Influence of moral intelligence, principled leadership and trust on organisational citizenship behaviour

Background: Organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB) plays a substantial role in individual and organisational performance. Aim: The aim of the study was to investigate how moral intelligence and principled leadership can influence trust in the leader and OCB. Setting: Data were collected from 300 employees from various organisations in South Africa. Purposive, non-probability sampling was used. Methods: A theoretical model and hypotheses were developed to explain the structural relationships among the latent variables. Data were analysed by means of item analysis and confirmatory factor analysis conducted via structural equation modelling (SEM). Results: High levels of reliability were found for the measurement scales. Good model fit was demonstrated for the measurement and structural models. Empirical support was found for the significant mediating effects of principled leadership and trust in leaders in the indirect relationship between moral intelligence and OCB. The Principled Leadership Scale (PLS) could be used in the selection or development of principled leaders to develop an ethical culture to combat the high levels of corruption that many organisations face. Principled leaders play a key role in creating an ethical and trusting work climate conducive for OCB. Conclusion: This study is the first to analyse the joint relationships among the specific latent variables in the structural model. Furthermore, the study provided the first supporting evidence for the concurrent validity of the newly developed PLS.