultural contexts. Through this methodology, the study successfully identified both group- and individual-level mediators, affirming a positive relationship between ethical leadership and employee OCB. A notable contribution is the exploration of how followers respond to a "sequential mediation effect," alongside offering insights into the integration of various mediation variables, thereby enriching the theoretical understanding of this complex relationship within the existing literature. While the qualitative case study provides in-depth understanding and rich contextual detail, which is a significant strength, it inherently limits the generalizability of the findings to a broader population or different organizational contexts. Nevertheless, the study successfully adds to the literature by demonstrating the positive influence of ethical leadership on OCB and, more importantly, by elucidating the "how" through the identified sequential and integrated mediation effects. This research offers valuable implications for practitioners in state-owned enterprises and beyond, emphasizing the importance of ethical leadership development to cultivate a culture of discretionary performance. Future research building on these findings with larger samples or mixed-methods approaches could further solidify and generalize these important insights.

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