In this study, we explored the relationship between inclusive leadership and change-oriented organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) with the mediating roles of behavioral integrity and trust in leadership. Data were collected from 151 supervisor-subordinate dyads from small and medium enterprises in Pakistan. There were two research questions left unanswered in the literature on inclusive leadership. First, the research question was what is the effect of inclusive leadership on change-oriented OCB. Second, the research question explains how an inclusive leader enhances change-oriented OCB. For this purpose, we proposed two mediating mechanisms through which inclusive leadership enhances change-oriented OCB. The first mediating mechanism is the leader’s behavioral integrity, and the second is trust in leadership which plays both serial multiple mediation in the relationship between inclusive leadership and change-oriented OCB. Using structural equation modeling in AMOS, we found that that inclusive leadership was positively related to change-oriented OCB. Our study reaffirmed the indirect effect of the inclusive leadership on change-oriented OCB via behavioral integrity and trust in leadership. Finally, the results supported the chain of causality: sequential mediation of behavioral integrity, and trust in leadership between inclusive leadership and change-oriented OCB. Causal attribution theory was used to support the findings. Implications for theory and practice were discussed.

Keywords: Inclusive leadership, Change-oriented organizational citizenship behavior, Behavioral integrity, Trust in leadership, Causal attribution theory, SMEs