Organizational citizenship behavior in work groups: A team cultural perspective

• Published in: Journal of organizational behavior Vol. 34; no. 7; pp. 1039 - 1056
• Main Authors: Lai, Jennifer Y. M., Lam, Long W., Lam, Simon S. K.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Chichester Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01-10-2013; John Wiley & Sons; Wiley Periodicals Inc
• Subjects: Chinese people; Collectivism; Corporate culture; Group dynamics; Human performance; Individualism; Individualism-Collectivism; Job performance; Organizational behavior; organizational citizenship behavior; Organizational citizenship behaviour; performance appraisal; Studies; team culture; Team work; Teams; Teamwork; Hong Kong China; China
• ISSN: 0894-3796; 1099-1379
• DOI: 10.1002/job.1840

Although researchers have often found positive relationships between organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) and performance rating, very few studies have scrutinized the team contexts in which such relationships exist. This study examines how OCB influences job performance ratings within different team cultures, as measured by team collectivism and individualism. On the basis of multilevel data collected from 81 teams working at a multinational bank in Hong Kong, team collectivism and individualism were found to moderate the OCB-performance rating relationship such that OCB targeting individuals improved rated performance in highly collectivistic teams only, whereas only organizational OCB produced a significant improvement in highly individualistic teams. The implications of these findings and directions for future research directions are discussed here.