Beyond universal values: Examining the role of military values and virtues for organizational citizenship behavior and motivation to assume military leadership roles.

The extent to which values and virtues influence leadership in military contexts - particularly compared to civilian settings - remains a key question in leadership research. Based on data from Swiss military recruits in basic training (N = 396), this study examines how universal and military-specific values and virtues relate to organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) and motivation to assume military leadership roles (MALR). Results show that both universal values (e.g. Intellectualism, Harmony) and military values and virtues (e.g. Good Soldiership, Fortitude) are associated with leadership-relevant outcomes. Hierarchical regression analyses further reveal that military values and virtues explain additional variance beyond universal values. These findings suggest that culturally embedded value systems, such as those institutionalized in the military, are distinctly associated with prosocial and leadership-oriented behavioral and motivational tendencies. They offer conceptual insights into the relevance of value frameworks within military organizations institutionally shaped by mission command principles.