The Effect of Authentic Leadership Dimensions on Organizational Citizenship Behavior in the Egyptian Hotels

In today’s competitive hospitality industry, effective leadership plays a pivotal role in shaping employee attitudes and behaviors that drive organizational success. Therefore, the current research examined the effect of authentic leadership (AL) and its dimensions—self-awareness, relational transparency, moral perspective, and balanced processing—on organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) among employees in Egyptian hotels. Grounded in Social Exchange Theory, Social Learning Theory, and Leader–Member Exchange Theory, the research develops a causal model to explore the direct impact of AL on OCB. Data were collected from hotel employees using a structured questionnaire and analyzed through Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The results indicate that authentic leadership exerts a significant positive influence on OCB. Each AL dimension also demonstrated a significant relationship with OCB: self-awareness, relational transparency, moral perspective, and balanced processing. The model exhibited high explanatory and predictive power, with R² and Q² values exceeding acceptable thresholds, confirming strong model validity and robustness (Hair et al., 2019; Wetzels et al., 2009). Theoretically, the study extends authentic leadership theory to the hospitality sector in a developing country context, highlighting its role in enhancing prosocial and citizenship behaviors. Practically, it emphasizes that cultivating authentic leadership qualities can strengthen employee trust, ethical behavior, and engagement, thereby improving organizational performance. Limitations include the study’s cross-sectional nature and single-country focus, suggesting that future research should employ longitudinal and cross-cultural designs to validate and extend these findings across diverse hospitality settings.