Job insecurity and discretionary behaviors: Social exchange perspective versus group value model

Abstract

This study examines the relationship between job insecurity and discretionary behaviors, that is, organizational citizenship behaviors (OCB) and counterproductive work behaviors (CWB), with the purpose to extend knowledge on the theoretical explanations for these outcomes. Considering the employment relationship with the organization, two different perspectives are suggested and compared in a multiple mediator model, in order to understand the reasons for discretionary behaviors. We draw upon social exchange theory as the basis of psychological contract perceptions and we rely on the group value model to explain organizational justice evaluations. A total of 570 blue-collar workers in Italy participated in our survey. The results show that job insecurity is indirectly related to OCB and CWB through psychological contract breach and organizational injustice. Both mediational mechanisms have equivalent strength in explaining the relationships, namely, they are complementary processes in accounting for both behaviors. These findings suggest that employees' behaviors in job insecure contexts are driven not only by concerns related to the exchange of resources with the organization, but also by evaluations about their value as important members of the group.

Quantitative and Qualitative Job Insecurity and Idea Generation: The Mediating Role of Psychological Contract Breach

“…Our results provided support for the aforementioned premises, by demonstrating that psychological contract breach plays a mediating role in the relationship between both types of job insecurity and idea generation. This is in line with previous research that has demonstrated that job insecurity is positively related to psychological contract breach (Piccoli & De Witte, 2015;Piccoli, De Witte, & Reisel, 2017;Vander Elst et al, 2016), and that psychological contract breach is negatively related to innovative work behaviour (Ng et al, 2010;Ramamoorthy et al, 2005).…”

Understanding the Relationship Between Job Insecurity and Performance: Hindrance or Challenge Effect?

“…Therefore, job insecure individuals will more likely engage in coping strategies that try to regulate their emotions and distress related to that threat (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984). One way of dealing with such an uncontrollable job situation is to psychologically increase the distance between oneself, and the job and the organisation (psychological withdrawal), in order to reduce the negative impact of a possible job loss (Piccoli, De Witte, & Reisel, 2017). As a result, lower job satisfaction and affective commitment are considered psychological coping reactions frequently associated with job insecurity.…”

“…We administered a survey to employees working in a manufacturing company located in Italy. All participants involved (N = 302) were blue-collar workers, a less studied group in the job insecurity literature compared to other occupational categories (Piccoli et al, 2017). Seventy-eight percent of the respondents were male and 22 percent were female.…”

Corporate Social Responsibility and Employee Outcomes: A Moderated Mediation Model of Organizational Identification and Moral Identity

“…The three chosen outcomes have origins in organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), which is a commonly studied outcome in evaluating company policies ( De Gilder et al, 2005 ), especially those related to CSR. As the dimensions of OCB are generally arranged in three categories: favorable attitudes toward organization (e.g., loyalty), favorable behaviors toward organization (e.g., individual initiative), and favorable behaviors toward coworkers (e.g., helping behavior) ( Coyle-Shapiro, 2002 ; Jones, 2010 ), we followed a similar approach in selecting the three outcomes for this study. However, we went further in selecting factors that are beyond OCB-linked variables.…”