Daniel G. Bachrach

Organizational Citizenship Behaviors: A Critical Review of the Theoretical and Empirical Literature and Suggestions for Future Research

The rapid growth of research on organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs) has resulted in some conceptual confusion about the nature of the construct, and made it difficult for all but the most avid readers to keep up with developments in this domain. This paper critically examines the literature on organizational citizenship behavior and other, related constructs. More specifically, it: (a) explores the conceptual similarities and differences between the various forms of “citizenship” behavior constructs identified in the literature; (b) summarizes the empirical findings of both the antecedents and consequences of OCBs; and (c) identifies several interesting directions for future research.

Scholarly Influence in the Field of Management: A Bibliometric Analysis of the Determinants of University and Author Impact in the Management Literature in the Past Quarter Century

The purpose of this study is to identify the universities and research scholars who have had the greatest impact on the field of management during the past quarter century and the factors that influence their impact. Using bibliometric techniques, the authors examined 30 management journals to identify the 100 most-cited universities and 150 most-cited authors from 1981 to 2004. The analysis included more than 1,600 universities and 25,000 management scholars across five individual time periods. The findings showed that (a) a relatively small proportion of universities and scholars accounted for the majority of the citations in the field; (b) total publications accounted for the majority of the variance in university citations; (c) university size, the number of PhDs awarded, research expenditures, and endowment assets had the biggest impact on university publications; and (d) total publications, years in the field, graduate school reputation, and editorial board memberships had the biggest effect on a scholars citations.

Organizational citizenship behavior and performance evaluations: exploring the impact of task interdependence.

The influence of task interdependence on the importance attributed to organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) in evaluations of employee performance was investigated in 3 studies. In Study 1,238 undergraduates were exposed to a task interdependence manipulation and a unit-level performance manipulation and provided citizenship ratings. In Study 2,148 master of business administration students were exposed to a task interdependence manipulation and then rated the importance of OCB in their evaluations of employee performance. In Study 3,130 managers rated the task interdependence in their unit of principal responsibility and the importance of OCB in their overall evaluations of employee performance. The results suggest task interdependence may affect the importance attributed to OCB by evaluators. Implications of these results are explored.

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.

The impact of situational constraints, role stressors, and commitment on employee altruism.

This study investigated relations between 3 work-related stressors (role ambiguity, role conflict, and organizational constraints) and altruistic behavior in the workplace. It was predicted that each stressor would be negatively related to altruism and that these relations would be moderated by affective commitment (AC). Data from 144 incumbent-supervisor dyads revealed that all 3 stressors were weakly and negatively related to altruism. Two of these relationships were moderated by AC, although not as predicted. Organizational constraints were positively related to altruism among those reporting high levels of AC but negatively related among those reporting low levels of AC. The pattern was exactly opposite for role conflict. Implications of these findings are discussed.

Organizational investments in social capital, managerial coaching, and employee work-related performance

This survey-based research study explores the influence of managerial coaching behavior on relationships between organizational investments in social capital (OISC) and employee work-related performance. The results obtained from a survey of 408 employees from multiple organizations across a wide range of industries indicate that OISC are positively related to employee job performance, commitment to service quality, and organizational citizenship behavior. However, the results from sub-group analyses also indicate that these relationships are stronger at low to moderate levels of managerial coaching suggesting that selective rather than exhaustive application of the developmental approach may be more effective. Theoretical and practical implications of these somewhat unexpected findings are developed.

ERP in the minds of supervisors

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to test the existence of direct and moderating effects of task interdependence and culture on supervisory views of enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems.Design/methodology/approach – To analyze these effects, an experiment was conducted in the USA and The Peoples Republic of China. A total of 304 management supervisors participated. Participants were exposed to an interdependence manipulation and then rated the importance of ERP in the case contexts described by experimental treatments.Findings – Results support the moderating effects of culture on the extent to which task interdependence impacts managerial views of the communicative capabilities of ERP systems. Task interdependence effects are much less severe among the views of Chinese managers.Research limitations/implications – Main limitations potentially stem from our specific operationalizations of the factors studied as well as selectivity of the subject pool. As with many empirical comparisons of cultu...

Role Expectations as Antecedents of Citizenship and the Moderating Effects of Work Context

In this field study of 198 incumbents, we examine how facets of work context affect the relationship between employees’ role expectations and supervisor ratings of their citizenship. Building on an emerging focus in the citizenship literature, we expand the scope of role perceptions to capture employees’ beliefs about the importance of various work activities and worker attributes needed for successful role performance (i.e., role expectations). Results support the role theory framework that we develop and suggest that aspects of both the social and task context moderate the relationship between employees’ role expectations for prosocial role requirements and citizenship. Implications of these results for both theory and practice in the citizenship area are discussed, as are directions for further research.

Salespeople as knowledge brokers: a review and critique of the challenger sales model

Over the last several years, there has been increasing interest in a new sales training approach – referred to as the Challenger Sales model – to engage customers. This approach, focusing on purposefully generating tension with customers to spark new ways of thinking, has gained traction among leading sales organizations. Although generating tension with customers has received a great deal of interest, researchers have yet to complete a systematic, in-depth examination of the Challenger model. The purpose of this article is to provide a much needed comprehensive review and critique of the approach. By conducting both an empirical and conceptual review of the framework, we offer insight into its novelty, merits and weaknesses.

Importance of Organizational Citizenship Behaviour for Overall Performance Evaluation: Comparing the Role of Task Interdependence in China and the USA

In a cross-cultural experiment, we examined how task interdependence influences the importance of organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) in employee performance evaluations in China and the USA. A total of 150 graduate students in China and 154 in the USA (a total of 304), who serve as evaluators, participated in the experiment. Participants were exposed to a task interdependence manipulation and then rated the importance of OCB in their overall performance evaluations of employees. Results support the moderating effects of national culture (both using a country proxy and as a measure of collectivism) on the affects of task interdependence. Although among evaluators from the USA perceptions of the importance of OCB increased as task interdependence increased, the effects of task interdependence were significantly attenuated among evaluators from China. Implications of these results for research and practice are discussed.