Role of inclusive leadership in employees' OCB in hospitality industry: a social cognitive perspective

Abstract

PurposeThe success of an organisation is very much determined by the organisational citizenship behaviour of its employees, and the leader plays a substantial role in strengthening this positive behaviour as it helps in disseminating the best practises amongst its stakeholders. The aim of this study is to examine if psychological ownership mediates the association between inclusive leadership and organisational citizenship behaviour. Additionally, it is examined whether leader–follower value congruence has a moderating role in the influence of inclusive leadership on the psychological ownership of the employees.Design/methodology/approachData from 292 employees working in Indian hotels were collected utilising supervisor–supervisee dyadic design. The study utilised partial least squares (PLS-SEM) to test the hypothesised associations.FindingsThe outcomes of the study found that psychological ownership acts as a complementary mediator between inclusive leadership and organisational citizenship behaviour and the moderating impact of leader–follower value congruence strengthens the association concerning inclusive leadership and psychological ownership. The study’s findings indicate that leader–follower value congruence is of utmost importance in strengthening follower's constructive behaviour.Practical implicationsThe study offers relevant inputs and measures for HR professionals in the Indian hospitality industry to acknowledge, strengthen and reward inclusive leadership, along with ways of promoting leader–follower value congruence that have significant positive outcomes in terms of the improvement in the sense of ownership and citizenship behaviour amongst the employees.Originality/valueIn the post-pandemic scenario, the hospitality industry has picked up the pace of growth, leading to an increased requirement for talented resources in the industry. Keeping this background in mind, the top management must keep an eye on their inclusive leaders, as they are the pillars in creating a culture of ownership and positive behaviours in the organisation.