The individuals' discretionary behaviors at work. An overview and analysis of its growing interest

Abstract

Nearly forty years have passed since the term Organizational Citizenship Behavior appeared. Despite a current consensus among scholars about the citizenship gestures as prosocial acts of employees that benefit the organization, it does not apply commonly to the exponential growth of all OCB-related concepts. The concept's expansion has confused the researchers and practitioners, mainly when choosing the most appropriate instruments (constructs) and dimensions to use in their area of interest and context. A systematic literature review was conducted and 420 articles were analyzed. Results point that the trends on OCB-like behaviors goes higher, with an average annual growth rate of new studies of 3.13%. United States (39%) and China (25%) lead but some "under-studied" contexts like Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, and Oceania start being studied towards OCB. New trends appear in the spectrum of the many different domains and disciplines related to OCB, while leadership and task performance remain the most studied domains and disciplines. In future studies, researchers must freely choose the OCB dimensions and constructs they want to use or adapt to meet their needs and research needs since there is no written rule about their use, only the care to be taken with the context and discipline studying.

Organizational culture and the individuals' discretionary behaviors at work: a cross-cultural analysis

“…At that time, they found 30 different OCB dimensions. The conceptualization of new dimensions continued to arise, and a few years later, this number is more than doubled (96), and the trend is that it will continue to increase (Fernandes et al, 2021 ). This study uses the five oldest and most used OCB dimensions (altruism, civic virtue, conscientiousness, sportsmanship, and courtesy).…”

“…This study uses the five oldest and most used OCB dimensions (altruism, civic virtue, conscientiousness, sportsmanship, and courtesy). Because this research does not concentrate on specific geographical settings but rather on the OC factor, the selected dimensions are the ones that play better together and are often utilized throughout the organizational field and worldwide locations (Fernandes et al, 2021 ). Table 1 summarizes the definition of these dimensions.…”

“…Therefore, further studies must better understand the impact of national cultures on the relationship between the different OC types and how employees manifest their OCBs. The influence of national cultures on how individuals perceive the existing OC, the effects on how different kinds of companies (regional, multinational) build and change their culture, and how individuals are predisposed to show different behaviors and attitudes depending on their national culture should be considered (Van Muijen and Koopman, 1994 ; Owusu Ansah and Louw, 2019 ; Fernandes et al, 2021 ).…”

“…In addition to conveying what is needed, appropriate, and expected, OCs help generate an environment that encourages OCB development (Lockhart et al, 2020 ; Marcos et al, 2020 ). In recognition, many organizations are changing their organizational cultures to promote employees' creativity, self-discipline, and loyalty (Agarwal, 2016 ; Fernandes et al, 2021 ). However, as Limpanitgul et al ( 2013 ) argue, although there have been numerous studies conducted on the development of OCB over the past few decades, only a small number of these studies have explicitly addressed the role of culture in understanding how OCB develops (Fernandes et al, 2021 ).…”

“…In recognition, many organizations are changing their organizational cultures to promote employees' creativity, self-discipline, and loyalty (Agarwal, 2016 ; Fernandes et al, 2021 ). However, as Limpanitgul et al ( 2013 ) argue, although there have been numerous studies conducted on the development of OCB over the past few decades, only a small number of these studies have explicitly addressed the role of culture in understanding how OCB develops (Fernandes et al, 2021 ). Despite this, there is a consensus that the OCs can impact the degree to which employees perform citizenship behaviors (Jo and Joo, 2011 ).…”