The role of organizational justice in organizational citizenship behavior

This special issue highlights the relationships between the concepts of organizational justice and organizational citizenship behavior. The articles advance our understanding of these concepts and their relevance to organizational behavior by describing the theoretical and empirical relationship between them. The present article sets the stage for the papers that follow by providing background on the concepts of organizational justice and organizational citizenship behavior and explaining various connections between them.     

The linkage between profit sharing and organizational citizenship behaviour

The study investigated the effects of profit sharing (cash-based, stock-based and combined-total profit sharing) on organizational citizenship behaviour (OCB). It also examined the mediating role of organizational commitment on the relationship between profit sharing and OCB. Data were collected from 426 employees of 35 information electronics companies in Taiwan. Results showed that whereas cash-based profit sharing had no effect on OCB, both combined-total profit sharing and stock-based profit sharing positively influenced OCB. We also found that organizational commitment mediated the relationship between profit sharing (stock-based and combined-total profit sharing) and OCB.     

Treating employees fairly and organizational citizenship behavior: Sorting the effects of job satisfaction,organizational commitment,and procedural justice

A study was conducted to measure the relative contribution of perceptions of procedural justice toward predicting organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) controlling for the effects of job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Employees in a national cable television company completed a survey containing measures of work satisfaction, affective and continuance commitment, and perceptions of fairness, while their managers completed an OCB survey. Results using LISREL 7 indicated support fpr relationships between procedural justice and commitment, satisfaction, and OCB. However, no individual relationships between commitment and OCB nor between satisfaction and OCB were found once the relationships between justice and citizenship were controlled. These findings are discussed using the group value model of procedural justice.     

Justice and organizational citizenship behavior: What is the relationship?

This study investigates the relationship between perceptions of overall fairness, organizational citizenship behavior, employee attitudes, and the quality of the supervisory/subordinate relationship based on the justice and organizational citizenship literature. Results show that employees do form perceptions of overall fairness and that these perceptions influence job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Relationships are found between altruism and perceptions of overall fairness, job satisfaction and categories of organizational citizenship behavior, and the quality of the supervisory-subordinate relationship and perception of overall fairness and organizational citizenship behavior. Practical implications and issues for future research are discussed.     

Justice and organizational citizenship: A commentary on the state of the science

The present article discusses the state of the science regarding the connection between organizational justice and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) as reflected by the articles included in this issue. The research described in these articles reaches a conclusion in need of further elaboration—namely, that people will behave altruistically toward the oroganizations in which they work when they believe those organizations have treated them fairly. Various conceptual issues are discussed. These include: the willingness of people to express inequity distress by withholding OCB, the relative importance of procedural justice compared to distributive justice as a determinant of OCB (especially the social aspects of procedural justice), and the extent to which a reduction in OCB may reflect a desire to influence another individual, or the organization in general. A variety of methodological issues are also discussed. In this connection, it is suggested that correlational, questionnaire measures be supplemented by open-ended interview studies as well as laboratory investigations. Moreover, if questionnaires continue to be used, then it is recommended that attempts be made to improve the validity of both measures of justice and OCB.     

The effects of internal and external sources of justice on employee turnover intention and organizational citizenship behavior toward clients and workgroup members

Abstract

Organizational justice research tends to focus on the effects of fair treatment from organizations or supervisors on employee attitudes and behaviors. Thus, there is a dearth of research on the effects of fair treatment attributable to other parties that employees interact with at work such as coworkers and clients. Controlling for organization-focused and supervisor-focused justice, results from our field study of employees working in a healthcare organization demonstrate that perceptions of client-focused fairness uniquely predicts supervisor ratings of employees organizational citizenship behavior toward clients and that perceptions of workgroup-focused justice uniquely predicts organizational citizenship behavior toward workgroups. Further, we find that client-focused justice perceptions uniquely predict employee turnover intention.     

Employee preference for performance-related pay: predictors and consequences for organizational citizenship behaviour in a Japanese firm

Research on performance-related pay (PRP) has largely focused on the outcomes of PRP implementation in a Western context. This paper examines the predictors of employee preference for PRP and the consequences for organizational citizenship behaviour (OCB) in Japan where seniority-based pay and teamwork have long been the norm. The sample consists of 155 sales representatives in a large electric appliance manufacturing company that was transitioning from a seniority-based to a PRP-based compensation system. Overall, respondents indicated a preference for PRP over seniority-based pay. The hierarchical regression results indicate that employee preference for PRP is positively and significantly associated with individual competitiveness and occupational commitment, while being negatively and significantly related to organizational commitment and to the age group of employees who joined the labour market prior to the bursting of the economic bubble in Japan. No significant relationship was observed between PRP preference and OCB in the hierarchical regression analysis, although the two are positively and significantly correlated contrary to our expectations. Implications for international human resource management are discussed.     

The role of organizational citizenship behaviour and rewards in strategy effectiveness

Abstract

In this paper we contribute to the strategy and OCB literature by empirically exploring how middle managers as strategic actors in product-market strategy making are enabled or constrained in the strategy process. We explore the role of organizationally targeted organizational citizenship behaviour (OCBO) as a conduit for strategy effectiveness. This is a departure from most OCB studies which concentrate on organizational effectiveness. We assess the mediating role of social and extrinsic rewards as organizational structural processes underlying the OCBO-strategy effectiveness relationship. Our results reveal that while OCBO has no direct influence on strategy effectiveness, participation as a form of social reward partially mediates the OCBO strategy effectiveness relationship. However, the negative mediation effect reveals that excessive participation reduces strategy effectiveness. In terms of extrinsic reward practices, process rewards partially and positively mediate the relationship. Focusing on OCBO our results contribute to the call for more nuanced studies into OCB relationships and performance and to the recent debate surrounding whether certain OCB behaviours are perceived as rewarded. We highlight that whilst OCBO is not in itself an important precondition for fostering effective strategy performance, organizational structural processes in the form of reward practices can foster beneficial OCBO which supports strategy effectiveness.     

The impact of socially responsible human resource management on employees' organizational citizenship behaviour: the mediating role of organizational identification

Based on insights from social exchange and social identity theories, this paper examines the influence of three dimensions of socially responsible human resource management (SR-HRM), namely legal compliance HRM, employee-oriented HRM and general CSR facilitation HRM, on employees' organizational citizenship behaviour (OCB). Structural equation modelling of dyadic data collected from Chinese employees and their direct supervisors in three phases revealed that whilst organizational identification fully mediated the relationship between employee-oriented HRM and employee OCB, general CSR facilitation HRM had a direct effect on employee OCB. In contrast, legal compliance HRM neither influenced employee OCB directly, nor indirectly through organizational identification. The findings highlight the important but complex role played by SR-HRM in eliciting positive employee work outcomes, and contribute to our knowledge of the mechanisms underlying this relationship.     

Examining organizational citizenship behavior of Japanese employees: a multidimensional analysis of the relationship to organizational commitment

Although there is now considerable research concerning organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), little is known about the possibility of the transposition of such a research topic to a Japanese context. This study proposes and substantiates a three-dimension model of OCB in the Japanese context, comprising voluntary involvement, generalized compliance, and personal industry. Furthermore, the examination of the relationship between organizational commitment and OCB indicates that affective commitment is positively associated with voluntary involvement and personal industry. Also, continuance commitment is positively related to generalized compliance and, simultaneously, negatively associated with voluntary involvement. Finally, theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

The mediating role of organizational justice on the relationship between administrative performance appraisal practices and organizational commitment

This study investigates the relationships among administrative performance appraisal (PA) practices, perception of organizational justice and organizational commitment. The results obtained from 395 employees who work in manufacturing companies in Taiwan show that the implementation of administrative PA activities is highly associated with employee perception of organizational justice and that the level of perceived organizational justice is highly associated with the level of organizational commitment. The results also demonstrate that perceived organizational justice has a partial mediating effect on the relationship between administrative PA practices and organizational commitment. Theoretical and practical implications of these results are discussed.     

Relationships between organizational justice,organizational trust and organizational commitment: a cross-cultural study of China,South Korea and Australia

In an increasingly globalized world, organizations that operate in more than one country are a substantial part of the world economy. It is therefore beneficial to understand the attitudes of employees in different countries and their impact on the organization. One important area is organizational justice and its relationships with organizational trust (OT) and organizational commitment. This empirical study collected survey data from university employees across China, South Korea and Australia. We proposed that OT would mediate the relationships between affective organizational commitment (AOC) and both distributive justice (DJ) and procedural justice (PJ) in all three countries. In Australia, we found that PJ and AOC were significantly related, and OT fully mediated the PJ-AOC relationship. In China and South Korea, both DJ and PJ were significantly related to AOC, and OT fully mediated the PJ-AOC relationship. OT partially mediated the DJ-AOC relationship in China but fully mediated this relationship in South Korea. Implications for theory and for management practitioners are discussed, and areas for future investigation are identified.     

The moderating effects of organizational context on the relationship between voluntary turnover and organizational performance: Evidence from Korea

Scholars have suggested that the relationship between voluntary turnover and organizational performance can be moderated by the organizational context in which turnover occurs. However, there are few empirical studies that examine such moderating effects. Using a sample of 161 firms in South Korea, this study investigates how the relationship between voluntary turnover and organizational performance is moderated by three context variables: (1) the degree of organizational usage of employee involvement practices, (2) the degree of organizational investment in employee training and development, and (3) the availability of potential workers. The results demonstrate that employee involvement practices significantly amplify the negative relationship between voluntary turnover and organizational performance, give marginal support for moderation from the availability of potential workers, and provide no support for moderation from the degree of organizational investment in employee training and development. We discuss theoretical and practical implications of this study for enriching our understanding of the relationship between voluntary turnover and organizational performance. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Performance appraisal,employee development and organizational justice: exploring the linkages

Much has been written about performance appraisal (PA) in such a manner as to suggest that the process is politically driven, even though one of its primary purposes is said to be the development of the individual employee. Our examination of a cross-section of workers' perceptions of this process was therefore motivated by the need to determine whether they believed that they experienced fair outcomes from PA, and whether its usage was seen to contribute toward their career advancement.

Given the role unions are expected to play in shaping human resource outcomes, we hypothesized that workers in the non-union environment would experience lower levels of procedural and interactional justice than their trade-union counterparts. We also hypothesized that, since unions might be asked to walk a tightrope in contesting PA decisions affecting different persons who were union members, employers would be able to exercise much discretion in making those decisions, with the result that there would not be any appreciable difference in justice perceptions between union member and non-union member. A third hypothesis that informed the research was that workers' perceptions about the treatment received from performance appraisal were likely to influence their expectations regarding career advancement, as expressed through opportunities for training and development, pay for performance and promotions.

No significant differences in perception were found among union and non-union respondents' perceptions about the vast majority of procedural elements used in this study. Contrary to our hypothesis, non-union respondents expressed less unfavourable perceptions about the interactional elements than their trade-union counterparts. The results confirmed the hypothesis that workers who believed that performers were not treated fairly as a result of performance appraisal would also agree that their expectations regarding development and advancement were not being met. We found significant, but relatively moderate relationships between perceptions about treatment of performers and their expectations about career advancement.     

The role of organizational culture in the relationship between leadership and organizational commitment: an empirical study in a Greek organization

The aim of this paper is to explore the nature of relationships between organizational culture and leadership behaviours in affecting employees' commitment to their work organization. Building on organizational commitment literature, this study used a survey methodology. Empirical evidence was obtained from 300 employees working in a large Greek service company. The analyses indicated that the culture orientations examined served as mediators in the relationship between leader behaviour and followers' affective and normative commitment to the organization. The findings also indicated that continuance commitment is a two-dimensional construct; the ‘personal sacrifices’ dimension was found to be related to organizational culture and transactional contingent reward. This research paper has key messages for practitioners contributing to the fields of commitment, organizational culture, leadership and human resource management.     

Fairness in human resource management,social exchange relationships,and citizenship behavior: testing linkages of the target similarity model among nurses in the United States

The current study tests key linkages of the target similarity model by examining relationships among multifoci justice, social exchange, and supervisor ratings of employee citizenship behavior. We found support for the model when examining three different workplace targets simultaneously (i.e., the organization as a whole, supervisors, and workgroup members) using a sample of hospital nurses in the United States. Specifically, we found that: (1) employee perceptions of workgroup fairness, supervisor fairness, and organizational fairness differentially and positively predicted perceived workgroup support (PGS), perceived supervisor support (PSS), and perceived organizational support (POS), respectively and (2) PGS, PSS, and POS differentially and positively predicted citizenship behavior toward the workgroup, toward the supervisor, and toward the organization, respectively. Theoretical and practical implications for the strategic management of human resources are discussed, as are limitations of the study and suggestions for future research.     

Organizational citizenship behaviour: a study of young executives in Canada,Iran, and Turkey

One of the most interesting constructs in organizational studies and human resource management is perhaps the concept of organizational citizenship behaviour (OCB). OCB emphasizes constructive and cooperative employee behaviours that contribute to the organization, yet do not fall within the domain of mandatory in-role behaviours. While researchers have investigated the role of contextual attitudes and dispositional attributes on the OCB, there is a lack in cross-cultural examination of this concept. The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of individuals' job-related attitudes and dispositional characteristics on their OCB in three different societal cultures, that is, Canada, Iran, and Turkey. Data reported were collected from 220 young executives in these three countries. The results reveal similarities and differences among these cultures on cognitive and affective predictors of OCB.     

Predictors of organizational commitment in India: strategic HR roles,organizational learning capability and psychological empowerment

Employee commitment continues to be one of the most exciting issues for both practitioners and academicians. Linkages in literature are found for HRM Practices, but there is a lacuna of research linking organizational commitment and strategic HR roles, psychological empowerment as well as organizational learning capability. The current study examines these linkages. Whether these variables predict organizational commitment in Indian managers or not, is also investigated. The sample size of the study comprises of 640 Indian managers. Bivariate and multivariate analysis confirms the hypotheses drawn from the literature. The paper discusses the theoretical and practical implications of the findings.     

Circular economy and sustainability: The role of organizational behaviour in the transition journey

Implementing circular economy (CE) requires complex and dynamic changes in technical and behavioural aspects. Few studies spend efforts to understand the organizational behavioural side of CE transition. Thus, this study proposes a theoretical framework that addresses the requirements for the transition towards CE from the organizational perspective. We conducted a systematic review aiming to identify the relations between CE and organizational culture. As a result, we developed a theoretical framework composed of five building blocks (mindsets, values, behaviours, capabilities and competences) that guide the transition towards a CE-oriented culture aiming to achieve sustainability in business. We also identified several gaps for future researches. We concluded that the framework could enrich the literature discussion in the field and be used by practitioners for the identification of paths to implement CE from the organizational culture perspective. In addition, the use of this framework could lead to the achievement of the sustainable development.     

The role of organizational control in outsourcing practices: An empirical study

Recent case study research has examined the role of organization control as a critical component of outsourcing performance (Kang et al. 2012a. Journal of Business Research 65, 1195–1201). In contrast to case study methodology, this paper aims to empirically examine the relationships among outsourcing strategies and organizational control in the Chinese context and refine the theoretical and managerial implications of the current research model. Based on data collected from 158 firms operating in China, this paper examines the impact of two types of outsourcing strategies on different organizational control measures. Our findings suggest that for efficiency-seeking outsourcing, output control and process control are appropriate in creating successful outsourcing practices. As for innovation-seeking outsourcing, social control and process control are the most effective options. Theoretical and managerial implications for strategic outsourcing are also discussed.