Utility of OCB: Organizational Citizenship Behavior and Group Performance in a Resource Allocation Framework

Building on recent developments in resource allocation theory as applied to organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), the authors examine task interdependence as a contingency factor in the utility of group members’ OCBs for group performance. In a lagged field study, members of 46 work groups in six organizations rated their groups’ task interdependence, and group leaders rated groups’ OCBs. After six months, customers rated each group’s performance. OCB correlated positively with the performance of task-interdependent groups but had a neutral to negative association with the performance of task-independent groups. Consistent with this group-level resource allocation framework, the moderating role of task interdependence varied by dimensions of OCB: helping, civic virtue, and sportsmanship. The authors discuss the practical and theoretical implications of decisions about allocating a key resource, time, to OCB in work groups.

Keywords: OCB, teams, group performance, task interdependence

JEL Classification: M10, M12, M14, M19

Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation

Nielsen, Tjai M. and Bachrach, Daniel G. and Sundstrom, Eric and Halfhill, Terry R., Utility of OCB: Organizational Citizenship Behavior and Group Performance in a Resource Allocation Framework (April 1, 2011). Journal of Management, Vol. 38, No. 2, pp. 668-694, March 2012, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2243036