Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Ethical Duties of Organizational Citizens: Obligations Owed by Highly Committed Employees

  • Published:
Journal of Business Ethics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Individuals who demonstrate organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) contribute to their organization’s ability to create wealth, but they also owe their organizations a complex set of ethical duties. Although, the academic literature has begun to address the ethical duties owed by organizational leaders to organizational citizens, very little has been written about the duties owed by those who practice OCB to their organizations. In this article, we identify an array of ethical duties owed by those who engage in extra-role behavior and describe those duties in context with personality theory. We suggest that employees who understand the complex nature of OCB and the associated duties they owe to others are more likely to reach their potential and make greater contributions within their organizations.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Albrecht, K. (2007). Social intelligence: The new science of success. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Albrecht, K. (2008). Practical intelligence: The art and science of common sense. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Andersson, L., & Bateman, T. (1997). Cynicism in the workplace: Some causes and effects. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 18(5), 449–469.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aquino, K., & Bommer, W. (2003). Preferential mistreatment: How victim status moderates the relationship between organizational citizenship behavior and workplace victimization. Organization Science, 14(4), 374–385.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Avolio, B. J., Gardner, W. L., Walumbwa, F. O., Luthans, F., & May, D. R. (2004). Unlocking the mask: A look at the process by which authentic leaders impact follower attitudes and behaviors. Leadership Quarterly, 15, 801–823.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barnard, C. I. (1938). The functions of the executive. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barrash, D. I., & Costen, W. M. (2008). Getting along with others: The relationship between agreeableness and customer satisfaction in the foodservice industry. Journal of Human Resources in Hospitality & Tourism, 7(1), 65–83.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barrick, M. R., & Mount, M. K. (1991). The big five personality dimensions and job performance: A meta-analysis. Personnel Psychology, 44, 1–26.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beer, M. (2009). High commitment, high performance: How to build a resilient organization for sustained advantage. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bergeron, D. (2007). The potential paradox of organizational citizenship behavior: Good citizens at what cost? Academy of Management Review, 32(4), 1078–1095.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berry, C. M., Ones, D. S., & Sackett, P. R. (2007). Interpersonal deviance, organizational deviance, and their common correlates: A review and meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92(2), 410–424.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Block, P. (1993). Stewardship: Choosing service over self-interest. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bolino, M. C. (1999). Citizenship and impression management: Good soldiers or good actors? Academy of Management Review, 24(1), 82–98.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bowler, W., Halbesleben, J. R. B., & Paul, J. (2010). If you’re close with the leader, you must be a brownnose: The role of leader–member relationships in follower, leader, and coworker attributions of organizational citizenship behavior motives. Human Resource Management Review, 20(20), 309–316.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brady, F. N. (1999). A systematic approach to teaching ethics in business. Journal of Business Ethics, 19(3), 309–318.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Buchholz, R. A., & Rosenthal, S. B. (2005). Toward a contemporary conceptual framework for stakeholder theory. Journal of Business Ethics, 58, 137–148.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burke, P. J. (1991). Identity processes and social stress. American Sociological Review, 62(1), 134–150.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burke, P. J., & Reitzes, D. C. (1981). The link between identity and role performance. Social Psychology Quarterly, 44(2), 83–92.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burke, L., & Witt, L. (2002). Moderators of the openness to experience–performance relationship. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 17(8), 712.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burton, J., Sablynski, C., & Sekiguchi, T. (2008). Linking justice, performance, and citizenship via leader–member exchange. Journal of Business and Psychology, 23(1/2), 51–61.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Byrne, Z. (2005). Fairness reduces the negative effects of organizational politics on turnover intentions, citizenship behavior and job performance. Journal of Business and Psychology, 20(2), 175–200.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Caldwell, C., & Canuto-Carranco, M. (2010). Organizational terrorism and moral choices—exercising voice when the leader is the problem. Journal of Business Ethics, 97(1), 159–171.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Caldwell, C., & Clapham, S. (2003). Organizational trustworthiness: An international perspective. Journal of Business Ethics, 47(4), 349–364.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Caldwell, C., & Hansen, M. H. (2010). Trustworthiness, governance, and wealth creation. Journal of Business Ethics, 97(2), 173–188.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Caldwell, C., & Hayes, L. (2007). Leadership, trustworthiness, and the mediating lens. Journal of Management Development, 26(3), 261–278.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Caldwell, C., Hayes, L., Karri, R., & Bernal, P. (2008). Ethical stewardship: The role of leadership behavior and perceived trustworthiness. Journal of Business Ethics, 78(1/2), 153–164.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Caldwell, C., Hayes, L., & Long, D. (2010). Leadership, trustworthiness, and ethical stewardship. Journal of Business Ethics, 96(4), 497–512.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Caldwell, C., Atkins, R., Floyd, L., & Holzgrefe, R. (2011a). Duties owed to organizational citizens—ethical insights for today’s leader. Journal of Business Ethics, 102(3), 343–356.

    Google Scholar 

  • Caldwell, C., Dixon, R. D., & Malik, S. (2011b). Repentance and continuous improvement: Ethical implications for the modern leader. Journal of Business Ethics, 102, 473–487.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cameron, K. S. (2003). Ethics, virtuousness, and constant change. In N. M. Tichy & A. R. McGill (Eds.), The ethical challenge: How to lead with unyielding integrity (pp. 185–194). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carroll, A., & Buchholtz, A. (2009). Business and society ethics and stakeholder management (7th ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chambers, H. (2004). My way or the highway the micromanagement survival guide. San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chen, X., Hui, C., & Sego, D. J. (1998). The role of organizational citizenship behavior in turnover: Conceptualization and preliminary tests of key hypotheses. Journal of Applied Psychology, 83(6), 922–931.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cho, J., & Kim, S. (2009). Procedural justice and organizational citizenship behaviors: A social identify motive. International Journal of Business Research, 9(6), 107–113.

    Google Scholar 

  • Collins, J. (2001). Good to great. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Coyle-Shapiro, J., & Kessler, I. (1998). The psychological contract in the UK public sector: Employer and employee obligations and contract fulfillment. In S. J. Havlovic (Ed.) Academy of Management Best Paper Proceedings (NPS1-7).

  • Coyle-Shapiro, J., & Kessler, I. (2000). Consequences of the psychological contract for the employment relationship: A large scale survey. Journal of Management Studies, 37(7), 903–930.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crowne, K. (2009). The relationships among social intelligence, emotional intelligence and cultural intelligence. Journal of Business Ethics, 6(3), 148–163.

    Google Scholar 

  • D’Intino, R., Shepard, J., & Wolfle, L. (2002). A social contract perspective on organizational citizenship behavior. Academy of Management Proceedings & Membership Directory pp. C1–C6.

  • Deluga, R. J. (1994). Supervision trust building, leader–member exchange, and organizational citizenship behaviour. Journal of Occupational & Organizational Psychology, 67(4), 315–332.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Deming, W. E. (2000). Out of the crisis. Boston, MA: The MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • DePree, M. (2004). Leadership is an art. New York, NY: Currency Doubleday.

    Google Scholar 

  • Donaldson, T., & Dunfee, T. W. (1999). Ties that bind: A social contracts approach to business. Boston, MA: Harvard Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dunning, D., Heath, C., & Suls, J. M. (2004). Flawed self-assessment. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 5(3), 69–106.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Erdheim, J., Wang, M., & Zickar, M. J. (2006). Linking the big five personality constructs to organizational commitment. Personality and Individual Differences, 41, 959–970.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • George, J. M., & Brief, A. P. (1992). Feeling good–doing good: A conceptual analysis of the mood at work–organizational spontaneity relationship. Psychological Bulletin, 112, 310–329.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Glomb, T. M., Bhave, D. P., & Miner, A. G. (2011). Doing good, feeling good: Examining the role of organizational citizenship behaviors in changing mood. Personnel Psychology, 64, 191–223.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goldman, A. (2006). High toxicity leadership: Borderline personality disorder and the dysfunctional organization. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 21(8), 733–746.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goldsmith, B. (2005). Ten tips for delivering (constructive) criticism. Successful Meetings, 54(9), 26–27.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goldsmith, M., & Reiter, M. (2007). What got you here won’t get you there: How successful people become even more successful. New York, NY: Hyperion.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goleman, D. (2007). Social intelligence: The new science of human relationships. New York, NY: Bantam Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gonzalez, T., & Guillen, M. (2008). Organizational commitment: A proposal for a wider ethical conceptualization of “normative commitment”. Journal of Business Ethics, 78(3), 401–414.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Graham, J., & Van Dyne, L. (2006). Gathering information and exercising influence: Two forms of civil virtue organizational citizenship behavior. Employee Responsibilities & Rights Journal, 18(2), 89–109.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Graziano, W. G., & Tobin, R. M. (2002). Agreeableness: Dimension of personality or social desirability artifact? Journal of Personality, 70(5), 695–728.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Graziano, W. G., Habashi, M. M., Sheese, B. E., & Tobin, R. M. (2007). Agreeableness, empathy, and helping: A person X situation perspective. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 93, 583–599.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gullett, J., Do, L., Canuto-Carranco, M., Brister, M., Turner, S., & Caldwell, C. (2009). The buyer–supplier relationship: An integrative model of ethics and trust. Journal of Business Ethics, 90(3), 329–341.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hambrick, E. P., & McCord, D. M. (2010). Proactive coping and its relation to the five-factor model of personality. Individual Differences Research, 8(2), 67–77.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hart, D. W., & Thompson, J. A. (2007). Untangling employee loyalty: A psychological contract perspective. Business Ethics Quarterly, 17(2), 297–323.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harvey, P., Martinko, M., & Douglas, S. (2006). Causal reasoning in dysfunctional leader–member interactions. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 21(8), 747–762.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ho, V. T. (2005). Social influence on evaluations of psychological contract fulfillment. Academy of Management Review, 30(1), 113–128.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hosmer, L. T. (2007). The ethics of management. Chicago, IL: Irwin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones, D. A. (2004). Counterproductive work behavior toward supervisors & organizations: Injustice, revenge, & context. Academy of Management Proceedings. pp. A1–A6.

  • Jones, G., & George, J. (2007). Contemporary management. New York, NY: McGraw Hill Irwin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Judge, T. A., & Erez, A. (2007). Interaction and intersection: The constellation of emotional stability and extraversion in predicting performance. Personnel Psychology, 60(3), 573–596.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Judge, T., Thoresen, C., Pucik, V., & Welbourne, T. (1999). Managerial coping with organizational change: A dispositional perspective. Journal of Applied Psychology, 84(1), 107–122.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kanungo, R. N. (2001). Ethical values of transactional and transformational leaders. Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences, 18(4), 257–265.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kidwell, R., Jr., & Bennett, N. (1993). Employee propensity to withhold effort: A conceptual model to intersect three avenues of research. Academy of Management Review, 18(3), 429–456.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kim, J., & Mahoney, J. T. (2010). A strategic theory of the firm as a nexus of incomplete contracts: A property rights approach. Journal of Management, 36(4), 806–826.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Klein, H. J., & Kim, J. S. (1998). A field study of the influence of situational constraints, leader–member exchange, and goal commitment on performance. Academy of Management Journal, 41(1), 88–95.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kouzes, J., & Posner, B. (2007). The leadership challenge. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leikas, S., Makinen, S., Lonnqvist, J. -E., & Verkasalo, M. (2009). Cognitive ability X emotional stability interactions on adjustment. European Journal of Personality, 23(4), 329–342.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lennick, D., & Kiel, F. (2007). Moral intelligence: Enhancing business performance and leadership success. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Wharton School Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • LePine, J. A., Colquitt, J. A., & Erez, A. (2000). Adaptability to changing task contexts: Effects of general cognitive ability, conscientiousness, and openness to experience. Personnel Psychology, 53(3), 563–593.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leung, A. (2008). Matching ethical work climate to in-role and extra-role behaviors in a collectivist work setting. Journal of Business Ethics, 79(1/2), 43–55.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lin, C., Lyau, N., Tsai, Y., Chen, W., & Chiu, C. (2010). Modeling corporate citizenship and its relationship with organizational citizenship behaviors. Journal of Business Ethics, 95(3), 357–372.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li-Yun, S., Aryee, S., & Law, K. S. (2007). High-performance human resource practices, citizenship behavior, and organizational performance: A relational perspective. Academy of Management Journal, 5(3), 558–577.

    Google Scholar 

  • Luthans, F., & Church, A. (2002). Positive organizational behavior: Developing and managing psychological strengths. Academy of Management Executive, 16(1), 57–72.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Luthans, F., Norman, S., Avolio, B., & Avey, J. (2008). The mediating role of psychological capital in the supportive organizational climate–employee performance relationship. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 29(2), 219–238.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Manville, B., & Ober, J. (2003). A company of citizens: What the world’s first democracy teaches leaders about creating great organizations. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Martinko, M., Moss, S., Douglas, S., & Borkowski, N. (2007). Anticipating the inevitable: When leader and member attribution styles class. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 104(2), 158–174.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mayer, D., Nishii, L., & Schneider, B. (2007). The precursors and products of justice climates: Group leader antecedents and employee attitudinal consequences. Personnel Psychology, 60, 929–963.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McCrae, R. R., & Costa, P. T., Jr. (1989). Reinterpreting the Myers-Briggs type indicator from the perspective of the five-factor model of personality. Journal of Personality, 57, 17–40.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McCrae, R. R., & Costa, P. T., Jr. (2003). Personality in adulthood: A five-factor theory perspective (2nd ed.). New York, NY: The Guilford Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • McFerran, B., Aquino, K., & Duffy, M. (2010). How personality and moral identify relate to individuals’ ethical ideology. Business Ethics Quarterly, 20(1), 35–56.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McNeely, B. L., & Meglino, B. M. (1994). The role of dispositional and situational antecedents in prosocial organizational behavior: An examination of the intended beneficiaries of prosocial organizational behavior. Journal of Applied Psychology, 76, 845–855.

    Google Scholar 

  • Meyer, J. P., Becker, T. E., & van Dick, R. (2006). Social identities and commitments at work: Toward an integrative model. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 27(5), 665–683.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Minbashian, A., Bright, J. E., & Bird, K. D. (2009). Complexity in the relationships among the subdimensions of extraversion and job performance in managerial occupations. Journal of Occupational & Organizational Psychology, 82(3), 537–549.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morgeson, F., Reider, M., & Campion, M. (2005). Selecting individuals in team settings: The importance of social skills, personality characteristics, and teamwork knowledge. Personnel Psychology, 58(3), 583–611.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morrison, E. W., & Robinson, S. L. (1997). When employees feel betrayed: A model of how psychological contract violation develops. Academy of Management Review, 22(1), 226–256.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mount, M. K., Barrick, M. R., & Stewart, G. L. (1998). Five-factor model of personality and performance in jobs involving interpersonal interactions. Human Performance, 11(2/3), 145–165.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mount, M., Ilies, R., & Johnson, E. (2006). Relationship of personality traits and counterproductive work behaviors: The mediating effects of job satisfaction. Personnel Psychology, 59(3), 591–622.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Murphy, K. R., & Dzieweczynski, J. L. (2005). Why don’t measures of broad dimensions of personality perform better as predictors of job performance? Human Performance, 18, 343–357.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Naus, F., van Iterson, A., & Roe, R. (2007). Organizational cynicism: Extending the exit, voice, loyalty, and neglect model of employees’ responses to adverse conditions in the workplace. Human Relations, 60(5), 683–718.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Newton, S. K., & Nowak, L. I. (2010). Employer obligations versus fulfillment and the effects on organizational citizenship and innovative work. Journal of Management & Marketing Research, 2, 1–20.

    Google Scholar 

  • Olson-Buchanan, J., & Boswell, W. (2008). An integrative model of experiencing and responding to mistreatment at work. Academy of Management Review, 33(1), 76–96.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Organ, D. W. (1988). Organizational citizenship behavior: The good soldier syndrome. Lexington, MA: Lexington Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Paine, L. S. (2002). Value shift: Why companies must merge social and financial imperatives to achieve superior performance. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pasmore, W., & Fagans, M. (1992). Participation, individual development, and organizational change: A review and synthesis. Journal of Management, 18(2), 375.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Penner, L., Midili, A., & Kegelmeyer, J. (1997). Beyond job attitudes, a personality and social psychology perspective on the causes of organizational citizenship behavior. Human Performance, 10(2), 111.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pfeffer, J. (1998). The human equation: Building profits by putting people first. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pfeffer, J. (2007). Human resources from an organizational behavior perspective: Some paradoxes explained. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 21(4), 115–134.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Primeaux, P., Karri, R., & Caldwell, C. (2003). Cultural insights to organizational justice—a preliminary perspective. Journal of Business Ethics, 46(2), 187–199.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Quinn, R. E. (1996). Deep change: Discovering the leader within. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Raines, C. R., & Ewing, L. (2006). The art of communicating: how to overcome differences, build rapport, and communicate effectively with anyone. New York, NY: AMACOM.

    Google Scholar 

  • Restubog, S. L. D., Hornsey, M. J., Borida, P., & Esposo, S. R. (2008). Effects of psychological contract breach on organizational citizenship behaviour: Insights from the group value model. Journal of Management Studies, 45(8), 1377–1400.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Robbins, S. P., & Coulter, M. (2011). Management (11th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Robertson, I., & Callinan, M. (1998). Personality and work Behavior. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, Vol. 7(3), Iss. Special Issue: The Individual and the Organization. pp. 321–340.

  • Robinson, S. L., & Rousseau, D. M. (1994). Violating the psychological contract: Not the exception but the norm. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 15, 245–259.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rousseau, D. M. (1989). Psychological and implied contracts in organizations. Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal, 2, 121–139.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rousseau, D. M. (1995). Psychological contracts in organizations. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rousseau, D. M. (1998). The problem of the psychological contract considered. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 19, 665–671.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Royle, M. T., Hall, A. T., Hochwarter, W. A., Perrewé, P. L., & Ferris, G. R. (2005). The interactive effects of accountability and job self-efficacy on organizational citizenship behavior and political behavior. Organizational Analysis, 13(1), 53–71.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sackett, P. R., Berry, C. M., Wiemann, S. A., & Laczo, R. M. (2006). Citizenship and counterproductive behavior: Clarifying relations between the two domains. Human Performance, 19(4), 441–464.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Salancik, G. R., & Pfeffer, J. R. (1978). An examination of need-satisfaction models of job attitudes. Administrative Science Quarterly, 23, 224–252.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schein, E. A. (2010). Organizational culture and leadership. San Francisco, CA: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schoorman, F. D., Mayer, R. C., & Davis, J. H. (2007). An integrative model of organizational trust: Past, present, and future. Academy of Management Review, 32(2), 344–354.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Senge, P. M. (2006). The fifth discipline: The art & practice of the learning organization. New York, NY: Doubleday.

    Google Scholar 

  • Solomon, R. C. (1992). Corporate roles, personal virtues: An Aristotelean approach to business ethics. Business Ethics Quarterly, 2(3), 317–339.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Spector, P. E., & Fox, S. (2010). Counterproductive work behavior and organisational citizenship behavior: Are they opposite forms of active behavior? Applied Psychology: An International Review, 59(1), 21–39.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Spence, J. T., & Helmreich, R. L. (1983). Achievement-related motives and behaviors. In J. T. Spence (Ed.), Achievement and achievement motives (pp. 7–74). San Francisco, CA: W. H. Freeman and Company.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sternberg, R. J., & Dobson, D. M. (1987). Resolving interpersonal conflicts: An analysis of stylistic consistency. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52, 794–812.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stets, J. E., & Burke, P. J. (2000). Identity theory and social identity theory. Social Psychology Quarterly, 63(3), 224–237.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thomas, K., & Velthous, B. (1990). Cognitive elements of empowerment: An interpretive model of intrinsic task motivation. Academy of Management Review, 15(4), 666–681.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thompson, M., & Heron, P. (2005). Management capability and high performance work organization. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 16(6), 1029–1048.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thoresen, C. J., Bradley, J. C., Bliese, P. D., & Thoresen, J. D. (2004). The big five personality traits and individual job performance growth trajectories in maintenance and transitional job stages. Journal of Applied Psychology, 89(5), 835–853.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Turban, D. B., Stevens, C. K., & Lee, F. K. (2009). Effects of conscientiousness and extraversion on new labor market entrants’ job search: The mediating role of metacognitive activities and positive emotions. Personnel Psychology, 62, 554–573.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tyagi, A., & Agrawal, R. K. (2010). Emerging employment relationships: Issues & concerns in psychological contract. Indian Journal of Industrial Relations, 45(3), 381–395.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van de Vliert, E., & Euwema, M. C. (1994). Agreeableness and activeness as components of conflict behaviors. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 66(4), 674–687.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Dyne, L., Graham, J. W., & Dienesch, R. M. (1994). Organizational citizenship behavior: Construct redefinition, measurement, and validation. Academy of Management Journal, 37(4), 765–802.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Knippenberg, D. (2000). Work motivation and performance: A social identity perspective. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 49, 357–371.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Scotter, J. R., & Motowidlo, S. J. (1996). Interpersonal facilitation and job dedication as separate facets of contextual performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 81, 525–531.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walumbwa, F. O., Avolio, B. J., Gardner, W. L., Wernsing, T. S., & Peterson, S. J. (2008). Authentic leadership: Development and validation of a theory-based measure. Journal of Management, 34, 89–126.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walumbwa, F. O., Luthans, F., Avey, J. B., & Oke, A. (2011). Authentically leading groups: The mediating role of collective psychological capital and trust. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 32(1), 4–24.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weick, K. E. (2001). Making sense of the organization. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Werhane, P. (2010). Personal conversation with Dr. Pat Werhane at the International Conference on Ethics in Business at St. John’s University on October 27, 2011.

  • Werhane, P., Radin, T. J., & Bowie, N. E. (2003). Employment and employee rights. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wren, D. A., & Bedeian, A. G. (2008). The evolution of management thought. Danvers, MA: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, X., & Bartol, K. M. (2010). Linking empowering leadership and employee creativity: The influence of psychological empowerment, intrinsic motivation, and creative process engagement. Academy of Management Journal, 53(1), 107–128.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Georgia Southwestern State University, Americus, GA, USA

    Cam Caldwell

  2. Liberty University, Lynchburg, VA, USA

    Larry A. Floyd

  3. University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA

    Ryan Atkins & Russell Holzgrefe

Authors
  1. Cam Caldwell
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Larry A. Floyd
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Ryan Atkins
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Russell Holzgrefe
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Cam Caldwell.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Caldwell, C., Floyd, L.A., Atkins, R. et al. Ethical Duties of Organizational Citizens: Obligations Owed by Highly Committed Employees. J Bus Ethics 110, 285–299 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-011-1154-9

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-011-1154-9

Keywords

Search

Navigation