Antecedents and Consequences of Organisational Citizenship Behaviour (Ocb) : A Conceptual Framework in Reference To Health Care Sector

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ANTECEDENTS AND CONSEQUENCES OF ORGANISATIONAL CITIZENSHIP

BEHAVIOUR (OCB): A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK IN REFERENCE TO HEALTH
CARE SECTOR
Article · October 2010
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ANTECEDENTS AND CONSEQUENCES OF
ORGANISATIONAL CITIZENSHIP BEHAVIOUR (OCB):
A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK IN REFERENCE TO
HEALTH CARE SECTOR
Hardeep Chahal Shivani Mehta
Organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) means individual behaviors

that are beneficial to the organization but not directly recognized by the
formal reward system. Though there are research studies that provide
the domain of OCB and its effects on the organizational performance but
they have varied viewpoints and are inadequate. The present paper is an
effort towards this direction. The main objective of the paper is to build
grounding for analyzing the impact of OCB on various organizational
performance measures through various propositions based on antecedents
and consequences of organizational citizenship behavior. The authors
have described the antecedents of OCB from comprehensive perspective,
which include role clarity, leadership, organizational commitment,
organizational justice and individual traits. The impact of these antecedents
is correlated with five organizational performance parameters namely
reduced turnover, reduced absenteeism, employee satisfaction and loyalty,
consumer satisfaction and consumer loyalty. The paper also stressed on
the need to asses the influence of age, gender and experience on OCB,
which have been the main lacunae in the existing literature on OCB.
Moreover, the present paper proposed an endeavor to incorporate three
dimensions viz: age, gender and experience to assess their influence on
OCB.
INTRODUCTION
O
ne of the most widely studied topics in organizational behaviour
research in recent years is Organizational Citizenship Behavior
(OCB) (Podsakoff et al. 1993; Hannam and Jimmieson, 2002;
Zeuars et al. 2000; Ensher et al. 2001; Jahangir et al. 2004; Lievens and
Anseel, 2004; Emmerik et al., 2005; Khalid and Ali, 2005). The concept
was introduced by Bateman & Organ in 1980s and latter refined and
strengthened by number of researchers such as Podsakoff and Mackenzie
(1993), Jahangir et al., (2004); Khalid and Ali (2005). Organizational
Citizenship Behaviours are a special type of work behaviour that are defined
as individual behaviours that are beneficial to the organization and are
Journal of Services Research, Volume 10, Number 2 (October 2010 - March 2011)
©2010 by Institute for International Management and Technology. All Rights Reserved.
26 Antecedents and Consequences
discretionary, not directly or explicitly recognized by the formal reward system

(Organ, 1995). These behaviours are primarily matter of personnel choice
as omission is not considered as punishable in the organizations. Scholars
hold different views with respect to the dimensionality of OCB. Smith et
al., (1983) conceptualized OCB with two dimensions: altruism (behaviour
targeted specifically at helping individuals) and generalized compliance
(behaviour reflecting compliance with general rules, norms and expectations.
Later Organ (1988) identified five OCB dimensions namely altruism, courtesy,
civic virtue, conscientiousness and sportsmanship. Organ, further, elaborated
that OCB can maximize the efficiency and productivity of both the employees
and the organization that ultimately will contribute to the effective functioning
of an organization. Based on Organ’s (1988) five-dimension taxonomy,
Williams and Anderson (1991) proposed a two-dimensional conceptualization
of OCB: OCB-I (behaviour directed towards individuals; comprising altruism
and courtesy) and OCB-II (behaviour directed towards organization,
comprising the remaining three dimensions i.e. conscientiousness,
sportsmanship and civic virtue in Organ’s (1988) conceptualization. Podsakoff
and Mackenzie (1997) considered helping behaviour, sportsmanship and
civic virtue to be significant in explaining OCB. This was followed by Hannam
and Jimmieson (1999) contribution who considered that OCB to be function
of organization compliance and individual initiative along with three other
dimensions namely altruism, conscientiousness and civic virtue. More recently
Marockzy & Xin (2004) supported only sportsmanship and courtesy OCB
dimensions, among the five recognized by Organ (1998). They argue that
interpersonal harmony and protecting organization resources are the only
important concomitants. Overall, the literature reviewed depict unanimous
acceptance of five OCB dimensions given by Organ (1998). In addition the
dimensions such as organization compliance (Hannam and Jimmieson, 2002)
and protecting organization resources (Marokczy & Xin, 2004) are also
identified but are studied by a few. The generally accepted dimensions are
discussed as under:-
Altruism: Altruism primarily concerns with the helping approach of the
members of the organization. It includes behavior that covers help for co-
workers who have heavy work load and/or to orient new people about job
tasks voluntarily or even when not asked. In a health care organization,
such behaviors can help the medical staff (doctors, nurses, paramedical) in
working towards the common organizational goals.
27 Chahal, Mehta
Conscientiousness: The next dimension of OCB relates to conscien-

tiousness. The elements leading to conscientiousness behavior include
obeying rules, following timely breaks, punctuality etc. Conscientiousness
behavior of medical staff viz: doctors, nurses, paramedical staff would make
them to avoid casual talks or to spend lengthy time on personal telephone
conversation and make them sure to attend patients on time and perform
their duties as required.
Sportsmanship: Sportsmanship is identified as next important dimension
of OCB. It is the willingness to tolerate less than ideal circumstances without
complaining and refraining from activities such as complaining and petty
grievances. Inculcation of sportsmanship behavior among medical employee
enables them to avoid finding faults and blowing problems out of proportion
within or outside the medical department and improves the amount of time
spent on constructive endeavors in the organization.
Civic Virtue: Another significant dimension that relates to OCB is civic
virtue. It is the behavior on the part of individuals indicating that they
responsibly participate and rationally show concern about the life of the
organization. Participating in important functions/meetings, helping in
organizing get-together, attending voluntary functions etc. are some behaviors
that reflect the presence of civic virtue.
Courtesy: Courtesy dimension of OCB includes discretionary behavior of
individuals that is aimed at preventing work-related problems with others.
Assessing and doing what is best for the patients as well as for the employ-
ees will help in strengthening courtesy dimension.
ANTECEDENTS OF OCB
Based on the literature reviewed such as (Lok et.al. 2007; Jahangir et al.,
2004; Meyer et.al., 1997; Hannam and Jimmieson, 2002) etc. the following
significant antecedents of OCB are identified. These are discussed as un-
der:
Role perception: Role perception includes role conflict and role ambiguity
both of which have been found to be significantly and negatively related to
OCB. On the other hand, role clarity and role facilitation are positively
related.
Individual disposition: Personality variables relating to workplace namely

positive affectivity, negative affectivity, conscientiousness and agreeableness
form the purview of individual disposition. Though personality variables
related to personal traits such as extraversion, introversion or openness to
change do not find any place in the OCB literature but are considered to be
significant in dealing with other employees or customers. At the same time
extraversion, introversion should be observed under certain limits.
Fairness perceptions: Procedural justice and distributive justice are
important components of fairness perception, Procedural justice refers to
whether employees feel organizational decision making as bias free and on
flip side distributive justice refers to proportionate reward scheme based on
their training, tenure, responsibility or workload is followed in organization.
Both are positively related to OCB.
Motivation: The research found that motives play important role in
strengthening OCB. Management by encouraging employees to actively
participate in decision making can help in coordinating efforts among team
members. This subsequently will contribute to group effectiveness and
efficiency. However motivation is considered as less significant as an
antecedent of OCB when individual moves to higher position in an
organization
Leadership: Leadership appears to have a strong influence on an employee’s
willingness to engage in OCB. It is positively related to OCB. Leadership
as one of the antecedents of OCB enhances team spirit, morale and cohe-
siveness of the employees which in turn leads to organizational commit-
ment. It also indirectly influences employee perception of fairness or justice
in the workplace.
Job satisfaction and organizational commitment: Job satisfaction has
been found to have positive relationship with job performance and OCB
which in turn can help in reducing employees’ absenteeism, turnover and
psychological distress. Workers with high level of employees/job satisfac-
tion are more likely to engage in OCB. Along with job satisfaction affective
organizational commitment is also cited as an antecedent of OCB. Hannam
and Jimmieson (2006) argue that affective commitment is conceptualized
as a strong belief towards acceptance of organizational goal and a strong
desire to maintain membership in the organization.
29 Chahal, Mehta
Employee age: Researchers argued that younger employees coordinate

their needs with organizational need more flexibly, whereas, older employ-
ees tend to be more rigid in adjusting their needs with the organization.
Therefore, younger and older employees may differ in their orientations
towards self, others and work. These differences may lead to different
salient motives for OCB among younger and older employees.
CONSEQUENCES OF OCB
Organizational citizenship behaviour has been recognized as a key factor to
organizational performance. In general, it has been argued that organization
with higher degree of OCB leads to reduced absenteeism, reduced turnover,
employees satisfaction and employees loyalty (Chughtai and Zafar, 2006;
Khalid and Ali,2005; Meyer et.al,1997; Podaskoff and Mackenzie,1997)
which subsequently leads to improved organizational performance. The
existing literature on OCB dimensions and its impact on organizational
performance can be criticized on the ground that different contributors have
analyzed rather independently the impact of dimensions of OCB on
organizational performance. The paper argues that the impact of
organizational performance analyzed only when all the dimensions and their
interactions on each other are analyzed simultaneously. The impact of OCB
on organizational effectiveness / performance can be examined on the basis
of parameters such as reduced absenteeism, reduced turnover, employees’
satisfaction, employees’ loyalty, employees’ retention, customer loyalty and
customer satisfaction. These dimensions are explained as under:
Reduced absenteeism: Various studies such as Chughtai and Zafar (2006);
Khalid and Ali (2005); Meyer et.al. (1997); Podsakoff and Mackenzie (1997)
have found that organization with higher degree of OCB leads to reduced
absenteeism. High propensity in OCB dimension viz: altruism, sportsmanship,
civic virtue and conscientiousness improve organizational effectiveness
through its impact on employee attendance whereby employees generally
avoid unnecessary absence.
Reduced turnover: Chughtai and Zafar (2006); Khalid and Ali (2005);
Meyer et.al. (1997); Podsakoff and Mackenzie (1997) argue that higher
degree of OCB in the organization contributes to reduced turnover intention.
The varied dimensions of OCB can reduce the variability and increase the
stability of workgroup performance and enhances organizational
performance/effectiveness.
Employees retention: The studies conducted by Meyer et.al. (2007);

Podsakoff and Mackenzie (1997) reflect that dimensions of OCB namely
altruism and sportsmanship improve organizational performance by enhancing
organization’s ability to attract and retain the best people. This eventually
leads to employee loyalty. Altruism and sportsmanship help in creating posi-
tive environment in the organization which enhances the morale and sense
of belongingness to a working group, thus, making the organization a more
attractive place to work. Employees with high level of sportsmanship com-
plain less about petty matters, have a willingness to take or learn new re-
sponsibilities and enhance the organization’s ability to adapt to new changes
in the environment. This subsequently develops a sense of loyalty and com-
mitment to the organization among employees that may enhance
organisational effectiveness.
Employees’ satisfaction: Various studies such as Chughtai and Zafar
(2006); Khalid and Ali (2005) found that dimensions of OCB vis-à-vis altru-
ism and conscientiousness may improve satisfaction of employees working
in the organization. When experienced employees exhibit altruism in their
behaviour to help the less experienced employees about efficient ways of
performing the job, it will enhance the quantity and quality of the less expe-
rienced employees performance where as employees with conscientious
behaviour require less supervision and allow the manager to delegate more
responsibility to them (Meyer et.al. 1997; Podsakoff and Mackenzie 1997).
Consumer satisfaction: Sivadas and Baker (2000) and Kersnik (2001)
stress upon consumer satisfaction as an important factor to improve organi-
zational performance. The continuous quality improvement to provide sus-
tained consumer satisfaction has become an important component of qual-
ity assessment. Employees who are satisfied with their performance will
participate from heart resulting in superior and valuable services to custom-
ers. In return, customers will be satisfied with the quality of service they are
receiving and perceive it to be excellent.
Consumer loyalty: Ruyter and Bloemer (1999) and Gallarza and Saura
(2004) identified that organizational effectiveness can, further, be examined
through another consumer based measure known as consumer allegiance
(Chahal, 2008). Basically consumer allegiance / loyalty are the outcome of
consumer satisfaction which subsequently helps to improve as well as to
maintain the organization’s image in the market. This is particularly relevant
31 Chahal, Mehta
for private organizations. On the other hand, financial condition of the con-
sumers camofloudge the satisfaction loyalty concept.
RESEARCH GAP
The review of literature identifies several lacunae which need to be considered
to strengthen theoretical as well as research framework of OCB. The
proposed research work will make an effort to redefine the conceptual
framework of OCB by including individual personal trait dimensions such
as extraversion, introversion and openness to change, which are never
explored in the literature (Jahangir et al., 2004). The research proposes that
individual personal traits such as positive affectivity, negative affectivity,
conscientiousness and agreeableness are required to be studied as important
antecedents of OCB. In addition, literature reviewed also indicates scarcity
of literature with regard to influence of OCB on organization’s effectiveness
and performance (Podsakoff and Mackenzie, 1993). Measures such as
satisfaction, loyalty and participation from dyad perspective need to be
focused in the future research, which, till today, have not been examined in
the literature. In addition employee satisfaction which is considered as one
of the antecedent in the literature is considered as an outcome, dependent
on antecedents such as motivation, leadership etc in the proposed research.
Further the inclusion of socio-demographic factors in analyzing the OCB
behavior among employees has rarely been taken up in the existing literature
(Khalid and Ali, 2005) Though majority of the studies indicated that there is
a need to explore the influence of socio-demographic factors on OCB but a
few, and that too only with single dimension, have considered them in their
research. Thus, influence of OCB needs to be explored.
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
In the proposed model the domain of OCB is divided into six antecedents
(role clarity, leadership, motivational drives, organizational commitment, or-
ganizational justice and individual traits) and five consequences (reduced
turnover, reduced absenteeism, employee satisfaction and loyalty, consumer
satisfaction and consumer loyalty.
The various propositions based on six antecedents and five consequences

with OCB as mediating variable are discussed as under:
ANTECEDENTS OF
ORGANIZATIONAL
CITIZENSHIP BEHAVIOR
ROLE CLARITY
CONSEQUENCES OF ORGANIZATIONAL
CITIZENSHIP BEHAVIOR
LEADERSHIP
MOTIVATIONAL OCB REDUCED CONSUMER ORGANIZATIONAL

TURNOVER SATISFACTION PERFORMANCE
DRIVES DIMENSIONS
REDUCED CONSUMER
ABSENTEEISM LOYALTY
EMPLOYEES
ORGANIZATIONAL SATISFACTION
COMMITMENT EMPLOYEES
LOYALTY
ORGANIZATIONAL
JUSTICE
INDIVIDUAL
TRIATS
Figure 1: Conceptual Framework of Organizational Citizenship Behavior

Role Clarity: Role clarity focuses on the tasks and responsibilities which
an individual is expected to perform in an organization. It is positively related
to OCB in general and with altruism, conscientiousness, organizational
compliance, individual initiative and civic virtue in particular. On the basis of
the literature reviewed four dimensions of role clarity are identified and
these include role efficacy (Bray and Brawley, 2002), role responsibility
(Hicks et al., 2005), and role performance (Bray and Brawley, 2002, Fried
et al., 2003) which are positively related and role conflict which is negatively
related to OCB (Nagai et al., 2008). Bray and Brawley, (2002) identified
that role efficacy is the preparation to differentiate between specific favorable
and unfavorable interdependent roles within the overall role which an
individual is expected to perform in an organization. Hicks et al., (2005)
have explored role clarity from role responsibility aspect. According to them,
role responsibility is the obligation on the part of the employees to put in
their best efforts to achieve organizational goals as it creates a sound platform
for better employees’ performance which subsequently leads to job
satisfaction. The third dimension role conflict implies ambiguousness in
defining and understanding the roles to be performed in the organization
33 Chahal, Mehta
(Nagai et al., 2008 and David et al., 1989). Role performance which is the
fourth and last dimension of role clarity focuses on outcome of task
performance from individual perspective with respect to assignment of
adequate workload, optimum utilization of organizational property, helps others
who have been absent, meets formal performance requirements of the job
(Bray and Brawley, 2002; Fried et al., 2003; Whitaker et al., 2007). Further,
role clarity is presumed to be the desirable antecedent of OCB that
contributes to effectiveness in organizations operating in various sectors
such as educational, informational technology, hotel organizations, agricultural
sectors etc. Likewise in health care sector clear goals of the doctors, nurses,
paramedical staff along with respective assigned task and responsibilities
will create sound platform for better medical employees’ performance which
subsequently will lead to patient satisfaction / loyalty. Based on this, the
study proposed following set of propositions:
Proposition1: Higher the role clarity, higher will be the OCB and higher
will be the organizational effectiveness in general and medical em-
ployees’ loyalty and participation, reduced absenteeism and turnover
and patient satisfaction in particular.
Further, the relationship between role clarity, organizational citizenship
behaviour and organizational effectiveness is also influenced by socio-
economic factors such as age, gender and experience of employees. The
specific sub-propositions in this context include the following:
P1 (a): The positive relationship between role clarity, organizational
citizenship behaviour and organizational effectiveness will be stronger
for young employees (24-30 yrs) followed by mediocre employees (30-
40yrs) and mature employees (40 yrs and more)
P1 (b): The positive relationship between role clarity, organizational
citizenship behaviour and organizational effectiveness will be stronger
for male employees in comparison to female employees.
P1 (c): The positive relationship between role clarity, organizational
citizenship behaviour and organizational effectiveness is also
influenced by the experience of the employees. In other words, higher
the experience better will be the OCB vis-a-vis organisational
effectiveness.
P1 (d): The positive relationship between role clarity, OCB and
organizational effectiveness will be highest for doctors followed by
nurses and paramedical staff.
P1 (e): The positive relationship between role clarity, OCB and

organizational effectiveness will be higher for private hospital in
comparison to public hospital.
Leadership: Leadership is the interpersonal influence exercised in a situation
directed through communication process towards attainment of specified
goals. It is positively related to OCB in general and with altruism,
conscientiousness, organizational compliance, individual initiative and civic
virtue in particular (Lok et.al., 2007; Jahangir et al., 2006, Hannam and
Jimmieson, 2002; Barbuto et.al., 2001; Truckendbrodt, 2000). Four integral
types of leadership have been identified by scholars which include
transformational leadership, laisezz-faire leadership, authentic leadership,
and transactional leadership. Gullo and Gerstle (2004), Samuels and Stoslcopt
(2005), Barbuto and wheeler (2006) and Walumbwa et.al. (2008) associated
transformational leadership with considering the needs of the followers and
the organization in positive manner by educating, instructing, guiding and
communicating the goals and purposes of the restructing endeavor which in
turn leads to mutual sharing of goals and a common vision for the organization.
Laissez-faire is considered as the next significant type of leadership which
includes indifferent attitude of the leader towards followers’ performance
and outcomes and evading responsibility to address important issues.
Transactional leadership focuses on the process of exchanging verbal or
tangible rewards for good performance as well as to identify potential
problems. Authentic leadership which is the fourth and last type of leadership
that involves providing feedback to seek cooperation of others Leadership
plays important role in all sectors viz: educational, informational technology,
hotel organization, agricultural etc. For instance, the heads of various
specialized departments in health care organizations can play important role
in enhancing team spirit, morale and cohesiveness of medical employees.
This consequently will work towards enhancing patient satisfaction and
organisational effectiveness. In this context, the study proposes the following
set of propositions:-
Proposition 2: Higher the leadership quality, higher will be the OCB
and higher will be the organizational effectiveness in general and
medical employees’ loyalty and participation, reduced absenteeism and
turnover and patient satisfaction in particular.
35 Chahal, Mehta
Further, impact of socio-economic factors such as age, gender and experience

of employees (Khalid and Ali, 2005; Meyer et.al., 1997; Ensher, 2001;
Truckendbrodt, 2000) in context with the relationship between leadership
quality, organizational citizenship behaviour and organizational effectiveness
will be checked through following sub-propositions:
P2 (a): The positive relationship between leadership quality,
organizational citizenship behaviour and organizational effectiveness
will be maximum for young employees (24-30 yrs) followed by mediocre
employees (30-40 yrs) and mature employees (40 yrs and more).
P2 (b): The positive relationship between leadership quality,
will be maximum for male employees in comparison to female employees.
P2 (c): The positive relationship between leadership quality,
is influenced by the experience of the employees. Thus, higher the
experience better will be the OCB i.e. organisational effectiveness.
P2 (d): The positive relationship between leadership quality, OCB and
P2 (e): The positive relationship between leadership quality, OCB and
organizational effectiveness will be higher for private hospital in
Motivational Drives: Motivational drives are the forces which basically
stimulate the employees to work or to work more and better. They have
strong influence on employees’ willingness to engage in OCB. Lok et al.,
(2007), Hannam and Jimmieson (2002), Jahangir et al., (2004) and
Truckendbrodt (2000) argue that motivational drives are positively related
to OCB in general and with altruism, burnout, conscientiousness,
organizational compliance, individual initiative and civic virtue in particular.
Two dimensions of motivational drives namely compassion motivational drives
and inspirational motivational drives have been explored in the literature
which takes into consideration all important aspects of employees’
satisfaction. Coursey and Pandey (2007) and Camilleri (2006) identified
that compassion motivational drives are a sort of sympathetic attitude of
individuals to help others who are in need. Inspirational motivational drives

which is considered to be another important dimension refers to the arousal
of a tendency to act or to put best of efforts to achieve required goals
(Coursey and Pandey, 2007) and (Camilleri, 2006). Motivational drives as
desirable antecedent of OCB influence organizational effectiveness in all
sectors viz: educational, informational technology, hotel organization,
agriculture, healthcare sector etc. For instance, in health care sector the
hospital management can encourage the medical employees (doctors, nurses,
paramedical staff) to actively participate in work unit meetings that would
help in the integration of team members efforts and thus, leading to increased
group effectiveness and efficiency. Employees who attend and actively
participate in meetings may aid in the dissemination of information in an
organization, thus, enhancing its responsiveness directly and patient
satisfaction indirectly. The propositions in this regard include:
Proposition 3: Higher the motivational drives, higher will be the OCB
and higher will be the organizational effectiveness in general and
employees’ loyalty and participation , reduced absenteeism and turnover
in particular.
The sub-propositions indicating the relationship between motivational drives,
organizational citizenship behaviour and organizational effectiveness with
respect to gender, age and experience are also proposed and these are:-
P3 (a): The positive relationship between motivational drives,
employees (30-40 yrs) and mature employees (40 yrs and more)
P3 (b): The positive relationship between motivational drives,
will be maximum for male employees in comparison to female employees.
P3 (c): The positive relationship between motivational drives, organi-
zational citizenship behaviour and organizational effectiveness is in-
fluenced by the experience of the employees i.e. higher the experi-
ence, better will be the OCB viz : organisational effectiveness.
P3 (d): The positive relationship between motivational drives, OCB
and organizational effectiveness will be highest for doctors followed
by nurses and paramedical staff.
37 Chahal, Mehta
P3 (e): The positive relationship between motivational drives, OCB

and organizational effectiveness will be higher for private hospital in
Organizational Commitment: Organizational commitment can be defined
as the extent to which an individual accepts and internalizes the goals and
values of an organization and views his organizational role in terms of his
contribution to such goals and values. Researchers such as Chughtai (2008);
Meyer, Organ and Graham,(2007); Lok et.al. (2007); Chughtai and Zafar
(2006); Truckendbroadt (2000) argue that organizational commitment is
negatively related to turnover, absenteeism and counterproductive behaviour
are positively related to job satisfaction, motivation and OCB in general and
with altruism, conscientiousness, organizational compliance, civic virtue and
sportsmanship in particular. Organizational commitment is viewed as a
function of affective commitment, continuance commitment and normative
commitment (Meyer et al., 1997; Camilleri, 2006). The authors identified
that affective commitment is a psychological attachment of an individual to
remain in the organization. The continuance commitment posits that
employees remain associated with the concern because of high leaving
cost. With high continuance commitment organization may experience
employees’ retention at the expense of reduced job satisfaction and self-
esteem. The third and last dimension of organizational commitment relates
to normative commitment which has been explored by Meyer et al., (1997)
and Camilleri (2006). Normative commitment is considered as a moral
obligation of an individual to remain associated with the organization.
However, this seems to be relevant only in certain specific situations.
Organizational commitment is also considered as an integral antecedent of
OCB in healthcare organizations. For example, in health care sector nurses
tend to identify more closely with their ward subculture than the culture of
the hospital as a whole. Medical employees (doctors, nurses and paramedical
staff) that exhibit commitment requires less managerial supervision and as
such can be delegated more responsibility which leads to increase in
employees’ loyalty and participation as well as patient satisfaction provided
the employees are not overburdened.
The researchers in this regard would propose the following set of state-
ments:-
Proposition 4: Higher the organizational commitment, higher will be
the organizational citizenship behaviour and higher will be the
organizational effectiveness in general and medical employees’ loyalty
and participation and patient satisfaction in particular. In other words,
absenteeism and turnover will contribute negligibly.
Furthermore, the study proposed the following set of specific sub-propositions
influenced by socio-economic factors such as age, gender and experience
of employees in context to relationship between organizational commitment,
organizational citizenship behavior and organizational effectiveness.
P4 (a): The positive relationship between organizational commitment,
organizational citizenship behavior and organizational effectiveness
employees (30-40 yrs) and mature employees (40 yrs and more).
P4 (b): The positive relationship between organizational commitment,
will be stronger for male employees in comparison to female employees.
P4 (c): The positive relationship between organizational commitment,
is influenced by the experience of the employees’ i.e. higher the
experience, higher will be the OCB vis-à-vis organisational
effectiveness.
P4 (d): The positive relationship between organizational commitment,
OCB and organizational effectiveness will be highest for doctors
followed by nurses and paramedical staff.
P4 (e): The positive relationship between organizational commitment,
OCB and organizational effectiveness will be higher for private hospital
in comparison to public hospital.
Organizational Justice: Organizational justice refers to people’s perception
of fairness in organizations. It is significantly related to organizational
citizenship behaviour in general and with altruism, civic virtue,
conscientiousness and sportsmanship in particular (Chughtai and Zafar, 2006;
Hannam and Jimmieson, 2002; Jahangir et al., 2004; Meyer et al., 1997).
39 Chahal, Mehta
Kivimaki et al. (2003) identified two dimensions namely distributive and

procedural justice of organizational justice which are further endorsed in
their later writings (2004 and 2006). They linked distributive justice with
fairness treatment of employees at work particularly with respect to
compensation received by the employees in terms of their responsibilities,
experience, job stress, efforts and performance. Further, they viewed the
impact of distributive justice on the employees’ perception towards
managerial decisions in relation to pay, promotions etc. The other dimension
of organizational justice i.e. procedural justice focuses on the decision-making
process regarding performance evaluation and promotional opportunities.
The authors identified that employee perception should also be considered
for defining procedural justice. In health care sector, organizational justice
may enhance group cohesiveness, sense of belongingness among all
employees of specialized medical departments which in turn help to attract
and retain better medical employees including doctors, nurses, paramedical
staff etc. On the basis of this theory, following propositions are framed.
Proposition 5: Higher the organizational justice, higher will be the
OCB and higher will be the organizational effectiveness in general
and employees’ loyalty and participation, reduced absenteeism and
turnover and patient satisfaction is particular.
The relationship between organizational justice, organizational citizenship
behavior and organizational effectiveness led to the development of spe-
cific sub-propositions influenced by socio-economic factors such as age,
gender and experience of medical employees:
P5 (a): The positive relationship between organizational justice, orga-
nizational citizenship behavior and organizational effectiveness will
be maximum for young employees (24-30 yrs) followed by mediocre
employees (30-40 yrs) and mature employees (40 yrs and more)
P5 (b): The positive relationship between organizational justice, orga-
nizational citizenship behavior and organizational effectiveness will
be maximum for male employees in comparison to female employees.
P5 (c): The positive relationship between organizational justice, orga-
nizational citizenship behavior and organizational effectiveness is in-
fluenced by the experience of the employees. In other words, higher
the experience better will be the OCB i.e. organizational effectiveness.
P5 (d): The positive relationship between organizational justice, OCB

and organizational effectiveness will be highest for doctors followed
by nurses and paramedical staff.
P5 (e): The positive relationship between organizational justice, OCB
and organizational effectiveness will be higher for private hospital in
Individual Traits: Individual traits are the total integration of physical,
intellectual, emotional and social and characteristics that make up the
individual and which is expressed in the form of behaviour, experiences,
manners, attitudes, values, beliefs, ambitions, aspirations, interests, habits
and temperaments (Ashton and Lee, 2007). Individuals traits related to
workplace i.e. positive affectivity negative affectivity, conscientiousness
and agreeableness and personal traits namely extraversion, introversion or
openness to change are positively related to OCB in general and with altruism,
sportsmanship, civic virtue, organizational compliance in particular (Jahangir
et al., 2004; Hannam and Jimmieson, 2002). Individuals traits related to
workplace as well as personal traits can influence the medical employees’
(nurses, paramedical staff) to coordinate their needs with organizational
needs more flexibly which in turn will enhance the employees’ satisfaction
and ultimately enhance patient satisfaction. This leads to the development
of propositions:
Proposition 6: Higher the individual traits, higher will be the OCB and
higher will be the organizational effectiveness in general and medical
employees’ loyalty and participation, reduced absenteeism and turn-
over and patient satisfaction in particular.
The sub-propositions with respect to gender, age and experience of medical
employees are also proposed in this context and these are:-
P6 (a): The positive relationship between individual traits, organiza-
tional citizenship behaviour and organizational effectiveness will be
maximum for young employees (24-30 yrs) followed by mediocre em-
ployees (30-40 yrs) and mature employees (40 yrs and more)
P6 (b): The positive relationship between individual traits, organiza-
tional citizenship behaviour and organizational effectiveness will be
maximum for male employees in comparison to female employees.
P6 (c): The positive relationship between individual traits, organiza-
41 Chahal, Mehta
tional citizenship behaviour and organizational effectiveness is influ-

enced by the experience of the employees. In other words, higher the
experience better will be the OCB i.e. organisational effectiveness.
P6 (d): The positive relationship between individual traits, OCB and
P6 (e): The positive relationship between individual traits, OCB and
organizational effectiveness will be higher for private hospital in com-
parison to government hospital.
MANAGERIAL IMPLICATIONS
Organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) is being considered as behaviour-
based strategy which adds to the knowledge of managers and provides
broader benefits to their organizations by enhancing employees’ satisfaction
and loyalty which subsequently leads to reduced turnover and absenteeism
(Podaskoff and Mackenzie, 1997). The introspection of role clarity, leadership,
motivational drives, organizational commitment, organizational justice and
individual traits can help the managers in understanding the impact of OCB
in strengthening the relationship with consumers, enhancing organizational
image and ultimately organizational performance. Better understanding of
the individual behavior in organization (OCB) will help the practioners in
general and particularly the doctors, nurses and paramedical staff in health
care sector in exhibiting commitment towards their organization and permit
the specialized medical departments to delegate more responsibility to medical
employees which may lead to increase in employees’ job satisfaction and
loyalty as well as patients satisfaction (Meyer et al., 2007). Thus, pursuing
such type of study, at local, national and global levels, could provide roadmap
for the organizations in strengthening the relationship with patients, building
strong image and competitive advantage over competitors through patient
satisfaction and loyalty.
FUTURE RESEARCH
In the wake of its growing significance, pursuing research on OCB has
become essential to establish OCB framework. The present paper being
theoretical and conceptual in nature needs to be empirically validated in the
future. The longitudinal study on organizational citizenship behavior should
be conducted for a better understanding of the antecedents and

consequences of the OCB. Further, the impact of ethics as one of the
desirable antecedent of OCB on organizational performance can form the
extended proposed framework background for analyzing OCB in health
care sector in particular and in service organization in general. Further
examination of OCB antecedents namely role clarity, leadership, motivational
drives, organizational commitment, organizational justice and individual traits
and their impact on manufacturing organizations need to be elaborated in
thefuture
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Dr. Hardeep Chahal is Associate Professor, Department of Commerce,

University of Jammu, Jammu and Kashmir State, India.
Ms. Shivani Mehta Research Scholar Department of Commerce, Uni-
versity of Jammu, Jammu and Kashmir State, India.
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ANTECEDENTS AND CONSEQUENCES OF ORGANISATIONAL CITIZENSHIP

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A MEASURE OF OPERATIONAL FLEXIBILITY IN HOSPITAL INDUSTRY View project

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Hardeep Chahal Shivani Mehta

Organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) means individual behaviors

discretionary, not directly or explicitly recognized by the formal reward system

Conscientiousness: The next dimension of OCB relates to conscien-

Individual disposition: Personality variables relating to workplace namely

Employee age: Researchers argued that younger employees coordinate

Employees retention: The studies conducted by Meyer et.al. (2007);

The various propositions based on six antecedents and five consequences

MOTIVATIONAL OCB REDUCED CONSUMER ORGANIZATIONAL

Figure 1: Conceptual Framework of Organizational Citizenship Behavior

P1 (e): The positive relationship between role clarity, OCB and

Further, impact of socio-economic factors such as age, gender and experience

individuals to help others who are in need. Inspirational motivational drives

P3 (e): The positive relationship between motivational drives, OCB

Kivimaki et al. (2003) identified two dimensions namely distributive and

P5 (d): The positive relationship between organizational justice, OCB

tional citizenship behaviour and organizational effectiveness is influ-

be conducted for a better understanding of the antecedents and

Dr. Hardeep Chahal is Associate Professor, Department of Commerce,

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