Paying you back or paying me forward: understanding rewarded and unrewarded organizational citizenship behavior.
The definition of organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) has evolved from one in which the behavior is unrewarded to one in which rewards play a significant role. As a result, little is known about mechanisms that sustain unrewarded OCB. We used the theory of other orientation to examine 2 mechanisms based on the norm of reciprocity: the obligation to reciprocate the benefits already received from another ("paying you back") and the expected reciprocity that one's actions will stimulate future benefits from another ("paying me forward"). We propose that these mechanisms are more or less influential depending on one's motivational orientation. In 3 experiments using both trait and state indicators of other orientation, we found that the prosocial behavior of individuals higher in other orientation was more strongly influenced by the obligation to reciprocate and less affected by the expectation of reciprocity.
Korsgaard
M Audrey
MA
Moore School of Business, University of South Carolina, 1705 College Street, Columbia, SC 29208, USA. korsgaard@moore.sc.edu
Meglino
Bruce M
BM
Lester
Scott W
SW
Jeong
Sophia S
SS
D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D005260:Female; D006379:Helping Behavior; D006801:Humans; D033182:Intention; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation; D009937:Organizational Objectives; D010555:Personality Inventory; D010558:Personnel Loyalty; D011582:Psychological Theory; D012201:Reward; D012919:Social Behavior; D012925:Social Conformity; D012928:Social Desirability; D012945:Social Values; D013694:Temperament; D055815:Young Adult