Organisational citizenship behaviour in the Islamic financial sector: does Islamic work ethic make sense?

Abstract

The bulk of previous studies have examined the effect of Protestant work ethic on organisational citizenship behaviour. However, little is known about this relationship from an Islamic perspective. Based on other orientation theory, this study aims to examine the relationships between Islamic work ethic and two dimensions of organisational citizenship behaviour. Furthermore, this study investigates whether the hypothesised relationships vary across the demographic variables in Islamic financial organisations. A sample of 273 employees from Islamic financial institutions in Malaysia participated in this study. Partial least square (PLS) technique and ANOVA were utilised to test the hypothesised relationships. The results of this study reveal that Islamic work ethic positively and significantly affects both dimensions of organisational citizenship behaviour. Additionally, the findings of this study demonstrate that the relationship between Islamic work ethic and organisational citizenship behaviour directed towards organisation varies depending on employees' gender, age, education level, tenure, experience and income. Nevertheless, the relationship between Islamic work ethic and organisational citizenship behaviour directed towards individuals does not vary across the demographic variables. Limitations and implications of the study are discussed along with suggestions for future research.