Linkage between empowerment, commitment and organizational citizenship behavior in Indian retail sector

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to determine the relationship between employee empowerment (structural empowerment [SE] and psychological empowerment [PE]), employee commitment (EC) and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) within the unique context of a learning organization in the Indian retail sector.

Design/methodology/approach

The investigation was conducted using a survey-based questionnaire approach. Data were gathered from 222 frontline employees working in different retail stores in India. The researcher used AMOS 22.0 version and SPSS 22.0 version for the data analysis.

Findings

This study concluded that SE and PE have a positive and significant influence on OCB and EC. In addition, EC is a mediator between employee empowerment (SE and PE) and OCB.

Research limitations/implications

This research is built on cross-sectional data with a limited sample size, that is, 222 sample size. This study also offers some practical insights to managers of retail stores.

Originality/value

To the best of authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to empirically investigate the mediating role of EC between SE and OCB. By focusing on the interplay of these variables within a learning organization, this study sheds light on the mechanisms driving employee behavior and organizational dynamics in this rapidly evolving retail sector.

Citation

Bhardwaj, P., Sharma, H. and Savita, U. (2024), "Linkage between empowerment, commitment and organizational citizenship behavior in Indian retail sector", The Learning Organization, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/TLO-06-2023-0104