To read this content please select one of the options below:

Do as I say and do as I do? The mediating role of psychological contract fulfillment in the relationship between ethical leadership and employee extra-role performance

Ifzal Ahmad (School of Business and Management, Karakoram International University, Gilgit, Pakistan)
Magda B.L. Donia (Telfer School of Management, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada)
Asadullah Khan (Faculty of Industrial Management, University of Malaysia Pahang, Pahang, Malaysia)
Muhammad Waris (Faculty of Industrial Management, University of Malaysia Pahang, Pahang, Malaysia)

Personnel Review

ISSN: 0048-3486

Article publication date: 12 September 2018

Issue publication date: 21 January 2019

2516

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of ethical leadership on two important employee extra-role behaviors; organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs) and creative performance (CP). Drawing on social exchange and organizational support theories, psychological contract fulfillment (PCF) was proposed as the mediating mechanism explaining this relationship.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected via questionnaire from 248 employee-supervisor/colleague dyads employed in a large fast-moving consumer goods multinational company in Pakistan. The hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling.

Findings

Supervisors’ ethical leadership style (ELS) was positively related to employees’ OCBs and CP. The predicted mediating role of PCF in the relationship between ELS and extra-role behaviors was also supported.

Research limitations/implications

While it benefitted from dyadic data, a significant limitation of this study is the cross-sectional nature of the data. A noteworthy implication of the findings is the important role that supervisors’ ELS plays in employees’ behaviors within the organization. Furthermore, it appears that ethical leadership is a significant factor in employees’ evaluations of PCF and their ensuing behavioral responses.

Originality/value

This study contributes to addressing the inconsistent findings in prior research on ethical leadership. An additional novel contribution is that it identifies PCF as an underlying mechanism linking ethical leadership and employees’ extra-role behaviors.

Keywords

Citation

Ahmad, I., Donia, M.B.L., Khan, A. and Waris, M. (2019), "Do as I say and do as I do? The mediating role of psychological contract fulfillment in the relationship between ethical leadership and employee extra-role performance", Personnel Review, Vol. 48 No. 1, pp. 98-117. https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-12-2016-0325

Publisher

:

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited

Related articles