Unlocking the nexus between employees’ empowerment and organizational citizenship behaviors in Saudi hotels: The moderating mediated roles of person-job fit and self-efficacy

The purpose of the study is to examine the direct effect of employees’ empowerment on organizational citizenship behaviors (OCB) and the mediating effect of self-efficacy between empowerment and OCB. The study also investigates the moderating role of person-job (P-J) fit in the relationship between empowerment and self-efficacy. The study used a quantitative research method. We developed a questionnaire and distributed it to a sample of 400 employees at five-star hotels in Jeddah City, subsequently receiving 280 valid questionnaire forms. We used Smart PLS to analyze the collected data. The findings revealed that empowerment positively influences both OCB and self-efficacy, while self-efficacy also positively influences OCB. Consequently, self-efficacy mediates the association between empowerment and OCB. Finally, P-J FIT moderates the relationship between empowerment and self-efficacy. In order to boost OCB among employees, it is important to manage work demands to achieve positive work behaviors. Consequently, the study’s primary recommendation is to provide a suitable environment through appropriate recruitment, selection, and training of employees, which helps increase their readiness to buffer work demands. Hence, empowering employees via redesigning jobs and providing autonomy becomes viable.