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Group cultural values and political skills: A situationist perspective on interpersonal citizenship behaviors

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Abstract

Drawing on Mischel’s (1968) situationist perspective, we theorized that in a weak situation, one created by a group culture of low power distance (PD) or low uncertainty avoidance (UA), political skills increase the display of interpersonal citizenship behaviors. In a strong situation, one created by a high group PD or high group UA, the application of political skills is constrained. In a sample comprising of supervisor–employee groups from Canada and India, we highlight group culture as an important boundary condition on interpersonal citizenship behaviors and recommend that leaders carefully consider the cultures that they create in their groups.

Résumé

En nous appuyant sur la perspective situationniste de Mischel (1968), nous avons théorisé que dans une situation faible, créée par une culture de groupe d’une faible distance hiérarchique (DH) ou d’un faible contrôle de l’incertitude (CI), les compétences politiques accentuent la manifestation de comportements de citoyenneté interpersonnelle. Dans une situation forte, créée par une DH élevée ou un CI élevé, l’application de compétences politiques est contrainte. A l’aide d’un échantillon composé de groupes de superviseurs et d’employés au Canada et en Inde, nous mettons en lumière que la culture de groupe constitue une condition limite importante de comportements de citoyenneté interpersonnelle et nous recommandons que les dirigeants prennent soigneusement en compte les cultures qu’ils créent au sein de leurs groupes.

Resumen

Basados en la perspectiva situacionista de Mischel (1968), teorizamos que en una situación frágil, creada por una cultura de grupo de baja distancia de poder (PD) y bajo nivel de evitación de la incertidumbre (UA), las habilidades políticas aumentan las demostraciones de comportamientos interpersonales de ciudadanía. En una situación fuerte, creada por un grupo con alta distancia de poder PD o alto nivel de incertidumbre UA, la aplicación de habilidades políticas es restringido. En una muestra que consta de grupos de supervisores y empleados de Canadá y de la India, resaltamos la cultura de grupo como una importante condición límite para compartimientos interpersonales de ciudadanía y recomendamos que los lideres consideren cuidadosamente la cultura que crean en sus grupos.

Resumo

Baseando-se na perspectiva situacionista de Mischel (1968), teorizamos que numa situação fraca criada por uma cultura de grupo de reduzida distância de poder (PD) ou baixa aversão à incerteza (UA), habilidades políticas aumentam a ocorrência de comportamentos de cidadania interpessoais. Em uma situação forte criada por um grupo de alta PD ou um grupo de alta UA, o uso de habilidades políticas é limitado. Em uma amostra composta de grupos supervisor-empregado do Canadá e Índia, destacamos cultura de grupo como uma importante condição de contorno em comportamentos de cidadania interpessoais e recomendamos que os líderes considerem cuidadosamente as culturas que eles criam em seus grupos.

概要

借鉴Mischel的(1968)情境视角来看,我们推定在低权力距离(PD)或低不确定性规避(UA)的群体文化造成的弱势情况下,政治技能增加人际公民行为的显示。在高群体权力距离(PD)或高群体不确定性规避(UA)造成的强势情况下,政治技能的应用受到限制。在包括加拿大和印度主管-员工群体的样本里,我们强调群体文化作为人际公民行为的一个重要边界条件,并建议领导者认真考虑他们在他们的群体里创造的文化。

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Odette School of Business, University of Windsor, 401 Sunset Avenue, Windsor, ON, N9B 3P4, Canada

    Ashish Mahajan

  2. Institute for Management and Innovation, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, ON, Canada

    Soo Min Toh

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  1. Ashish Mahajan
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  2. Soo Min Toh
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Correspondence to Ashish Mahajan.

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Supplementary information accompanies this article on the Journal of International Business Studies website (www.palgrave.com/journals)

Accepted by Paula Caligiuri, Area Editor on 8 September 2016. This article has been with the authors for two revisions.

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Mahajan, A., Toh, S.M. Group cultural values and political skills: A situationist perspective on interpersonal citizenship behaviors. J Int Bus Stud 48, 113–121 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41267-016-0036-x

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