It is important for employees that democratic principles are applied in the organisation and when employees are given the opportunity to have a say in the daily operations of their organisation, they will improve their performance through reducing their non-functional behaviour. Employees will be more concentrated on working on the organisation’s well-being as well as improving their knowledge and skills (Coşan & Gülova 2014). The understanding of joining governance in organisations is the most important issue in the name of OD.

However, it is only when OD is present in organisational life with all of its dimensions that it will create synergy and provide benefits for organisations (Geçkil & Tikici 2016). According to Geçkil and Tikici (2015), the five dimensions of OD can be listed as participation-criticism, transparency, justice, equality and accountability.

Participation refers to the involvement (directly or through representatives) of employees with all decision-making–related processes (Geçkil & Tikici 2015). Employees’ participation in management decisions and playing a part in deciding on their role in the future of the organisation through expressing their ideas about the organisation makes them feel that they are a part of the organisation (Tutar & Sadykova 2014). Participation positively influences employees’ attitudes towards their organisation (Hendry 2012). Studies have also shown that participation in decision-making can lead to extra-role behaviour (Porter, Lawler & Hackman 1996). Criticism denotes employees having the ability to evaluate policies, procedures and work as well as having the freedom to evaluate and provide suggestions (Geçkil & Tikici 2015). It involves employee opinions being valued and encouraged with decisions being made based on mutual understanding (Bakan, Kara & Güler 2017). Democratic organisations must also be favourable towards self-criticism and be transparent towards self-sustaining evolution as well as providing favourable settings for discussions and solutions (Geçkil & Tikici 2015). The ‘transparency’ dimension of OD refers to the ability of all members involved to access all the information used to make a specific decision (Forcadell 2005). It is the learning and monitoring of work and processes as well as work-related decisions by all affected parties (Geçkil & Tikici 2015). In democratic organisations, information must be communicated to all groups and opinions of all members should be considered. Information sharing practices may cause employees to perceive that the organisation values their contributions to accomplish goals and support the organisation through modifying their behaviour and displaying extra efforts (Shore & Barksdale 1998). Justice refers to the rules and social norms related to the system that regulates how to manage and distribute the emerging rewards and punishments (Yildirim 2003). Organisational justice deals with perceptions on equality in organisational decisions and decision-making processes and examines the perceptions of employees on the level of equal treatment in their organisation (Geçkil & Tikici 2015). An important motivational factor for extra-role behaviour is the perception of fairness, especially the perceptions of justice in the workplace (Organ & Ryan 1995). Equality denotes the equilibrium between two or multiple quantities of entities and relates to endowing two parties with identical rights and advantages (Geçkil & Tikici 2015). Equality involves not exposing individuals to discrimination about issues such as religion, language, race, gender, world view and having equal opportunities to acquire same rights in all individuals (Kesen 2015). The accountability dimension refers to accepting liability for the consequences of certain actions and involves providing insights and defence if necessitated by the particular case (Lindkvist & Llewellyn 2003). Accountability also denotes accounting for established decisions, expenditures and miscellaneous savings of the organisation in addition to asking for clarification on related items (Geçkil & Tikici 2015). Few studies have empirically examined the relationship between accountability and performance or behaviour; however, positive relationships have been found to exist between accountability and prosocial behaviour (Mitchell et al. 1998).

The issue of OCB has gained significant attention over the years and has been researched in a variety of settings because of its contribution to the effective functioning of organisations (Eyupoglu 2016). In today’s competitive world, thriving organisations are those whose employees carry out duties beyond their formal contract (Ali & Waqar 2013). Although the concept of OCB stretches back as far as Katz and Kahn (1966), the concept is pioneered by Dennis Organ (1988). According to Organ (1988), OCB is individual behaviour that is discretionary, not directly or explicitly recognised by the formal reward system and that in the aggregate promotes the effective functioning of the organisation. Because OCB is voluntary, employees who engage in OCB are not usually rewarded for doing so (Organ 1988). Employees with a sense of citizenship work together in harmony and support each other’s productivity (Akdoğan & Köksal 2014; Basım & Şeşen 2015). There is a differentiation between official organisational behaviour and OCB. Behaviours that are not official can be described as OCB or ‘good soldier syndrome’ (Organ 1988), which means that employees withhold from undesirable behaviour such as being late, criticising others in the workplace and absenteeism. Organisational citizenship behaviour includes constructive and positive behaviours such as supporting organisational goals and objectives, providing cooperation within an organisation and keeping organisational interests above the interests of employees (Borman & Motowidlo 2014). Graham (1991) asserts that OCB cannot possibly be limited to extra-role behaviours and in fact argues that OCB is a global term harnessed to define all behaviours towards the organisation. According to Organ (1988), OCB can be conceptualised as consisting of five dimensions which are altruism (e.g. helping others who have to deal with heavy workloads), conscientiousness (e.g. work behaviour and attendance that can be regarded as above the norm level), sportsmanship (e.g. tending not to complain about trivial matters), courtesy (e.g. consulting with others before taking action) and civic virtue (e.g. participation in the political process of the organisation). Altruism is concerned with going beyond job requirements to help others with whom the individual comes into contact (Redman & Snape 2005), and the selflessness of an employee towards their organisation. It comprises behaviour emphasising the group over the individual’s concerns. Conscientiousness emphasises responsibility and dedication. It involves taking the initiative to engage in behaviour for the good of the organisation (King, George & Hebl 2005). Sportsmanship includes tolerating inconveniences at the workplace without complaining. Workers are less distracted from their tasks because they avoid negative behaviour. Courtesy behaviour may be categorised as preventive measures to ensure organisational efficiency (Geçkil & Tikici 2015) through positive communication with all the members interacting in an organisation. Civic virtue is the behaviour that reflects in employees identifying strongly with their organisation and making purposeful contributions. It involves the indication of a responsible concern for the image and well-being of the organisation (Redman & Snape 2005).

An examination of the literature shows that this five-dimension framework suggested by Organ (1988) has received extensive attention and has been a support in many empirical studies (LePine, Erez & Johnson 2002). Podsakoff et al. (2000) conclude that OCB’s influence on organisational performance can be categorised into seven areas: to increase the effectiveness of colleagues and managers, to release resources for more productive activities and objectives, to decrease the scarce resources needed for the upkeep of the normal operation of the organisation, to support the coordination between work groups and within groups, to reinforce the ability for the organisation to attract and retain able employees, to improve the stability of the organisation and to make organisations more receptive to change in the environment.

The social exchange theory presumes that employees feel an obligation to repay their organisation’s support and make their best efforts towards effective organisational performance (Park & Searcy 2012). In this sense, OD and OCB are perceptions that support each other. Participation of employees in organisational decisions and taking part in the organisation’s future will increase their positive attitudes towards the organisation. Participation in the decision-making process influences how employees assess the fairness of procedure (Folger 1977). Employees in democratic organisation structures will feel themselves as a part of the organisation. This situation will strengthen the behaviour of organisational citizenship by ensuring that employees put their organisation’s benefits above and beyond their own benefits. In organisations where perceptions of justice are high, perceptions of citizenship behaviour will also be high (Akdoğan & Köksal 2014; Boxall & Purcell 2011). When employees see themselves as being treated equally, one possible way to repay the organisation is through greater citizenship behaviours (Konovsky & Pugh 1994). In addition, the opportunity to provide suggestions, comment and criticise procedures and methods implies that management respect the rights of their employees and they are willing to contemplate the suggestions and complaints from employees. High-quality relationships between supervisor and subordinates are also linked to OCB (Deluga 1995; Farh, Earley & Lin 1997). The degree of dissemination of work and procedures and work-related decisions to all concerned parties within an organisation demonstrates how transparent an organisation is and strengthens the trust between employees and the organisation, thus most probably encouraging the extra-role behaviour of employees. Likewise, the sincerity of an organisation to clarify, advocate or explain all the accomplished procedures or activities to employees reflects its responsibility towards its employees, and is also expected to reflect on employees’ positive behaviour (Harrison & Edward 2004). On the whole, OD makes employees feel more responsible for their work because they take on more ownership of their work (Harrison & Edward 2004) and, hence, are more willing to exhibit citizenship behaviour.

In this respect, the study proposes the following hypotheses:

The model of the research is descriptive and cross-sectional. The questionnaire consisted of three parts: demographic information, the Organisational Democracy Scale (ODS) and the Organisational Citizenship Behaviour Scale (OCBS). The ODS used in this study was developed by Geçkil and Tikici (2015). This scale consists of 28 items that are divided into five sub-dimensions: participation-criticism, transparency, justice, equality and accountability. Participation-criticism is measured through eight items (items 1–8) with a Cronbach’s alpha score of 0.82. Transparency is measured through six items (items 9–14) with a Cronbach’s alpha score of 0.81. Justice is measured through five items (items 15–19) with a Cronbach’s alpha score of 0.83. Equality is measured through six items (items 20–25) with a Cronbach’s alpha score of 0.78 and accountability is measured through three items (items 26–28) with a Cronbach’s alpha score of 0.77. The Cronbach’s alpha value for the dimension OD (the total of the 28 items of the ODS) is measured as 0.79. The suggested level of Cronbach’s alpha is 0.7 and a data set needs to achieve at least this level of reliability to be an acceptable study (Hair et al. 2006). Therefore, the Cronbach’s alpha scores for the OD variable and all of its sub-dimensions for this study are reliable. Respondents were asked to identify the degree of their agreement and disagreement with each of the 28 items on a five-point Likert scale extending from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). Some sample questions from the ODS are as follows: ‘managers encourage me to participate in organisational decisions’, ‘the opinions of the majority are taken into account in institutional decision-making’ and ‘when decisions are made at the institution, everyone who will be affected by those decisions has the right to speak’.

The OCBS used in this study was developed by Podsakoff et al. (1990). The reliability and validity in Turkish were conducted by Ünüvar (2006). The OCBS consists of 24 items that are divided into five sub-dimensions: altruism, conscientiousness, courtesy, sportsmanship and civic virtue. This study only considered the overall OCB variable. The Cronbach’s alpha value for the OCBS (the total of the 24 items) was calculated as 0.80. This value is also considered to be reliable. As with the ODS, the respondents were asked to express the degree of their agreement and disagreement with each of the 24 items on a five-point Likert scale extending from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). Some sample questions from the ODS are as follows: ‘I help people with heavy workloads’, ‘I do not take extra breaks’ and ‘I believe in giving an honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay’.

The study population consisted of bank employees working at branches of a private bank located in the province of Istanbul, Turkey. The bank has a total of 600 employees in its Istanbul branches. According to Sekaran and Bougie (2013), a sample size of 274 is suitable for a population of 600. Consequently, a total of 280 bank employees were randomly selected to take part in the study. Of the 280 questionnaires distributed, 247 were returned of which 240 were applicable for analysis, thereby yielding a response rate of 86%. The questionnaire was applied between March and May 2017.

Questionnaires were distributed to the respondents by the authors through e-mails as a booklet, clearly explaining the purpose of the study. Participation was voluntary. In the booklet, it was emphasised that the study was for scientific purposes and that the respondents’ identities would be strictly held confidential.

The majority of the respondents (51.7%) were male, 53.3% had undergraduate degrees, 38.3% were between the age of 40 and 49 years, 64.2% were married and 35% had experience in the banking sector of 11–15 years (see Table 1).

The Kolmogorov–Smirnov test was conducted to measure the goodness-of-fit of the sample from the population. As Table 2 indicates, the ODS and all of its sub-dimensions were found to fulfil the assumption of normal distribution (p > 0.05).

Table 2 also indicates the respondents’ mean total scores for OD was 3.40 (SD = 0.88). When the sub-dimensions are examined, it can be seen that respondents indicated ‘transparency’ with the highest mean score of 3.63 (SD = 0.92) and the lowest mean score of 3.21 was indicated for the sub-dimension of ‘equality’. Even though the entire mean scores for all the variables are above the 3.00 mid-point score, the mean scores cannot be considered satisfactory. In other words, the respondents’ perceptions of OD can only be considered as moderate. When Kolmogorov–Smirnov test results of the OCBS are examined, it has been found that the scale fulfils the assumption of normal distribution (p > 0.05) (Table 2). The respondents’ mean total score for OCB was 3.52 (SD = 0.97). This score indicates that employees’ perceptions of their OCB were moderate.

The mean scores for OD and its sub-dimension in relation to demographical characteristics are presented in Table 3. When the female respondents are considered, their mean scores are higher when compared to males for all of the OD sub-dimensions except for ‘transparency’. When educational level is considered, respondents with an associate degree indicate the highest mean scores for all of the OD sub-dimensions. Also, the youngest age group indicates the highest mean scores for all of the OD sub-dimensions except for ‘accountability’. The respondents who were not married indicated highest mean scores for all of the OD sub-dimensions when compared to respondents who were married. Respondents with 6–10 years of experience in the banking sector indicated higher levels of mean scores for four of the OD sub-dimensions, except for ‘transparency’, when compared to the other ranges of years of experience. The overall OD mean score is highest for female respondents, holders of a postgraduate degree, the youngest age group, not married and respondents who have 6–10 years of banking sector experience. Table 3 also indicates that the respondents’ perceptions of OD do not vary according to gender, educational status, age, marital status or banking sector experience (p > 0.05).

The mean scores for OCB in relation to demographic characteristics can also be seen in Table 3. Female respondents indicated higher levels of OCB compared to male respondents. Respondents with a postgraduate degree indicated higher mean scores for OCB. The 40–49 years age group displayed higher levels of OCB as do unmarried respondents. Also, the respondents with the most experience in the banking sector indicated that they display higher levels of OCB. However, no statistically significant relationship was found between OCB and the demographical variables (gender, educational status, age, marital status and banking sector experience) (p > 0.05).

According to Pearson’s correlation test, the relationship between OD, its sub-dimensions and OCB is presented in Table 4. There is a positive relationship between OD and OCB as well as all of the OD sub-dimensions and OCB (p < 0.04).

Of the OD sub-dimensions, ‘equality’ indicates the highest level of positive correlation with OCB with the relationship being considered as of medium strength (r = 0.404; p = 0.000). The correlation between the OD sub-dimensions of ‘justice’ (r = 0.329; p = 0.000) and ‘accountability’ (r = 0.309; p = 000) and OCB are also positive and of medium strength. The relationship between the remaining sub-dimensions, namely ‘participation-criticism’ (r = 0.245; p = 0.000) and ‘transparency’ (r = 0.201; p = 0.000), and OCB are also positive; however, the strength of the correlation is weak.

Table 5 displays the regression analysis between the study variables. Hypothesis 1 suggested that employee perception of overall OD positively influences their OCB. As indicated (Table 5), OD perceptions account for 24.5% (adjusted R² = 0.245) of the change in OCB; therefore, this result provides support for H1.

Of the OD sub-dimensions, ‘justice’ has the strongest influence (22.6%) on OCB, thus providing support for H1c (employee perception of justice positively influences their OCB). Furthermore, ‘equality’ predicts 21.8% of the change in OCB. This result provides support for H1d, which suggested that employee perception of equality positively influences their OCB. As for ‘accountability’, ‘transparency’ and ‘participation-criticism’ these dimensions have the least amount of influence on OCB (18.7%, 12.1% and 11.2%, respectively). The remaining hypotheses, H1a (employee perception of ‘participation-criticism’ positively influences their OCB), H1b (employee perception of ‘transparency’ positively influences their OCB) and H1e (employee perception of ‘accountability’ positively influences their OCB) are also supported.

This study, however, has some limitations. Firstly, the study was limited to bank employees at one bank in one city in Turkey. Therefore, this limits the generalisability of the findings and it is recommended that future researchers consider conducting research on banks in the whole of Turkey. Secondly, this study used cross-sectional data; therefore, it is not possible to establish causality between OD and OCB. It is recommended that future researchers consider using a longitudinal design to gather data, thus allowing for causal relationship statements. Furthermore, it is recommended that researchers also investigate other variables that may be influential on OCB, such as organisational commitment, organisational culture and job satisfaction. There is limited research in the literature relating OD and OCB and so this needs to be explored further. This study is a basis for further research in this field.