Social Identity Theory Of Leadership Research Articles

Fostering security-related citizenship through the employee-supervisor relationship: An examination of supervisor security embodiment

Organizational information security performance is increasingly dependent on employees’ security-related citizenship behaviors that stretch beyond the scope of formal organizational prescription and control. Unfortunately, cultivating enactment of these valued behaviors has proven challenging for many companies. The literature has recognized workplace relationships as important determinants of behavioral security outcomes and extra-role security behaviors (ERBs) in particular. Taken further, an employee's relationship with the immediate supervisor is recognized as one of the most influential relational factors shaping a variety of workplace behaviors, including those related to security. Consistent with these notions, scholars have called for making the employee-supervisor relationship a more central component of behavioral security research and practice. Currently however, beyond recognition of this relationship's importance, the knowledge base is unclear about how it shapes ERB enactment. Because employees view supervisors as both organizational agents and as individuals in their own rights, this relationship has the potential to drive productive or counterproductive security behaviors, depending on how aligned the supervisor's security values are with those of the organization. Yet, the security literature has given surprisingly little consideration to the notion that employees can differ in the extent to which they perceive supervisors as embodying organizational information security values. Responding to this gap, the current study examines how employee-supervisor relations and perceived security-related value alignment between supervisors and the broader organization shape employees’ commitment to organizational information security and ultimately, ERB enactment. Grounded in the social identity theory of leadership (SITL), a research model is developed that positions high-quality employee-supervisor exchange as a direct antecedent of affective commitment to organizational information security, which then serves as a central intrinsic motivational mechanism driving ERB enactment. Further, rooted in SITL's principles on leader prototypicality and supervisor organizational embodiment, employee-perceived value alignment between the immediate supervisor and the organization as a whole—referred to here as supervisor security embodiment (SSE)—is introduced as a critical boundary condition influencing the extent to which employee-supervisor relations drive commitment. Results from model testing empirically demonstrate the value of SSE in explicating how this important relationship shapes workplace ERB enactment, through its influence on affective commitment to organizational information security performance.

Leader Group Prototypicality: A Replication of Average Member Versus Ideal-Type Operationalization Effects

Core to the social identity theory of leadership is leader group prototypicality (LGP), the perception of the leader as embodying shared collective (e.g., team, organization) identity. Steffens, Munt, van Knippenberg, Platow, and Haslam’s meta-analysis showed that LGP operationalized as embodying the ideal-type of the group (ideal-type prototypicality, ITP) is more strongly related to indicators of leadership effectiveness than LGP operationalized as embodying the average group member (average member prototypicality, AMP). However, to support these conclusions Steffens et al. could rely only on between-study comparisons based on coding of LGP operationalizations. It is therefore possible that AMP versus ITP operationalizations covaried with other study differences. To address this issue, we conducted two replication tests relying on within-study comparisons. A scenario experiment and a survey focused on the relationship of both operationalizations of LGP with what in the social identity theory of leadership is a proximal outcome of LGP: trust in the leader. Replicating Steffens et al.'s finding, both studies showed that LGP is more strongly related to trust when it is operationalized as ITP rather than AMP.

A group member's desire to lead partially depends on their group identification

Research on the social identity theory of leadership and identity leadership has found that group identification and related needs influence how they view leadership and leaders within groups. Inspired by these theories, three studies (and two pilot studies) investigated whether group identification relates to whether a group member wants to lead a specific group. Furthermore, the present research investigated whether this relationship still occurred after accounting for individual-level constructs related to leader emergence, such as a person's motivation to lead, leader identity, or other relevant constructs. Study 1 found that a group member's decision to pursue or decline a leadership opportunity is related to both their group identification and individual-level constructs. Study 2 found that how important a group member thought it was to pursue a leadership opportunity differed based on their group identification. Study 3 conceptually replicated this result and found support for an indirect effect: group identification influences how important it is for a person to become a leader of that group, which then increases the likelihood that they pursue a leadership opportunity within that group. This indirect effect remained after including relevant individual-level constructs. Overall, group identification indirectly relates to whether a person wants to become a leader of a specific group.

How Executive Boards Set the Stage for Unethical Behavior in the Financial Sector

Unethical behavior in the financial sector is a common and costly phenomenon. The main purpose of this study was to examine how ethical board leadership in the financial sector relates to the ethical climate and incidents of unethical workplace behavior. Surprisingly few studies have examined whether ethical leadership of the top management of organizations relates to lower levels of unethical behavior displayed by organizational members at the work floor. Moreover, the few existing studies have used generic measures of ethical leadership which provide little insight into concrete and visible leadership behaviors that should be displayed by board members to build an ethical climate. Building on Ethical Leadership Theory, Signaling Theory, and the Social Identity Theory of Leadership, we examined whether employees’ perceptions of the board’s commercial focus, unjustified board pay and the board’s focus on consumers’ interests related to an instrumental ethical climate in financial organizations, and indirectly to the incidence of observed unethical behavior. The Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets collaborated with the authors of this paper to develop an online survey. At the end of 2018 and the beginning of 2019, the survey was distributed in 18 organizations, which operated in four subsectors of the Dutch financial sector (four banks, four insurance companies, five financial intermediary companies, and five funeral insurance companies). The survey was completed by 4,144 employees in total. We do not think that the Dutch context is unique, although after the financial crisis, Dutch behavioral codes came to the fore which stated that that executive boards are responsible for preventing unethical behavior. The quantitative, correlational data of the survey were used to conduct structural equation modeling. Confirming our research questions, results showed that the board’s commercial focus and unjustified board pay related to higher levels of unethical workplace behavior, via a more instrumental climate. Moreover, the board’s focus on consumers’ interests negatively related to unethical behavior, via a less instrumental climate. Additionally, we performed content analysis of free-format comments in the survey (N= 195). Results revealed that most comments centered around board pay and addressed this in a negative sense. Perceptions of unjustified board pay seemed to lead to lower identification with the board and elicited ‘them’ (at the top) versus ‘us’ (at the work floor) thinking among employees. In conclusion, this study in the financial sector indicates that exemplary behavior at the top, regarding board pay and the board’s focus on commercial and consumers’ interests, shapes ethical climates in organizations and as such can set the stage for unethical behavior, also towards consumers. Future research on the effects of ethical board leadership should strive to use experimental or longitudinal research design and include objective measures of unethical behavior. We also hope to inspire future research on possible additional dimensions of ethical board leadership in the financial and other sectors. For practice, this study provides insight in concrete and visible behaviors that executive boards must (and must not) display when they want to invest in the ethical climate and lower the likelihood of unethical behavior. It is advisable for (financial) organizations to examine how the ‘tone from the top’ is perceived by employees via anonymous employee surveys and, possibly for board members, to reconsider what kind of ‘tone at the top’ they want to broadcast regarding consumers, profit and pay.

Impact of Co-Worker Ostracism on Organizational Citizenship Behavior Through Employee Self-Identity: The Moderating Role of Ethical Leadership.

Positive interpersonal interactions are indispensable for employees to engage in organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) that benefits teamwork; however, co-worker ostracism triggers interpersonal isolation, inhibiting OCB. This research aims to leverage the intervention of ethical leadership in the ostracism-OCB relationship to moderate the harmful ostracism and promote ostracized employees' OCB through employee self-identity. This research chose 122 MBA to participate in Study 1's scenario experiment to verify the causality between variables. Study 2 used 295 valid questionnaires from full-time employees to generalize the experimental results to field settings and compensate for external validity. Two studies used Hayes's conditional process model to test the conditional direct and indirect relationships. This research revealed that high levels of ethical leadership effectively transitioned the harmful ostracism and promoted ostracized employees' OCB by satisfying ostracized employees' needs for identity recognition. Accordingly, the direct and indirect effects of co-worker ostracism on OCB through employee self-identity would be positive at high levels of ethical leadership, but negative at low levels. This research first introduces an identity perspective on ethical leadership in moderating the ostracism-OCB relationship. Based on the social identity theory of leadership, this research fills the gap in ostracism and OCB research calling for leadership interventions. It extends a novel insight into inspiring ostracized employees' participation in OCB through employee self-identity. This research provides the managerial applications of ethical leadership for China organizations to reduce inadvertent inactions, accept employees' identities, and value interpersonal communication for effectively transitioning harmful ostracism.

Pushing and shoving: Tales of contestation at selected satellite schools in Zimbabwe

Satellite schools are a relatively new phenomenon within the context of education in Zimbabwe. At the turn of the century, Zimbabwe dominated media headlines because of the land reform. Land reform saw the redistribution of land from commercial farms owned by a minority of white commercial farmers. Resultantly, the land reform created a demand for schools in the former commercial farms that led to the establishment of satellite schools. The researchers drew from the Social Identity Theory of leadership to unpack the contestations faced by administrators at the selected satellite schools. Data for this study were generated using conversational interviews that were triangulated with focus group discussions. The researchers made use of mini-focus group discussions. A purposive sample of six mother school heads and six satellite school heads was selected for this study. The researchers utilised thematic analysis to analyse data from the conversational interviews and focus group discussions. The researchers established that there were contestations between the mother school head and the acting head of the satellite school. Further contestations were evident between the satellite school acting head and the traditional leadership. Additionally, there was contestation between political parties for influence at satellite schools. The researchers contend that some of the sources of the contestations at the selected satellite schools were attributable to the social identities of the acting heads of the satellite schools. From the study findings, the researchers recommend the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education must adopt a clearer organogram concerning the supervision of satellite schools.

The cost of leader personal financial insecurity: implications for adaptive team performance

AbstractIn light of a global pandemic, rising inflation, and stock market uncertainty, many across the globe are experiencing financial insecurity. We build on an emerging line of research to explore the mechanisms through which leaders’ personal financial insecurity impacts the teams they lead. We draw on compensatory control theory to theorize that leaders’ personal financial insecurity has a negative indirect effect on adaptive team performance because more insecurity is associated with less perceived personal control, to which leaders respond by implementing a more hierarchical decision‐making authority structure in their teams. Integrating the social identity theory of leadership, we theorize that this effect is stronger when the leaders are more prototypical of their team. Evidence from three multi‐wave, multi‐source field studies including leaders and their teams and an online experiment supports our model. By uncovering how a leader's perceived financial state impacts those they lead, our work adds to the growing bottom‐line case for why organizations should care about supporting their employees’ financial health.

Leader group prototypicality and supervisor's organizational embodiment: A response to critique

In a recent study, van Knippenberg and Lee concluded that supervisor's organizational embodiment (SOE) is another name for leader group prototypicality (LGP) and that given LGP's primacy in time and research presence, the field should forego the SOE label and refer to the construct as LGP. In a commentary on that study, Gonzales-Morales, Stinglhamber, Neves, and Becker criticized our conclusions. In this essay, we respond to their criticism. We agree that more evidence allows for stronger conclusions (one of their points of critique). Most of their critique, however, is grounded in misrepresentation of the social identity theory of leadership, the research concerning the theory, and the publication history of LGP and SOE. We conclude that the van Knippenberg and Lee conclusions stand as strong as before.

Developing the social identity theory of leadership: Leader agency in leader group prototypicality

AbstractThe social identity theory of leadership is a unique perspective in leadership research in capturing how responses to leadership are informed by how the leader is perceived through the lens of the group identity shared by leaders and followers. I review the theory in broad strokes to make the case that a particularly valuable future development of the theory is to complement the theory's emphasis on group member (follower) perceptions of leader group prototypicality, the extent to which the leader is perceived to embody the group identity, with theory and evidence speaking to leader agency in influencing such perceptions.

Supervisor's organizational embodiment is leader group prototypicality: Addressing construct redundancy through replication

The core concept in the social identity theory of leadership is leader group prototypicality (LGP), the perception that the leader is representative of a shared group (team, organization) identity. The theory was proposed in the 1990s and inspired a body of research that established the theory as well-supported. We argue that the 2010 construct of supervisor's organizational embodiment (SOE) captures the same construct as LGP. The use of different labels for the same construct is an impediment to the development of broad-ranging theory. It is therefore important to empirically establish whether SOE can indeed be seen as another name for LGP. We address this issue through replication tests, establishing that core LGP findings and core SOE findings replicate with both LGP and SOE measurement, as well as by showing that LGP and SOE items represent the same underlying factor. We discuss how recognizing that SOE is another name for LGP allows for the integration of two separate streams of research. We also propose referring to the construct of interest exclusively as LGP and forgoing the SOE label that was proposed after LGP was already established in the literature.

Implementing the HEART score in an NHS emergency department: can identity leadership combined with quality improvement promote racial equality?

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to report on the dynamics of “identity leadership” with a quality improvement project undertaken by an International Medical Graduate (IMG) from Sri Lanka, on a two year Medical Training Initiative (MTI) placement in the National Health Service (NHS) [Academy of Medical Royal Colleges (AoMRC), 2017]. A combined MTI rotation with an integrated Fellowship in Quality Improvement (Subedi et al., 2019) provided the driver to implement the HEART score (HS) in an NHS Emergency Department (ED) in the UK. The project was undertaken across ED, Acute Medicine and Cardiology at the hospital, with stakeholders emphasizing different and conflicting priorities to improve the pathway for chest pain patients.Design/methodology/approachA social identity approach to leadership provided a framework to understand the insider/outsider approach to leadership which helped RH to negotiate and navigate the conflicting priorities from each departments’ perspective. A staff survey tool was undertaken to identify reasons for the lack of implementation of a clinical protocol for chest pain patients, specifically with reference to the use of the HS. A consensus was reached to develop and implement the pathway for multi-disciplinary use of the HS and a quality improvement methodology (with the use of plan do study act (PDSA) cycles) was used over a period of nine months.FindingsThe results demonstrated significant improvements in the reduction (60%) of waiting time by chronic chest pain patients in the ED. The use of the HS as a stratified risk assessment tool resulted in a more efficient and safe way to manage patients. There are specific leadership challenges faced by an MTI doctor when they arrive in the NHS, as the MTI doctor is considered an outsider to the NHS, with reduced influence. Drawing upon the Social Identity Theory of Leadership, NHS Trusts can introduce inclusion strategies to enable greater alignment in social identity with doctors from overseas.Research limitations/implicationsMore than one third of doctors (40%) in the English NHS are IMGs and identify as black and minority ethnic (GMC, 2019a) a trend that sees no sign of abating as the NHS continues its international medical workforce recruitment strategy for its survival (NHS England, 2019; Beech et al., 2019). IMGs can provide significant value to improving the NHS using skills developed from their own health-care system. This paper recommends a need for reciprocal learning from low to medium income countries by UK doctors to encourage the development of an inclusive global medical social identity.Originality/valueThis quality improvement research combined with identity leadership provides new insights into how overseas doctors can successfully lead sustainable improvement across different departments within one hospital in the NHS.

Donald Trump and the rationalization of transgressive behavior: The role of group prototypicality and identity advancement

AbstractTransgressive leadership, especially in politics, can have significant consequences for groups and communities. However, research suggests that transgressive leaders are often granted deviance credit, and regarded sympathetically by followers due to perceptions of the leader's group prototypicality and identity advancement. We extend previous work by examining whether these perceptions additionally play a role in rationalizing the transgressions of a leader and whether deviance credit persists after a leader exits their leadership position. The present three‐wave longitudinal study (N = 200) addresses these questions using the applied context of the 2020 US Presidential election. Across three survey waves administered during and after Donald Trump's election loss, Republicans perceived three transgressive behaviors (sharing false information, nepotism, and abuse of power) as less unethical when committed by Donald Trump than when the same behaviors are viewed in isolation. Perceptions of Trump's identity advancement, but not his group prototypicality, predicted the extent to which Republicans downplayed the unethicalness of his transgressions. Decreases in identity advancement across time were also related to increases in perceptions of Trump's unethicalness. Implications for the social identity theory of leadership, subjective group dynamics, and the broader consequences of deviance credit to transgressive leaders are discussed.

Responsible leadership and employee outcomes: a systematic literature review, integration and propositions

PurposeThe dominant view of responsible leadership (RL) has so far lacked adequate testing for employees' motivational outcomes, including presenteeism. Presenteeism, or attending work while being ill and unable to work at full capacity, causes productivity loss and imposes a significant economic burden to businesses and national economies. Applying the social identity theory of leadership (SITL), this paper aims to offer a conceptual framework supporting the relationship between RL and presenteeism and incorporating the mediating roles of organisational commitment and employees' turnover intentions.Design/methodology/approachThis paper conducts a systematic literature review using a Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) flowchart with the existing research on RL, presenteeism, organisational commitment and employee turnover intentions covering the main contributors to this research stream. The proposed model offers eight propositions to promote the examination of RL in more insightful ways.FindingsA shift in focus to the aspect of value-based leadership and presenteeism allows this paper to explore probable employee motivational outcomes, especially with consideration of organisational commitment and turnover intentions. While extant studies about presenteeism have tended to identify negative consequences, this paper explores different contexts in which RL could be crucial and positive. Based on a PRISMA flowchart, this paper provides a conceptual framework and directions that scholars might use to guide organisations and evaluate future research studies in RL and presenteeism.Research limitations/implicationsThe implications of this paper lie first in highlighting the demand for scholars to employ RL when conducting research reviews in organisational leadership and presenteeism. Beyond this broad purpose, this paper will help researchers to develop a holistic and pragmatic research approach more systematically and coherently. It is hoped that this conceptual framework can potentially lead to higher employee productivity and retention.Originality/valueThe systematic literature review offers a novel framework that will allow future researchers to conduct and explore empirical studies in organisational leadership. The suggested propositions will direct future scholars and practitioners to explore solutions in which presenteeism can be recognised at work and managed to achieve practical application of RL within organisational settings.

Exemplifying “Us”: Integrating social identity theory of leadership with cognitive models of categorization

Identity leadership theorizing suggests that leadership effectiveness derives from a potential leader’s perceived ability to create, embody, promote, and embed a shared group identity. However, little is known about how people integrate this information to form a judgment of a leader. We use cognitive modeling to operationalize leadership judgments as exemplar-and prototype-based categorization processes. Analysis of attribute rating data for 80 highly recognizable Americans revealed that leadership judgments were well-characterized by an exemplar-based model. Judgments were based overwhelmingly on promoting shared collective interests and embedding group identity. The pattern of attribute weightings was consistent for judgments of a general leadership role (i.e., as a competent leader) as well as judgments for a specific leadership role (i.e., as an effective US president). We discuss the implications of these findings for our understanding of identity leadership as well as for integrated social-cognitive models of individuals’ judgements of and responses to leaders.

Gender, sexual orientation, academic self-concept and leadership

PurposeThe study's purpose is to present and empirically test a model that identifies academic self-concept as a mediator of the relationship between gender, sexual orientation and self-perceptions of leadership ability.Design/methodology/approachSurveys were administered to 964 first-year undergraduate students.FindingsAcademic self-concept mediated the relationship between gender and leadership for all subjects and for self-reported heterosexual subjects but not for self-reported nonheterosexual subjects.Research limitations/implicationsGender differences in leadership perceptions still exist and appear as early as the college years. The fact that academic self-concept did not mediate the relationship between gender and self-perceptions of leadership for nonheterosexual students might be explained by considering research that has identified different levels of gender conformity between straight and gay individuals.Practical implicationsStudent self-perceptions of leadership could be improved if opportunities were provided for students showing that people other than White, male, heterosexuals can also be effective leaders. When women and underrepresented groups attain leadership positions in the workplace, it attracts others because it sends a message that this organization welcomes women and underrepresented groups in positions of leadership.Originality/valueThis study addresses a gap in the field by using the social identity theory of leadership to integrate conflicting research streams in the existing literature and by proposing that academic self-concept underlies the relationship between gender, sexual orientation and self-perceptions of leadership. The study responds to Bark et al.'s (2016) call for future research to consider how highly prototypical individuals have a key advantage in people's perceptions of their leadership.

Commitment to Public Values, Charismatic Leadership Attributions, and Employee Turnover in Street-Level Bureaucracies

AbstractPublic values (PV) are receiving growing attention in public administration research and scholars frequently stress the need for public leaders to commit to and promote PV to protect the public interest and build citizens’ trust in government. However, the relationship between public leaders’ commitment to PV and intra-organizational, behavioral outcomes has received much less theoretical and empirical attention. To help address this gap, we draw on the social identity theory of leadership to propose that leaders in street-level bureaucracies who are perceived to be committed to PV are also more likely to be perceived as charismatic leaders and that these leadership attributions will be associated with lower employee turnover, especially in more stressful work contexts. We test our hypotheses with ordinary least squares and negative binomial regression. Additional mediation tests were conducted with structural equation modeling. Based on a sample of 87 public organizations and 874 participants, our results reveal that perceived leader commitment to PV is positively associated with perceived charismatic leadership which, in turn, is associated with lower employee turnover in more stressful and demanding work environments. This study brings more publicness to public leadership studies and can inform public leaders on how to develop more engaging and inspirational forms of leadership with their constituencies.

Advancing the social identity theory of leadership: A meta-analytic review of leader group prototypicality

This research advances a social identity approach to leadership through a meta-analysis examining four novel hypotheses that clarify the nature and impact of leader group prototypicality (the extent to which a leader is perceived to embody shared social identity). A random-effects meta-analysis ( k = 128, N = 32,834) reveals a moderate-to-large effect of prototypicality that holds across evaluative and behavioral outcomes. The effect is stronger (a) when prototypicality is conceptualized as the ideal-type rather than the average group member, (b) for stronger prototypes (indexed by group longevity), and (c) for group members in formal rather than nonformal leadership roles. The effect is not contingent on group prototypicality entailing differentiation from other (out)groups. Additionally, results provide meta-analytic evidence of widely examined key factors: follower group identification (which enhances the relationship) and leader group-serving behavior (which attenuates the relationship). Building on these findings, we outline the implications for the next wave of theoretical and empirical work.

LEADER ENDORSEMENT: THE ROLE OF LEADER PROTOTYPICALITY, LEADER EFFECTIVENESS AND EMPLOYEE’S ORGANIZATIONAL IDENTIFICATION

Leadership occurs when the individuals claimed capable of leading, received endorsements from their subordinates. Without endorsements (i.e., subordinates’ willingness to support and be directed by the leader), no leader will be able to direct and influence their subordinates. Using the Social Identity Theory of leadership, this research aimed to investigate the factors influencing leader endorsement. Through an online survey with good internal consistency (i.e., coefficient reliability ranging from .7 to .9), this study was able to collect data from 186 private employees across Indonesia. The moderated multiple regression analysis showed 1) subordinates tend to endorse prototypical leaders; 2) organizational identification is positively related to leader endorsement; and 3) leader effectiveness weakens the positive relationship between leader prototypicality and leader endorsement. This study contributes to the social identity theory of leadership by demonstrating that low prototypical leaders may still get endorsed, as long as they are showing effective behavior. This new finding sheds light on what kind of leadership behaviors may win the endorsement from their subordinates.

The Influence of Sexual Orientation on Academic Self-Concept as a Mediator of Gender and Leadership

Previous research on the influences of bother gender and sexual orientation on leadership effectiveness have been mixed, with some studies finding that women and/or sexual minorities as more effective leaders than men and/or heterosexuals, and some studies finding the opposite or no differences at all. Additionally, although attitudes have recently been changing, biases in people’s perceptions about leaders (e.g., that the image of a leader is associated with masculinity and heterosexuality) persist. We believe that this inconsistency may be explained, in part, by the social identity theory of leadership (Hogg, 2001). In this study, we seek to contribute to a more complete understanding of these conflicting findings by proposing and testing an innovative model that integrates different research streams on gender, sexual orientation, academic self-concept, and self-perceptions of leadership. Specifically, we propose that academic self-concept underlies the relationship between gender, sexual orientation, and self-perceptions of leadership. In a sample of 964 undergraduate students, we found that academic self-concept mediated the relationship between gender and leadership for all subjects and for self-reported heterosexual subjects, but not for self-reported non-heterosexual subjects. These findings contribute to a more complete understanding of college students’ perceptions of their academic self-concept and leadership. In addition, they offer key insights for interventions aimed at closing the gender and sexual orientation gaps in self-perceptions of leadership and academic self-concept. We explore the theoretical and practical implications of our findings.

How is responsible leadership related to the three-component model of organisational commitment?

PurposeThe increasing number of corporate scandals and averseness to employee commitment have brought the concept of responsible leadership (RL) to the forefront of organisational studies. Many studies have found that leadership practice is an antecedent of employees' organisational commitment. However, little attention has been devoted to exploring the newly evolved RL for its impact on employee commitment. This study examines the influence of RL on the three-component model of organisational commitment.Design/methodology/approachApplying the Social Identity Theory of Leadership (SITL), this study investigates the relationships between RL and the three-component model of organisational commitment. In particular, this study is framed to apply RL as a value-based leadership approach to examine its relationship on employees’ three types of organisational commitment such as affective, continuance and normative commitment. A web-based self-administered survey was applied to collect data targeting a sample of 200 full-time Australian employees.FindingsThe study results show that RL significantly effects all three components of organisational commitment. Both affective and normative commitments were significantly associated by RL compared to employees' continuance commitment.Originality/valueThe paper extends the knowledge regarding newly evolved concept of RL which explains the significance of employee commitment and, further it provides empirical evidence from the perspective of SITL. The main contribution in this paper comes from new knowledge about the associations among RL and the three-component model of organisational commitment.