Ethical leadership and organisational citizenship behaviour: the mediating role of employee commitment and the moderating role of Islamic work ethic

IntroductionOrganisational citizenship behaviour (OCB) is important for organisational effectiveness because employees frequently contribute beyond formal role requirements. Although ethical leadership has been associated with citizenship behaviour, less is known about the attitudinal mechanism through which this relationship operates and the conditions under which it becomes stronger.MethodsThis study examines whether employee commitment mediates the relationship between ethical leadership and OCB and whether Islamic Work Ethic (IWE) strengthens this indirect relationship. Data were collected from 350 employees across public-sector and large organisational settings in Qatar and analysed using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) with bootstrapping.ResultsEthical leadership was positively associated with employee commitment, which in turn predicted both citizenship behaviour directed toward individuals and toward the organisation. Islamic Work Ethic strengthened the ethical leadership, commitment relationship and the corresponding indirect relationships with both forms of citizenship behaviour.DiscussionThe study extends ethical leadership and OCB research within an Arab and Islamic organisational context. The findings clarify the commitment-based mechanism linking ethical leadership to discretionary behaviour and identify Islamic Work Ethic as a follower-value condition that strengthens this process.