A moderated-mediation model of the relationship between responsible leadership, citizenship behavior and patient satisfaction

Purpose - Based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB) and stakeholder theory, the model proposes that responsible leadership (RL) is mediated by affective commitment (AC) on both outcome variables (organizational citizenship behavior [OCB] and patient satisfaction [PS]) while distributive justice (DJ) moderates the relationship among RL, OCB and PS through the mediator of AC. Design/methodology/approach - Overall, data collected from 275 employees and patients in India’s healthcare sector support this model both in online and offline mode. SPSS 25, AMOS 22 and PROCESS macro were used to analyze the data. Findings - The influence of RL, OCB and PS was seen insignificant in the Indian healthcare sector. This study examines the role of AC as a mediator which does not affect extra-role behavior and PS. The findings also show that the moderation-mediation effect of DJ through AC strengthened the link between RL and OCB, but not PS. Commitment does not affect extra-role behavior and PS. Originality/value - Until now, there has been no research in the Indian context that has tested the effect of RL on extra-role behaviors and PS, as mediated by AC, according to researchers’ knowledge. Since RL and outcome variables are related through AC, the current study aims to understand how DJ acts as a moderator to that relationship.