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Five dimensions of organizational citizenship behavior: Comparing antecedents and levels of engagement in China and the US

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Abstract

The purpose of this article is to investigate differences between the US and China in (1) employees’ level of engagement in the five dimensions of organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) identified by Organ (1988), and (2) the effects of perceived distributive justice and perceived supervisor support on OCB. Results suggest that Chinese respondents have a higher level of sportsmanship and courtesy, but a lower level of civic virtue than the US respondents. In addition, perceived supervisor support is significantly related to all five OCB dimensions for the Chinese sample, whereas for the US sample, perceived distributive justice is significantly related to conscientiousness and sportsmanship and marginally related to altruism. A follow-up study was conducted in the US to examine the direct effects of such cultural factors as individualistic/collectivistic orientation and power distance orientation on each of the five OCB dimensions, and their moderating effects on the relationships of the five OCB dimensions with perceived supervisor support and perceived distributive justice. Results suggest an effect of individualistic/collectivistic orientation on the five OCB dimensions. No relationship was found between power distance orientation and OCB. Moreover, the results did not support our predictions regarding the moderating effects of individualistic/collectivistic orientation and power distance orientation on the relationships between OCB dimensions and perceived supervisor support or perceived distributive justice.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Management, College of Business Administration, University of Texas - Pan American, Edinburg, TX, 78539, USA

    Lei Wang

  2. Department of Management, College of Business, Minnesota State University, Mankato, Mankato, MN, 56001, USA

    Kim T. Hinrichs

  3. Division of International Business and Technology Studies, A.R. Sanchez, Jr., School of Business, Texas A&M International University, Laredo, TX, 78041, USA

    Leonel Prieto

  4. Management Department, College of Business and Economics, New Mexico State University, P. O. Box 30001, MSC 3DJ, Las Cruces, NM, 88003, USA

    Jon P. Howell

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  1. Lei Wang
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Correspondence to Lei Wang.

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Wang, L., Hinrichs, K.T., Prieto, L. et al. Five dimensions of organizational citizenship behavior: Comparing antecedents and levels of engagement in China and the US. Asia Pac J Manag 30, 115–147 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10490-010-9237-1

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