Direct and contextual effects of individual values on organizational citizenship behavior in teams

Abstract

We utilize Schwartz’s values theory as an integrative framework for testing the relationship between individual values and peer-reported organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) in teams, controlling for sex, satisfaction, and personality traits. Utilizing hierarchical linear modeling in a sample of 582 students distributed across 135 class project teams, we find positive, direct effects for achievement on citizenship behaviors directed toward individuals (OCB-I), for benevolence on citizenship behaviors directed toward the group (OCB-O), and for self-direction on both OCB-I and OCB-O. Applying relational demography techniques to test for contextual effects, we find that group mean power scores negatively moderate the relationship between individual power and OCB-I, while group mean self-direction scores positively moderate the relationship between self-direction and both OCB-I and OCB-O.