Your character is my commitment: how ethical leadership enhances organizational commitment through psychological ownership with boundaryless mindset as moderator

Purpose This study aims to explain how ethical leadership affects employee’s organizational commitment through psychological ownership. Additionally, the study unfurls the moderating role of employees’ boundaryless mindset affecting the relationship between ethical psychological ownership and organizational commitment and the mediating role of psychological ownership. Design/methodology/approach For this study, the data were collected from employees of the banking sector. The final sample size was 399. The data were analyzed through hierarchical regression and mediated moderation models. Findings The study found that ethical leadership is related to employees’ psychological ownership and their organizational commitment. It also found that the relationship between ethical leadership and employees’ organizational commitment was mediated by psychological ownership. Additionally, the study found that the boundaryless mindset of employees did not moderate the relationship between psychological ownership and organizational commitment. Finally, the study found that boundaryless mindset did not moderate the mediating role of psychological ownership linking ethical leadership with organizational commitment. Originality/value The study confirms the mediating role of psychological ownership toward leaders linking ethical leadership to employees’ organizational commitment. Additionally, the study found that the relationship between psychological ownership and organizational commitment is not moderated by the boundaryless mindset of employees. Finally, the mediating role of psychological ownership linking ethical leadership to organizational commitment also remains immune to the moderating effect of the boundaryless mindset of employees.