Influence of Altruistic Calling on Organizational Citizenship Behavior in Faith-Based Organizations in Kenya

Abstract

Organizational citizenship behavior is important in faith-based organizations, where clergy are expected exhibit discretionary behaviors, including civic virtue, courtesy, and conscientiousness that support the institution’s mission and service delivery. Although servant leadership has been associated with positive workplace outcomes, limited empirical attention is given to how altruistic calling shapes organizational citizenship behavior among clergy in Kenyan faith-based organizations. This study examined the influence of altruistic calling on organizational citizenship behavior among clergy in faith-based organizations in Kenya. Anchored on servant leadership theory, social exchange theory, and self-determination theory, Altruistic calling was unpacked into three constructs: positive impact on others, generosity of spirit, and benefit to others. A descriptive correlational research design was adopted in a positivist philosophy. The target population comprised 1,603 clergy in faith-based organizations registered as members of the National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK). Stratified random sampling was used to select 320 respondents with 303 (94.7%) qualifying for analysis. Data was collected using structured questionnaires and analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and simple linear regression through SPSS version 25. Findings showed that altruistic calling was highly demonstrated by leaders in faith- based organizations (M = 4.46, SD = 0.739). Among the three constructs, benefit to others recorded the highest mean (M = 4.55, SD = 0.707), followed by generosity of spirit (M = 4.47, SD = 0.725) and positive impact on others (M = 4.42, SD = 0.763). Pearson correlation established a statistically significant moderate positive relationship between altruistic calling and organizational citizenship behavior (r = 0.413, p < 0.01). Simple linear regression confirmed that altruistic calling significantly and positively influenced  organizational  citizenship  behavior (β  =  0.578, t =  10.117,  p  < 0.001), explaining 17.1% of the variance in organizational citizenship behavior (R² = 0.171, F =

61.548, p < 0.001). The study concluded that altruistic calling significantly enhances organizational citizenship behavior by encouraging clergy to reciprocate selfless leadership through greater civic virtue, courtesy, and conscientiousness. The study recommends that senior church leaders, heads of churches, and governance boards should strengthen altruistic calling behaviors, particularly benefit to others and generosity of spirit, through leadership development, mentoring, and performance evaluation systems that reward selfless service and follower-centered leadership.