The Effect of Ethical Leadership on Organizational Citizenship Behaviors and Affective Commitment : The Mediating Role of Leader-Member Exchange

The objective of this study is to investigate the relationship of ethical leadership on organizational citizenship behavior and affective commitment, and explore the mediating role of lead-member relations (LMX) under the light of social exchange. Data was collected using questionnaires filled out by 198 office staffs and subordinates of enterprise and public institution managers in China. Relationships among variables were analyzed using multiple regression analysis and the mediating role of LMX was examined with Sobel test. The results indicated that ethical leadership has positive associations with LMX, OCB and affective commitment. The relationships between ethical leadership with OCB and affective commitment both were partially mediated by LMX. The study we developed and tested how ethical leadership affects OCB and affective commitment with LMX. Further the mediate role of LMX deepens understanding of the process of OCB and affective commitment. The findings strengthen the valence of using social exchange theory to explain how ethical leadership is associated with OCB and affective commitment.