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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between stewardship behaviour and perceived goal congruence. Using local governments, the paper introduces collectivism as a moderating variable to ascertain whether the mixed views in the stewardship behaviour-perceived goal congruence nexus is due to variations in collectivism. Design/methodology/approach The paper espouses a cross-sectional descriptive and analytical design. The authors use structural equation modelling to investigate hypotheses. Using proportionate and simple random sampling procedures, a sample of 310 respondents were drawn from local governments in Uganda of which a response rate of 72.6 per cent was obtained. Findings The findings show that stewardship behaviour and collectivism are significant predictors of perceived goal congruence. Furthermore, the magnitude effect of stewardship behaviour on perceived goal congruence depends on collectivism; implying that the assumption of non-additivity is met. Research limitations/implications Only a single research methodological approach was employed and future research through interviews could be undertaken to triangulate. Practical implications Variations that occur in stewardship behaviour create variations in goal congruence in local governments. It is confirmed that collectivism technically strengthens the link between stewardship behaviour and perceived goal congruence: suggesting that indeed collectivism could establish a maximal impact on the stewardship behaviour—perceived goal congruence link. Originality/value This is one of the few studies that focus on testing the interactive effects of collectivism on the relationship between stewardship behaviour and perceived goal congruence in local governments in Uganda.