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Research article

The Causes of Organizational Citizenship Behavior: A Motivational Analysis

Sheila M. Rioux; Louis A. Penner

Journal of Applied Psychology • 2001 • DOI

audience: factory-internalaudience: velaPeople Analyticsbridge (2)processed in meta-factory

Abstract

This study addressed the role of motives in organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). Three motives were identified through factor analyses: prosocial values, organizational concern, and impression management. Scales that measured these motives and other variables known to covary with OCB were administered to 141 municipal employees and were correlated with self-, peer, and supervisor ratings of 5 aspects of OCB. Relative to the other motives, prosocial values motives were most strongly associated with OCB directed at individuals, and organizational concern motives were most strongly associated with OCB directed toward the organization. Each of the motives accounted for unique amounts of variance in OCB. The results suggest that motives may play an important role in OCB.

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Models (1)

  • Functional Approach to Organizational Citizenship Behavior

    evidence: Medium

    Motivation • Engagement/Commitment

    Primary factors

    Prosocial ValuesOrganizational ConcernImpression Management

    Field domains

    I-O PsychologyOrganizational Behavior

Instruments (5)

  • Citizenship Motives Scale (CMS)

    developer: Sheila M. Rioux

    Constructs

    Motives for Organizational Citizenship Behavior

    reliability: Coefficient alphas ranged from .84 to .94; test-retest reliabilities ranged from .71 to .82

  • Organizational Justice Scales

    developer: Price and Mueller (Distributive Justice), Moorman (Procedural Justice)

    Constructs

    Distributive JusticeProcedural Justice

    reliability: Cronbach's alphas were .94 and .89, respectively

  • Job Affect Scale (Positive Affect subscale)

    developer: Brief, Burke, George, Robinson, & Webster

    Constructs

    Positive Mood

    reliability: Cronbach's alpha was .92

  • Prosocial Personality Battery (PSB)

    developer: Penner, Fritzsche, Craiger, and Freifeld

    Constructs

    Prosocial Dispositions

    reliability: Cronbach's alphas were .82 and .72, respectively

  • OCB Scale

    developer: Podsakoff, MacKenzie, Moorman, and Fetter

    Constructs

    Organizational Citizenship Behavior

    reliability: Subscale alphas ranged from .60 to .87

Constructs (4)

  • Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB)

    OCB_001

    Discretionary prosocial behaviors that are directed at specific individuals or groups within the organization (altruism) and prosocial behaviors directed at the organization (conscientiousness).

    Domains

    MotivationPerformance Management

    OCB is measured through self-, peer, and supervisor ratings.

  • Prosocial Values Motives

    PSV_002

    Motives involving a need to be helpful and a desire to build positive relationships with others.

    Domains

    MotivationNetworks & Relationships

    Correlates strongly with altruism-related OCB dimensions.

  • Organizational Concern Motives

    OCM_003

    Motives involving a desire for the company to do well and a desire to show pride in and commitment to the organization.

    Domains

    MotivationOrganizational Commitment

    Correlates strongly with conscientiousness-related OCB dimensions.

  • Impression Management Motives

    IMM_004

    Motives concerned with a desire to avoid looking bad to coworkers and supervisors and to obtain rewards.

    Domains

    MotivationNetworks & Relationships

    No significant correlations with OCB dimensions, but added variance in Sportsmanship.

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