LEADERSHIP AND PROCEDURAL JUSTICE CLIMATE AS ANTECEDENTS OF UNIT‐LEVEL ORGANIZATIONAL CITIZENSHIP BEHAVIOR

TLDR

Despite extensive research on individual‑level OCB, little is known about unit‑level OCB. The study examines how servant‑leadership and procedural justice climate influence unit‑level OCB in 249 grocery store departments and proposes a multilevel framework for future research. The authors employed structural equation modeling to test a mediation model linking servant‑leadership to unit‑level OCB through procedural justice climate, using both employee and manager ratings. Results generally supported the hypothesized links, showing that servant‑leadership and procedural justice climate are associated with unit‑level OCB, with some variation by rating source and control variables.

Abstract

Despite an abundance of research conducted on organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) at the individual level of analysis, relatively little is known about unit‐level OCB. To investigate the antecedents of unit‐level OCB, data were collected from employees of 249 grocery store departments. Structural equation modeling techniques were used to test a model in which procedural justice climate was hypothesized to partially mediate the relationship between leadership behavior (servant‐leadership) and unit‐level OCB. Models were tested using both employee ratings and manager ratings of unit‐level OCB. The results gave general support for the hypotheses, although there were some differences depending on the source of the OCB ratings (supervisor or subordinate), whether the type of department was controlled for, and whether a common method variance factor was included. Overall, the evidence generally supported the association of both servant‐leadership and procedural justice climate with unit‐level OCB. Building on the current study, a multilevel framework for the study of OCB is presented in conjunction with a discussion of future research directions in four specific areas.