Principals’ leadership styles and teachers’ organizational citizenship behaviour: a systematic review of research

Purpose The purpose of this review was to expand the knowledge base regarding the relationship between principals’ leadership styles and teachers’ organizational citizenship behaviours drawing on a database of 87 studies. The study utilized four different data sources (WoS, Scopus, ERIC, and Google Scholar). Design/methodology/approach Descriptive and content analysis methods were used to highlight the key tends in this literature, including growth trajectory, authorship trends, citation impact, quantitative research techniques, the composition of leadership styles, and detailed mediators and moderators. Findings The results revealed that transformational leadership was the most frequently studied leadership style. The study synthesized how principal leadership directly and indirectly affects teachers’ OCBs. The findings were interpreted considering existing educational leadership and management (EDLM) literature. Originality/value Given the rapid growth of research on the linkage between principals’ leadership styles and teachers’ OCBs and the fact that the field has been missing a comprehensive review to lay out the relevant literature on this topic, it is important to systematically review and scrutinize the relationship between leadership styles and teachers’ OCB. Reviewing this literature will provide guidance for future researchers through identifying major methodological gaps and suggesting recommendations for future directions. This study is the first review on the relationship between principals’ leadership styles and teachers’ organizational citizenship behaviours (OCBs).