Ambidextrous leadership and change‐oriented organizational citizenship behavior: Mediating role of psychological safety

• Published date: 01 February 2022
• Author: Zafar Iqbal,Faheem Ghazanfar,Filza Hameed,Ghulam Mujtaba,Mudassar Anwar Swati
• Date: 01 February 2022
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/pa.2279

ACADEMIC PAPER

Ambidextrous leadership and change-oriented organizational

citizenship behavior: Mediating role of psychological safety

Zafar Iqbal

1

| Faheem Ghazanfar

2

| Filza Hameed

1

| Ghulam Mujtaba

1

|

Mudassar Anwar Swati

3

1

Department of Business Administration,

University of Kotli Azad Jammu and Kashmir,

Kotli, Pakistan

2

Department of Public Administration,

University of Kotli Azad Jammu and Kashmir,

Kotli, Pakistan

3

Department of Commerce, University of Kotli

Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Kotli, Pakistan

Correspondence

Zafar Iqbal, Department of Business

Administration, University of Kotli Azad

Jammu and Kashmir, Kotli, Pakistan.

Email: zafar.iqbal@uokajk.edu.pk

The study aims to empirically test the role of ambidextrous leadership on change-

oriented organizational citizenship behavior through psychological safety (PS). The

role of leadership is important in cultivating employee's creative behavior. To test our

hypothesized model, we have collected data from the textile industry of Pakistan in

which 175 leader-follower dyads were selected as sample. The data were collected in

two-time lags to avoid social desirability bias. Causal attribution theory was used to

test the model and structural equation modeling has been used for data analysis. We

have found full mediation of PS in the relationship between ambidextrous leadership

and change-oriented organizational citizenship behavior. Theoretical and managerial

implications along with limitations and future direction are discussed.

1|INTRODUCTION

The business environment of today's contemporary organizations is

challenging and firms are striving hard for sustainable competitive

advantage through innovation and creativity (Braun, Latham, &

Cannatelli, 2019; Saiz-



Alvarez, Palma-Ruiz, & Leit~

ao, 2020; Shepherd &

Ahmed, 2000). The challenging environment puts significant pressure

on firms to innovate continuously for successful business operations.

Innovation is an important ingredient for corporate level and business

level strategies so that firms can create strategic fit between environ-

ment and business models (Raffaelli, Glynn, & Tushman, 2019; Shep-

herd & Ahmed, 2000; Smith & Tushman, 2005). Employees bring

creative ideas to solve existing and old problems and involve propos-

ing novel solutions thereby exhibiting risk-taking behavior which is

called change-oriented organizational citizenship behavior (CO-OCB).

However, past research has highlighted other different types of CO-

OCBs or proactive behaviors at work. For instance, constructive idea-

expression (LePine & Van Dyne, 2001); challenge oriented OCB

(Chiaburu, Oh, Wang, & Stoverink, 2017); change-oriented OCB

(Bettencourt, 2004; Kim & Seo, 2020); proactive work behavior

(Klimchak, Carsten, Morrell, & MacKenzie Jr, 2016); voice behavior

and extra-role behavior (Chen & Hou, 2016; Lepine & Van

Dyne, 1998); taking charge (Morrison & Phelps, 1999); spontaneous

behavior (Katz, 1964); employees own initiatives (Seppälä, Lipponen,

Bardi, & Pirttilä-Backman, 2012); job crafting (Ma, Zhou, Chen, &

Dong, 2019); innovative work behavior (Crant, 2000). Despite having

different connotations, the constructs represent the same concept as

to make constructive changes in work methods, products and services

(Choi, 2007).

Researchers have paid significant attention to studying anteced-

ents of CO-OCB at different levels of analysis. For example,

Bettencourt (2004) studied at the individual level, and Simard and

Marchand (1995) at the team level. Also, some researchers studied

the antecedent of CO-OCB at organizational levels (Chamberlin, New-

ton, & Lepine, 2016; Kickul & Gundry, 2002; Morrison, 2014). These

researchers have focused on the antecedents of risk-taking behav-

iors/CO-OCBs and have concluded that leadership is an important

antecedent for such behaviors. For instance, in his seminal work,

Bettencourt (2004) reported leader-member exchange (LMX),

organizational commitment, and leadership as important antecedents

of CO-OCB. Subsequently, Choi (2007) also reported leadership as a

significant predictor of change-oriented OCB (Chan, 2019).

Change-oriented OCB is a risky endeavor and researchers have

investigated the role of leadership to foster such behaviors in the

organizations. For example, Ma et al. (2019) found that ambidextrous

leadership positively impacts work crafting; a type of extra-role

behavior. According to Bettencourt (2004), CO-OCB is a risk-taking

behavior that challenges the status quo and attempts to bring con-

structive changes in work methods, policies, and procedures. Detert

and Burris (2007) stressed that employees need the confidence to

Received: 8 June 2020 Revised: 21 June 2020 Accepted: 10 July 2020

DOI: 10.1002/pa.2279

J Public Affairs. 2022;22:e2279. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/pa © 2020 John Wiley & Sons Ltd 1of10

https://doi.org/10.1002/pa.2279