Servant Leadership as Impetus for Teachers' Organisational Citizenship and In-role Behaviours: The Mediation of Felt Obligation

Abstract

Based on the premises of social exchange theory, this study examined servant leadership as an impetus for teachers’ organisational citizenship and in-role behaviours through the mediation of felt obligation. Although several studies have been conducted to investigate the relationship between servant leadership and employees’ performance behaviours, it is unclear why servant leadership would significantly induces employees’ performance behaviours. Data were collected from the teachers working in franchise schools. This study collected primary data using a 5-point Likert survey questionnaire (N=201), ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree. A random sampling technique was applied. Results showed that servant leadership is positively associated with teachers’ organisational citizenship behaviour and in-role behaviour. The effect of servant leadership was more on organisational citizenship than in-role behaviour. Further, felt obligation was found as a bridge thatmediates the relationship between servant leadership and both behaviours. However, like the total effect, the indirect effect of servant leadership was found more on organisational citizenship than in-role behaviour. Overall, based on the social exchange theory, this study offers a mechanism that how the principals of the schools, following the premises of servant leadership theory, induce the teachers through a sense of felt obligation to reciprocate by displaying positive work behaviours.