The current paper investigates the relationship between Organizational Commitment, Organizational Identification and Organizational Citizenship Behavior. At the beginning, a short insight into the theoretical construct of these concepts is given to better understand them. Two empirical studies will support the idea that Organizational Commitment and Organizational Identification influence directly Organizational Citizenship Behavior. The findings of the first study show that the concepts of Organizational Commitment and Organizational Citizenship Behavior translate to the Nepalese context. Furthermore, the positive linkage of Organizational Citizenship Behavior components to affective and normative commitment is supported. The second study affirms as well the strong relationship between Organizational Identification and Organizational Citizenship Behavior. It also reveals the validity of the relationship over time and the applicability on the team level. Furthermore, the indirect influence of Organizational Identification on organizational criteria mediated through Organizational Citizenship Behavior is proven. The findings of these two studies reveal the importance of identification and commitment for an organization.
Overview
Abstract
1. INTRODUCTION
2. The oretical constructs of Organizational Commitment, Organizational Identification and Organizational Citizenship Behavior
2.1 Definition and theoretical construct of Organizational Commitment
2.2 Definition and theoretical construct of Organizational Identification
2.3 Definition and theoretical construct of Organizational Citizenship Behavior
2.4 Relationship between Organizational Commitment, Organizational Identification and Organizational Citizenship Behavior
3. Empirical Studies
3.1 Organizational Citizenship Behavior and Organizational Commitment
in Nepal (Gautam et al., 2004)
3.1.1 Method and participants
3.1.2 Results
3.2 Identity and the extra mile: Relationships between Organizational Identification and Organizational Citizenship Behavior
(Van Dick et al., 2006)
3.2.1 Study 1
3.2.1.1 Participants and method
3.2.1.2 Results
3.2.2 Study 2
3.2.2.1 Participants
3.2.2.2 Results
3.2.3 Study 3
3.2.3.1 Participants
3.2.3.2 Results
3.2.4 Study 4
3.2.4.1 Participants
3.2.4.2 Results
4. Discussion
5. Literature
Abstract
The current paper investigates the relationship between Organizational Commitment, Organizational Identification and Organizational Citizenship Behavior. At the beginning, a short insight into the theoretical construct of these concepts is given to better understand them. Two empirical studies will support the idea that Organizational Commitment and Organizational Identification influence directly Organizational Citizenship Behavior. The findings of the first study show that the concepts of Organizational Commitment and Organizational Citizenship Behavior translate to the Nepalese context. Furthermore, the positive linkage of Organizational Citizenship Behavior components to affective and normative commitment is supported. The second study affirms as well the strong relationship between Organizational Identification and Organizational Citizenship Behavior. It also reveals the validity of the relationship over time and the applicability on the team level. Furthermore, the indirect influence of Organizational Identification on organizational criteria mediated through Organizational Citizenship Behavior is proven. The findings of these two studies reveal the importance of identification and commitment for an organization.
1. INTRODUCTION
Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB) is an important aspect for the well-functioning of an organization. Therefore, a lot of attention has been given to study the functioning, the mechanisms, and the outcomes of OCB in the last years. OCB is thought to have an important impact on the effectiveness and efficiency of work teams and organizations, therefore contributing to the overall productivity of the organization.
In this paper, I would like to focus on two constructs relevant to employees’ behavior and organizations’ performance, namely Organizational Commitment (OC) and Organizational Identification (OI), and the relationship those two constructs have with OCB. Organizational identification seems to be an important antecedent to OCB, and therefore an important aspect to understand and to enhance in order to promote OCB in an organization. The main question is how these two constructs function and how they relate to OCB. To answer this question, I will take the studies from Van Dick, Grojean, Christ and Wieseke (2006) and from Gautam, van Dick, Wagner, Upadhyay and Davis (2004), which give a good insight into the subject.
At the beginning, I would like to give an insight into the theoretical constructs of Organizational Commitment, Organizational Identification and Organizational Citizenship Behavior. Thus, it will help to get familiar with these different concepts. Afterwards, I will present two empirical studies that deal with the relationship of Organizational Commitment, Organizational Identification and Organizational Citizenship Behavior. The article from Van Dick et al. (2006) shows in detail the influence and relationship Organizational Identification has on Organizational Citizenship Behavior and therefore on organizational criteria like customers’ evaluations or sales figures. The second article from Gautam et al. (2004), examines the structure of organizational citizenship behavior in an under-researched socio-cultural setting like in Nepal, and explores the causal structure of relationships between OCB and OC in this context. At the end, I will resume and discuss the findings of the two studies in a general discussion.
2. The oretical constructs of Organizational Commitment, Organizational Identification and Organizational Citizenship Behavior
In this chapter I would like to give an insight into the theoretical constructs of Organizational Commitment, Organizational Identification and Organizational Citizenship Behavior.
2.1 Definition and theoretical construct of Organizational Commitment
Commitment describes the attachment a person has to a target. The target can be social or non-social, and could apply to foci such as organizations, work groups and supervisors, as well as to jobs, goals and organizational programs or change initiatives. It also reflects that an individual’s bond with a target commits the person to behaviors pertinent to that target. Meyer and Allen (1997, cited after Van Dick, 2005) discussed that commitment develops and is maintained mainly through exchange of status and goods (e.g. good salary, good work climate, important position at work). An important point with organizational commitment is, that the organization is seen as exterior part of the person, in contrast to the concept of organizational identity.
Furthermore, we can distinguish between 3 different forms of commitment, which are explained in the three–component model of commitment (Meyer & Allen, 1997, cited after Gautam et al., 2004). First, we have the affective commitment, which means that employees may maintain an attachment to a given target because they want to. This kind of attachment is emotional, because the target has a great personal importance for the person. The second form of commitment is the normative commitment. The reason of attachment towards a goal is due to moral-ethical feelings. This means that persons maintain an attachment because they feel they should. The last form of attachment is the continuance commitment. This kind of attachment is kept because of the costs that are
associated with leaving the target (e.g. the organization). Meyer, Stanley, Herscovitch and Toponytsky (2002, cited after Meyer, Becker & Van Dick, 2006) discussed that affective commitment has relatively strong and positive relations with desirable workplace behaviors such as attendance, citizenship behavior and job performance; normative commitment has weaker positive relations with these behaviors, and continuance commitment has negative relations with these behaviors.
2.2 Definition and theoretical construct of Organizational Identification
Identification is the knowledge of belonging or membership to a group, and this knowledge of belonging is linked with emotions. Furthermore, the knowledge of belonging influences behavior. If we apply this definition to an organization, we can say that Organizational Identity is the knowledge of an employee to be part of a specific organization, in association with the feelings and the subjective appraisal the employee attributes to that belonging (Van Dick, 2005). The identification is a result of the employee’s perception that his goals, values and norms are consistent with those of the organization. The key aspect in social identities is the inclusion of group membership as part of one’s self-concept (Riketta, 2005, cited after Meyer et al., 2006).
2.3 Definition and theoretical construct of Organizational Citizenship Behavior
The concept of Organizational Citizenship Behavior has been introduced by Organ in 1983 (cited after Nerdinger, 2004). He defines OCB as behavior that is non-rewarded and that is not part of the formal job requirements. Furthermore, OCB needs to be voluntary and promote the well-being and efficient functioning of the organization. OCB involves discretionary behavior that helps co-workers, supervisors, and the organization. This could for example be assisting newcomers to the organization, not abusing the rights of co-workers, not taking extra breaks, attending elective company meetings, and enduring minor impositions that occur when working with others. A key element to OCB is voluntarily aiding others with job-related problems. Multidimensional delineations have identified OCB facets such as conscientiousness, sportsmanship, civic virtue, courtesy, and altruism (Podsakoff, Ahearne & MacKenzie, 1997, cited after Gautam et al., 2004).
Other researchers have divided OCB into two types: behavior that is directed mainly at individuals in the organization (OCBI), and behavior that is concerned more with helping the organization as a whole (OCBO) (Williams & Anderson, 1991, cited after Nerdinger, 2004). Courtesy and altruism are viewed as mainly benefiting coworkers, whereas conscientiousness, sportsmanship and civic virtue are directed at the organization (cf. Van Dyne, Cummings & Parks, 1995, cited after Nerdinger, 2004; Williams & Anderson, 1991, cited after Nerdinger, 2004).
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- Quote paper
- Marco Gemmiti (Author), 2007, The relationship between Organizational Commitment, Organizational Identification and Organizational Citizenship Behavior , Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/91123
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