Watrous-Rodriguez, Kristen M. (2011-08). What Makes a Good Citizen? An Examination of Personality and Organizational Commitment as Predictors of Organizational Citizenship Behavior. Doctoral Dissertation. Thesis uri icon

abstract

  • This study utilized the meta-theoretical framework developed by McCrae and Costa in 1996 that explains individual differences in human nature and the theory regarding the role of individual differences in task performance and organizational citizenship behaviors (OCB) proposed by Motowidlo, Borman, and Schmit in 1997, to examine the interrelationships among the Big Five personality traits (conscientiousness, agreeableness, extraversion, emotional stability, and openness to experience), three components of organizational commitment (affective, normative, continuance), and OCB. Two samples were included; Sample 1 (N = 133) consisted of employed undergraduate students and their coworkers and Sample 2 (N = 241) consisted of older, more stably employed adults. Participants in both samples completed measures of personality, organizational commitment, and OCB. Further, in Sample 1, coworker participants provided a rating of the primary participants' OCB. Four sets of analyses were conducted to examine: 1) personality-OCB relationships, 2) organizational commitment-OCB relationships, 3) personality-organizational commitment relationships, and 4) organizational commitment as a mediator of personality-OCB relationships. Results of the first set indicated that conscientiousness, agreeableness, extraversion, and emotional stability were positively related to OCB in at least one analysis. Results of the second set indicated that affective and normative commitment were positively related to OCB in both samples. While not consistent across samples, results of the third set indicated that conscientiousness, agreeableness, and extraversion were positively related to both affective and normative commitment; openness to experience was negatively related to normative commitment; conscientiousness was positively related to continuance commitment; and emotional stability and openness to experience were negatively related to continuance commitment in at least one analysis. Results of the fourth set indicated that, in Sample 1, affective and normative commitment partially mediated the conscientiousness-OCB relationship. Further, in Sample 2, affective and normative commitment partially mediated relationships between each of agreeableness and extraversion and OCB. Overall, these findings offer support for McCrae and Costa's meta-theoretical framework and Motowidlo, Borman, and Schmit's theory.

publication date

  • August 2011