The Mediating Role of Culture in the Relationship Between Servant Leadership and Organizational Citizenship Behavior

Abstract

Culture is an important concept that expresses the values of individuals and directs life. While this is the case in social life, a similar evaluation is in question for organizations as well. Because culture is an important factor that shapes the perceptions and therefore the behaviors of the members of the organization. In other words, culture can be characterized as one of the determinants of individual, social and business life. Although leadership is a position that has a decisive effect on the activities of an organization, the perception of leadership in the minds of the members of the organization is effective in showing behaviors beyond expectations along with the behaviors expected from them. Servant leadership in businesses as an organization is also effective in exhibiting organizational citizenship behavior as a behavior beyond expectations. Servant leadership is considered as a type of leadership that dedicates itself to the members of the organization and puts them first. Servant leadership, which is an example of the relationship between the followers and the leader, can be considered as an interaction led by the leader. In this study, it is aimed to discuss the relationship between servant leadership perception and organizational citizenship behavior in the context of employees' cultural characteristics. In accordance with the purpose, a survey was carried out in a large-scale company operating in the building products sector. 76 employees participated in the research. Hypotheses were tested within the framework of the obtained data. It has been determined that there is a significant relationship between servant leadership and organizational citizenship behavior. It has been observed that the cultural characteristics of the employees play a mediating role between servant leadership and organizational citizenship behavior.