Does servant leadership affect organisational citizenship behaviour? Mediating role of affective commitment and moderating role of role identity of young volunteers in non-profit organisations

Purpose This study examines the relationships between servant leadership and organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB) of young volunteers in non-profit organisations (NPOs) and investigates the mediating role of affective commitment and the moderating role of role identity in this relationship. Design/methodology/approach Self-administered questionnaires were distributed to 400 young volunteers from NPOs in Malaysia. Data were analysed using the partial least squares-structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) approach. Findings The results reveal that affective commitment significantly mediates the relationship between servant leadership and OCB of young volunteers in NPOs. The role of identity was found to moderate the relationship between servant leadership and affective commitment of young volunteers in NPOs. Research limitations/implications This study utilised servant leadership theory and examined the direct effect between servant leadership and OCB of young volunteers in NPOs, the mediating effect of affective commitment, and the moderating effect of role identity in this relationship simultaneously within a unified research framework. Practical implications NPOs should recruit more servant leaders and provide effective volunteer training and leadership development to current leaders to increase affective commitment and develop better service behaviours in dealing with volunteers. Originality/value This study is unique in that it highlights the partially mediated effects of affective commitment on the relationships between servant leadership and OCB of young volunteers in NPOs, as well as the fact that role identity significantly moderates the relationship between servant leadership and affective commitment of young volunteers in NPOs.