Organizational citizenship behaviors: a glimpse in the light of values and job satisfaction.

Autorde Andrade, Tais
CargoTexto en ingl

1 Introduction

In the past 30 years, the interest in organizational citizenship behaviors (OCB) has increased (Podsakoff, Podsakoff, Mackenzie, Maynes, & Spoelma, 2014), although the literature in Brazil is still incipient in comparison to the international one (Estivalete, Costa & Andrade, 2014). However, Podsakoff et al. stated that it is possible to identify a certain number of factors that contribute to this tendency of valuing this topic, such as the recognition of OCB as an important criterium of measurement, which has been developed from other fields. These behaviors might be acknowledged as antecedents of work performance and the organization effectiveness (Organ, 1988; Wang, Law, Hackett, Wang & Chen, 2005), as well as essential to obtain business competitiveness advantage (Mackenzie, Podsakoff, & Podsakoff, 2011).

In 1988, Organ argued that it is increasingly necessary to organizations to consider OCB for the spontaneous, innovative and cooperative attitudes in a way to respond to the constantly changing demands aiming to promote efficiency. Yaghoubi, Yazdani and Khornegah (2011) stressed their importance, stating that citizenship behaviors cause individuals to assume a conscious attitude and develop a proactive behavior when facing different organizational situations.

In this OCB field of research, one of the main challenges to the researchers is related to finding their antecedents (Lepine, Erez, & Johnson, 2002). Among several factors considered predictors of such conducts, some studies have shown the relation between the values and the OCB (Arthaud-Day, Rode, & Turnley, 2012; Ryan, 2002; Tamayo, 1998). Therefore, it is relevant to highlight the focus on individual values (Elizur & Sagie, 1999), the work related values, and the OCB, considering that the work related values guide the individuals productive behavior (Porto & Pilati, 2010), guiding them in the evaluation of what is right or wrong, in the labor context (Judge & Bretz, 1992).

There is also a research line that focuses on the work attitudes as antecedents of OCB, in which work satisfaction is pointed out as one of the main variables (Bowling, Wang, & Li, 2012; Podsakoff, Blume, Whiting, & Podsakoff, 2009; Siqueira, 2003). Bowling et al. (2012) also stress that satisfied employees show more propensity to say good things about their company, to help coworkers, to meet the expectations in relation to their work, because they are willing to repay positive experiences.

Although the relations between work related values and OCB, and the work satisfaction and the OCB, were empirically demonstrated, some doubts still remain, so that researchers suggest that their studies must be expanded (Fassina, Jones & Uggerslev, 2008; Liang, 2012). Besides, conjecturing about the proposal of this study, it is highlighted that few researches focused on OCB in educational institutions, even though there are some indicators that suggest there might be an impact on efficiency improvement and management in such originations (Bogler & Somech, 2004; Nasra & Heilbrunn, 2015).

In this respect, it should be noted that the educational sector has a central role in society. If we consider education as an important instrument of social transformation, it is possible to focus on school as a determinant of new designs that are established in the projection of the future (Monteiro, 2009). It should also be considered that the Brazilian education sector has undergone numerous changes in recent decades, and this context changes are associated to the inclusion of new information and communication technologies, and to the new settings and demands of the working world. These changes brought up with them different pedagogical perspectives about education and new qualification requirements of the education sector professionals.

As Rosa, Catelli and Pauletti (2014) highlight, the changes experienced by this sector range from the use of technology in the classroom, involved in the process of teaching and learning, to the potentiation of administrative and professional affairs, demanding from workers new skills and ways of acting in line with the requirements of the current context. In this way, Cruz, Silva and Silva (2015) highlight that the new professional of education must act as a mediator and administrator of knowledge, aiming the development of professionals with competences and abilities to act, create, modify and lead in any sphere of society to which they belong.

So, considering this approach and the relevance of OCB and its antecedents, more specifically regarding the work related values and work satisfaction, to progress in the research of this issue in a joint perspective, specifically in the education sector, makes it a relevant and innovative study. Such analysis will enable a reflection on the reasons that lead these individuals to work, their satisfaction with the work done and its influence on the organizational citizenship behaviors. Such understanding is complex, but can also provide support for the education sector, which assumes social, cultural and political functions, in order to evaluate the perspective of their professionals regarding their concerns, interactions and behaviors in the workplace.

The nature of this research is quantitative, and it was guided through a survey methodology. The object of the study was a company from the educational sector, located in Santa Maria with branches in three cities (Alegrete, Cachoeira do Sul, and Rosario do Sul), in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul, in Brazil. The research question was: What is the influence of work related values and work satisfaction on organizational citizenship behaviors, according to the perspective of the employees of a company from the educational sector?

Aiming to answer this question, this study has as main goal to analyze the influence of the work related values and work satisfaction on organizational citizenship behaviors, according to the perspective of the employees of a company from the educational sector.

In the following section, the theoretical background related to the study themes will be discussed, and later on, the methodological aspects related to the data collection will be presented, as well as the discussion of results (section four). In the last section, the final considerations about the study will be discussed, pointing out the limitations and suggestions for further researches.

2 Organizational Citizenship Behaviors

The pioneer studies about citizenship gather the basis studied by Katz and Kahn (1978) considering the innovative and spontaneous behaviors. These behaviors are associated to cooperation activities with the other organization members, protective actions of the system, creation of an external favorable climate, creative suggestions to maximize organizations and self-training to increase the organizational responsibilities (Katz & Kahn, 1978). These unofficial specifications have been named Organizational Citizenship Behaviors --OCB (Chhetri, 2014).

The notion of OCB was initially approached by the studies of Organ and his coworkers (Bateman & Organ, 1983; Organ, 1988). Podsakoff et al. (2014) state that Organ (1988) defines the Organizational Citizenship as an individual behavior, not officially recognized by the formal reward system, which contributes to the efficiency of the organization. These behaviors can also be considered as a combination of interpersonal and volunteer conducts that sustain the social and psychological environment in which they perform the tasks (Organ, 1997).

However, more recent researches (Marinova, Moon, & Van Dyne, 2010; Podsakoff et ah, 2009; Podsakofff et ah; 2014) indicate the potential benefits of a more subtle approach considering its conceptualization in two different aspects. First, employees differ in the way they perceive the behavior of Organizational Citizenship as part of the exercise of their role or extra role in organizations (Van Dyne, Ang, & Koh, 2008). Second, the OCB is sometimes perceived as rewarded by organizations through performance evaluations, promotions or recognition (Marinova et ah, 2010).

Considering this approach, the assumptions defended by Blau should be highlighted (1964), where individuals build relationships in the workplace which may be of economic exchange, associated with tangible rewards, and of social exchange, involving the exchange of intangible assets in the socio-emotional and emotional context, such as recognition and esteem. According to the Social Exchange Theory (Blau, 1964), social exchange involves offering favors that create unspecific future obligations, and the nature of the consideration is defined by the individual which should reciprocate. One of the assumptions of this theory emphasizes that the interaction among individuals or communities can be characterized as an attempt to maximize rewards (material and non-material) and reduce costs (material and non-material).

According to Blau's (1964) analysis, the interactions are maintained because people find such interactions more compensatory, independently of the reasons. The social exchange would be based on mutual trust, on unspecified obligations, generating among those involved feelings of personal obligation, gratitude and confidence (Siqueira, 2003). Also in relation to the Social Exchange Theory, the exchange interactions are conceived as a process of central importance in social life and they are considered the basis of the relations among individuals, groups and organizations.

In addition, Eisenberger, Armeli, Rexwinkwl, Lynch and Rhoades (2001), when analyzing the citizenship behavior under an exchange perspective, remind us that the attention is focused on the exchange between the organization and the individual. Thus, in the view of these authors, the Social Exchange Theory has explained the OCB, suggesting that this is expected when the employee is satisfied with the organization and feels...

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