How inclusive leadership drives change-oriented extra-role behaviors via leader-member exchange and trust in leadership

Purpose This research, grounded in the leader–member exchange (LMX) theory, aims to investigate the influencing mechanism by which inclusive leadership (IL) affects employees’ change-oriented organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). It specifically examines the role of LMX and trust in leadership as mediators between IL and change-oriented OCB, both individually and sequentially. Design/methodology/approach A time-lagged (2 points) survey study was carried out to collect data from 494 employees and their immediate supervisors in terms of reciprocal assessment in Malaysia’s telecom sector. During the survey, the supervisors and subordinates were double-blinded. The measurement model was used to confirm the validity and reliability, and the structural model was used to test the research hypotheses. Findings The findings demonstrated a significant positive relationship between IL and change-oriented OCB. This research confirms that IL directly influences change-oriented OCB and indirectly via LMX and trust in leadership mediating factors. The findings supported the sequential mediation of LMX and trust in leadership between IL and change-oriented OCB. Originality/value This research expands the existing theory of LMX by validating the role of LMX and trust in leadership as a sequential mediator in the association between IL and change-oriented OCB.