| This study examined the relationship between leadership style and employee engagement in organizational citizenship behaviors that are directed toward the ecological environment, or organizational citizenship behaviors-environment, with the intent of improving the environment. As organizational citizenship behavior-environment theory (Boiral, 2009) is in its infancy, it had not yet adequately explained to what extent leadership style predicts employee engagement in organizational citizenship behaviors-environment and the role mediating variables play among that relationship. Mediating variables leader-member exchange and follower values congruence could both potentially mediate the relationship between leadership style and employee engagement in organizational citizenship behaviors-environment because it had been shown in extant literature that for general organizational citizenship behaviors, these variables do play influential roles. The purpose of this study then was to determine whether leadership style significantly predicted employee engagement in organizational citizenship behaviors-environment, and whether leader-member exchange and follower values congruence mediated the relationship between leadership style and employee engagement in organizational citizenship behaviors-environment. Participants were recruited using email and social media to respond to an online, self-reported survey that measured organizational citizenship behaviors toward the environment, leadership style, leader-member exchange, and follower values congruence. Results from a multiple regression analysis indicated that leadership style did not account for a significant amount of the organizational citizenship behaviors-environment, R2 = .36, F(1, 35) = 3.35, p = .076. Therefore, the results suggest that there was no direct effect from leadership style on organizational citizenship behaviors, and subsequently, no mediating effects from leader-member exchange or follower values congruence. However, employees reported engaging in organizational citizenship behaviors-environment, providing support for organizational citizenship behavior-environment theory (Boiral, 2009). Additionally, a positive correlation was found between the variables education level and follower values congruence and organizational citizenship behaviors-environment. Future research might consider focusing on those variables to increase employee engagement in organizational citizenship behaviors-environment. |
