Mapena, William LekgoaDe Jongh, Derick2026-01-282026-01-282025-12Mapena, W. & De Jongh, D. 2025, 'Impact of ethical leadership on organisational citizenship behaviour: group- and individual-level mediators', African Journal of Business Ethics, vol. 19, no. 2, pp. 23-43, doi : 10.15249/19-2-361.0976-3600 (online)1817-7417 (print)10.15249/19-2-361http://hdl.handle.net/2263/107632Numerous occurrences of unethical conduct by leaders over the last decade, as well as the proliferation of unethical conduct, have had detrimental effects on their respective organisations and businesses. The undesirable behaviour affects the ability of followers to voluntarily perform beyond contractual obligations. The article examines the impact of ethical leadership on organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB), focusing on individual- and group-level mediators. The domain of ethical leadership and its impact on OCB is not sufficiently investigated. The research focused on a South African state-owned company in the water services industry using a qualitative case study approach. The research findings identified group- and individual-level mediators and found thatethical leadership positively influences employee OCB. The research findings add to the literature on ethical leadership–OCB by examining how followers respond to the sequential mediation effect and by offering insight on integrating mediation variables.enAfrican Journal of Business Ethics is an Open Access journal. Article is underwritten by the license CC BY NC ND.Organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB)Ethical leadershipGroup level mediatorsIndividual level mediatorsSouth AfricaWater services sectorSocial learning theoryArticle