Linking servant leadership to customer-oriented organisational citizenship behaviour: The moderating role of perceived interactional justice

Abstract

This study examined the association between employee servant leadership perceptions and their customer-oriented organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB), and the influence of perceived interactional justice in this relationship. Participants were 708 hospitality industry employees from across China (female = 66.53%; mean age = 24.56 years, SD = 7.50 years; mean tenure = 3.04 years, SD = 7.45 years). Hierarchical multiple regression analysis results indicated perceived servant leadership was significantly and positively related to customer-oriented organisational citizenship behaviour. Perceived interactional justice moderated the relationship between perceived servant leadership and organisational citizenship behaviour. This positive association was more pronounced when perceived interactional justice was higher. Sex, education level, and monthly salary were not related to OCB. However, employees’ age and organisational tenure were two predictors of their OCB toward customers. Older employees tended to display more OCB behaviours. The longer employees stayed in the current hotels, the more likely they performed OCB behaviour. The servant leadership quality of perceived interactional justice enhanced employees’ OCB customer service self-ratings.

Keywords:

• Chinese hotel industry
• customer-oriented organisational citizenship behaviour
• interactional justice
• servant leadership