The relationship between charismatic leadership, work engagement, and organizational citizenship behaviors

Abstract

Researchers in organizational behavior have long been interested in exploring how employees' perceptions of their leaders influence their work-related thoughts and behaviors. This study tested a meditation model linking leader charisma to organizational citizenship behaviors (OCB) via work engagement. The authors administered 91 participants the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire, the OCB Scale, and the Work Engagement Scale. The results indicated a significant positive relation between charismatic leadership and work engagement, between work engagement and OCB, and between charismatic leadership and OCB. Results also indicate a full mediation of leadership's effects on OCB via work engagement. This mediation relation suggests some of the mechanisms of charismatic leadership, and it provides an interesting avenue for future research.