Research Article

Linking Distributed Leadership to Organizational Citizenship Behavior in Turkish Software Development Companies: The Mediating Role of Work Engagement

Volume: 9 Number: 1 January 15, 2026
TR EN

Linking Distributed Leadership to Organizational Citizenship Behavior in Turkish Software Development Companies: The Mediating Role of Work Engagement

Abstract

This research examines how distributed leadership shapes organizational citizenship behavior within Türkiye’s software development sector, with work engagement positioned as a mediating variable. As authority disperses from a singular leader toward a collective, collaborative framework, distributed leadership becomes ever more salient in agile, knowledge-intensive businesses such as software development. Data were collected through an online questionnaire completed by 273 software practitioners positioned in different locations in Türkiye. The sample encompassed a spectrum of occupational roles, educational attainments, and professional longevity, thereby reflecting the sector’s heterogeneous character. Results highlight that higher levels of distributed leadership are associated with higher work engagement and organizational citizenship behavior. A major distributed leadership impact on organizational citizenship behavior is channeled through work engagement, which underscores the cognitive and affective pathways through which distributed leadership facilitates organizational citizenship behavior. These findings contribute to the leadership literature by showing how distributed leadership takes advantage of intrinsic motivation and discretionary effort, particularly in highly innovative and collaborative environments, and they align with results reported in previous studies on leadership, engagement, and citizenship behavior. From a managerial perspective, the study recommends the promotion of shared decision-making and engagement as means to enhance work engagement. This research fills a critical gap as it is the first empirical study to test the mediating role of work engagement in the relationship between distributed leadership and organizational citizenship behavior within Türkiye’s software development companies.

Keywords

Supporting Institution

This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Ethical Statement

It is declared that scientific and ethical principles have been followed while carrying out and writing this study and that all the sources used have been properly cited.

References

  1. Ariani, D. W. (2013). The relationship between employee engagement, organizational citizenship behavior, and counterproductive work behavior. International Journal of Business Administration, 4(2), 46–56. https://doi.org/10.5430/ijba.v4n2p46
  2. Basım, H. N., Şeşen, H. (2006). Adaptation and comparison study of the Organizational Citizenship Behavior scale. Ankara University Journal of Social Sciences, 61(4), 83–101.
  3. Blau, P. M. (1964). Justice in social exchange. Sociological Inquiry, 34(2), 193–206. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-682X.1964.tb00583.x
  4. Bolden, R. (2011). Distributed leadership in organizations: A review of theory and research. International Journal of Management Reviews, 13(3), 251–269. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2370.2011.00306.x
  5. Cropanzano, R., Mitchell, M. S. (2005). Social exchange theory: An interdisciplinary review. Journal of Management, 31(6), 874–900. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206305279602
  6. Fallash, A., Helmi, S., Gujarto, M., Mellita, D. (2024). The influence of transformational leadership, job satisfaction, and organizational citizenship behavior mediated by employee engagement at Bank Sumsel Babel. Formosa Journal of Multidisciplinary Research, 3(10), 3803–3816. https://doi.org/10.55927/fjmr.v3i10.11545
  7. Gronn, P. (2002). Distributed leadership as a unit of analysis. The Leadership Quarterly, 13(4), 423–451.
  8. Güler, M., Çetin, F., Basım, H. N. (2019). İşe tutulma ölçeği çok kısa versiyonu (UWES-3) geçerlilik ve güvenilirlik çalışması: Alternatif bir versiyon (UWES-6) önerisi. İş ve İnsan Dergisi, 6(2), 187–195. https://doi.org/10.18394/iid.516921

Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Business Information Systems, Business Information Management, Business Administration

Journal Section

Research Article

Publication Date

January 15, 2026

Submission Date

September 30, 2025

Acceptance Date

January 13, 2026

Published in Issue

Year 2026 Volume: 9 Number: 1

APA
Elkafarna, K., & İyigün, N. Ö. (2026). Linking Distributed Leadership to Organizational Citizenship Behavior in Turkish Software Development Companies: The Mediating Role of Work Engagement. Uluslararası Ekonomi Siyaset İnsan Ve Toplum Bilimleri Dergisi, 9(1), 87-101. https://doi.org/10.59445/ijephss.1794207
AMA
1.Elkafarna K, İyigün NÖ. Linking Distributed Leadership to Organizational Citizenship Behavior in Turkish Software Development Companies: The Mediating Role of Work Engagement. Uluslararası Ekonomi Siyaset İnsan ve Toplum Bilimleri Dergisi. 2026;9(1):87-101. doi:10.59445/ijephss.1794207
Chicago
Elkafarna, Kamal, and Necla Öykü İyigün. 2026. “Linking Distributed Leadership to Organizational Citizenship Behavior in Turkish Software Development Companies: The Mediating Role of Work Engagement”. Uluslararası Ekonomi Siyaset İnsan Ve Toplum Bilimleri Dergisi 9 (1): 87-101. https://doi.org/10.59445/ijephss.1794207.
EndNote
Elkafarna K, İyigün NÖ (January 1, 2026) Linking Distributed Leadership to Organizational Citizenship Behavior in Turkish Software Development Companies: The Mediating Role of Work Engagement. Uluslararası Ekonomi Siyaset İnsan ve Toplum Bilimleri Dergisi 9 1 87–101.
IEEE
[1]K. Elkafarna and N. Ö. İyigün, “Linking Distributed Leadership to Organizational Citizenship Behavior in Turkish Software Development Companies: The Mediating Role of Work Engagement”, Uluslararası Ekonomi Siyaset İnsan ve Toplum Bilimleri Dergisi, vol. 9, no. 1, pp. 87–101, Jan. 2026, doi: 10.59445/ijephss.1794207.
ISNAD
Elkafarna, Kamal - İyigün, Necla Öykü. “Linking Distributed Leadership to Organizational Citizenship Behavior in Turkish Software Development Companies: The Mediating Role of Work Engagement”. Uluslararası Ekonomi Siyaset İnsan ve Toplum Bilimleri Dergisi 9/1 (January 1, 2026): 87-101. https://doi.org/10.59445/ijephss.1794207.
JAMA
1.Elkafarna K, İyigün NÖ. Linking Distributed Leadership to Organizational Citizenship Behavior in Turkish Software Development Companies: The Mediating Role of Work Engagement. Uluslararası Ekonomi Siyaset İnsan ve Toplum Bilimleri Dergisi. 2026;9:87–101.
MLA
Elkafarna, Kamal, and Necla Öykü İyigün. “Linking Distributed Leadership to Organizational Citizenship Behavior in Turkish Software Development Companies: The Mediating Role of Work Engagement”. Uluslararası Ekonomi Siyaset İnsan Ve Toplum Bilimleri Dergisi, vol. 9, no. 1, Jan. 2026, pp. 87-101, doi:10.59445/ijephss.1794207.
Vancouver
1.Kamal Elkafarna, Necla Öykü İyigün. Linking Distributed Leadership to Organizational Citizenship Behavior in Turkish Software Development Companies: The Mediating Role of Work Engagement. Uluslararası Ekonomi Siyaset İnsan ve Toplum Bilimleri Dergisi. 2026 Jan. 1;9(1):87-101. doi:10.59445/ijephss.1794207

International Journal of Economics, Politics, Humanities & Social Sciences – IJEPHSS is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY NC)