Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Matching Ethical Work Climate to In-role and Extra-role Behaviors in a Collectivist Work Setting

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

Abstract

This paper studies the relationship between organizational ethical climate and the forms of organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), including in-role and extra-role behaviors, and examines the mediating effect of employee loyalty. A sample of employees from a traditional Hong Kong-based company was used as a study group. The purpose of this study was to examine the causes and implications of how various ethical work climates affect employee performance. Based on a model proposed by Victor and Cullen, ethical climate is arranged from lower levels to higher levels. The results suggest that lower levels of ethical climate (instrumentality and independence), characterizing a weak relational contract between employee and employer, are associated with negative extra-role behavior. In contrast, higher levels of ethical climate (caring and law-and-code), symbolic of a strong relational contract at work, are associated with positive extra-role behavior. Moreover, normative commitment mediated a positive relationship between caring and identification with the company, whereas attitudinal loyalty mediated the negative relationship between independence and altruism. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.

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

  • Ahmed P. K., Machold S. (2004) The Quality of Ethics Connection: Toward Virtuous Organizations, Total Quality Management 15:527–545

    Google Scholar 

  • Allen J. P., Meyer N. Y. (1990), The Measurement and Antecedents of Affective, Continuance and Normative Commitment to the Organization, Journal of Occupational Psychology 63:1–18

    Google Scholar 

  • Allport J. P., Meyer N. J. (1933) Commitment in the workplace: Theory, Research, and Application. Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA

    Google Scholar 

  • Appelbaum S. H., Deguire K. J., Lay M. (2005) The Relationship of Ethical Climate to Deviant Workplace Behavior, Corporate Governance 5(4):43–55

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Atwater L., Walderman D., Atwater D., Cartier P. (2000) An Upward Feedback Field Experiment: Supervisors’ Cynicism, Reactions and Commitment to Subordinates, Personnel Psychology 53:275–297

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barnett T., Schubert E. (2002) Perception of the Ethical Work Climate and Convenantal Relationships, Journal of Business Ethics 36:279–290

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bass B. M., Steidlmeier P. (1999) Ethics, Character, and Authentic Transformational Leadership Behavior, The Leadership Quarterly 10:181–217

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Becker T. E., Billings R. S., Eveleth D. M., Gilbert N. L. (1996) Foci and Bases of Employee Commitment: Implications for Job Performance, Academy of Management Journal 39:464–482

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Becker T. E., Kernan M. C. (2003) Matching Commitment to Supervisors and Organizations to In-Role and Extra-Role Performance, Human Performance 16(4):327–348

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beersma B., Hollenbeck J. R., Moon H., Conlon D. E. (2003) Cooperation, Competition, and Team Performance: Toward a Contingency Approach, Academy of Management Journal 46(5):572–590

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blau P. (1964) Exchange and Power in Social Life. John Wiley and Sons, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Bolino M. C., Turnley W. H., Bloodgood J. M. (2002) Citizenship Behavior and the Creation of Social Capital in Organizations, Academy of Management Review 27:505–522

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bolino M. C., Tumley W. H., Niehoff B. P. (2004) The Other Side of the Story: Reexamining Prevailing Assumptions about Organizational Citizenship Behavior, Human Resource Management Review 14:229–246

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brinlin R. W., Lonner W., Thorndike R. M. (1973) Cross-Cultural Research Methods. Wiley, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Chen Z. X., Francesco A. M. (2003) The Relationship Between the Three Components of Commitment and Employee Performance in China, Journal of Vocational Behavior 62:490–510

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen Z. X., Tsui A. S., Farh J. L. (2002) Loyalty to Supervisor vs. Organizational Commitment: Relationships to Employee Performance in China, Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology 75:339–356

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coughlan R. (2005) Employee Loyalty as Adherence to Share Moral Values, Journal of Managerial Issues 17(1):43–57

    Google Scholar 

  • Coyle-Shapiro J., Kessler I., Purcell J. (2004) Reciprocity or “It’s My Job”: Exploring Organizationally Directed Citizenship Behavior in a National Health Service Setting, Journal of Management Studies 41(1):85–106

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Deshpande S. P. (1996) Ethical Climate and the Link Between Success and Ethical Behavior: An Empirical Investment of a Non-Profit Organization, Journal of Business Ethics 15:315–320

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Deshpande S. P. (1996) Ethical Climate and the Link Between Success and Ethical Behavior: An Empirical Investment of a Non-Profit Organization, Journal of Business Ethics 15:315–320

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Douglas P. C., Davidson R. A., Schwartz B. N. (2001) The Effect of Organizational Culture and Ethical Orientation on Accountants’ Ethical Judgments, Journal of Business Ethics 34:101–121

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Farh J. L., Earley P. C., Lin S. C. (1997) Impetus for Action: A Cultural Analysis of Justice and Organizational Citizenship Behavior in Chinese Society, Administrative Science Quarterly 42:421–444

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Koys D. J. (2001) The Effects of Employee Satisfaction, Organizational Citizenship Behavior, and Turnover on Organizational Effectiveness: A Unit Level, Longitudinal Study. Personnel Psychology 54(1):101–114

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lester S. W., Turnley W. H., Bloodgood J. M., Bolino M. C. (2002) Not Seeing Eye to Eye: Differences in Supervisor and Subordinate Perceptions of and Attributions for Psychological Contract Breach, Journal of Organizational Behavior 23:39–56

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liedtka J. (1996) Feminist Morality and Competitive Reality: A Role for an Ethic of Care?, Business Ethics Quarterly 6:179–200

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liedtka J. (1999) Linking Competitive Advantage with Communities of Practices, Journal of Management Inquiry 8:5–16

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lindell M. K., Brandt C. J. (2000) Climate Quality and Climate Consensus as Mediators of the Relationship Between Organizational Antecedents and Outcomes, Journal of Applied Psychology 85(3):331–348

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McAllister D. J., Bigley G. A. (2002) Work Context and the Definition of Self: How Organizational Care Influences Organization-Based Self-Esteem, Academy of Management Journal 45(5):894–904

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Allport J. P., Meyer N. J. (1933) Commitment in the workplace: Theory, Research, and Application. Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA

    Google Scholar 

  • Moorman R. H., Blakely G. L. (1995) Individualism-Collectivism as an Individual Difference Predictor of Organizational Citizenship Behavior, Journal of Organizational Behavior 16:127–142

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • O’Reilly C., Chatman J. (1986) Organizational Commitment and Psychological Attachment: The Effects of Compliance, Identification and Internalization of Prosocial Behavior, Journal of Applied Psychology 71:492–499

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Organ D. W. (1988) Organizational Citizenship Behavior: The Good Solider Syndrome. Lexington Books, MA, Lexington

    Google Scholar 

  • Organ D. W. (1990) The Motivational Basis of Organizational Citizenship Behavior, Research in Organizational Behavior 12:43–72

    Google Scholar 

  • Organ D. W. (1997) Organizational Citizenship Behavior: It’s Construct Clean-Up Time, Human Performance 10(2):85–97

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Organ D. W., Ryan K. (1995) A Meta-Analytic Review of Attitudinal and Dispositional Predictors of Organizational Citizenship Behavior, Personnel Psychology 48:777–802

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Osterman P. (2000) Work Reorganization in an Era of Restructuring: Trends in Diffusion and Effects on Employee Welfare, Industrial and Labor Relations Review 53(2):176–196

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paine J. B., Organ D. W. (2000) The Cultural Matrix of Organizational Citizenship Behavior: Some Preliminary Conceptual and Empirical Observations, Human Resource Management Review 10:45–59

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Podsakoff P. M., MacKenzie S. B., Paine J. B., Bacharach D. G. (2000) Organizational Citizenship Behaviors: A Critical Review of the Theoretical and Empirical Literature and Suggestions for Future Research, Journal of Management 26(3):513–563

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Redman T., Snape E. (2005) Unpacking Commitment: Multiple Loyalties and Employee Behavior, Journal of Management Studies 42(2):301–328

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rioux S. M., Penner L. A. (2001) The Causes of Organizational Citizenship Behavior: A Motivational Analysis, Journal of Applied Psychology 86(6):1306–1314

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ryan R. M., Deci E. L. (2000) Self-Determination Theory and the Facilitation of Intrinsic Motivation, Social Development, and Well-Being, American Psychologist 55:68–78

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schneider B. (1975) Organizational Climate: An Essay, Personnel Psychology 28:447–479

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith C. A., Organ D. W., Near J. P. (1983) Organizational Citizenship Behavior: It’s Nature and Antecedents, Journal of Applied Psychology 68:653–663

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Somech A., Drach-Zahavy A. (2004) Exploring Organizational Citizenship Behavior from an Organizational Perspective: The Relationship Between Organizational Learning and Organizational Citizenship Behavior, Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology 77:281–298

    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 37:765–802

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Dyne L., LePine J. A. (1998) Helping and Voice Extra-Role Behaviors: Evidence of Construct and Predictive Validity, Academy of Management Journal 41:108–119

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vey M. A., Campbell J. P. (2004) In-Role or Extra-Role Organizational Citizenship Behavior: Which are we Measuring? Human Performance 17(1):119–135

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Victor B.and J. B. Cullen: (1987) A theory and Measure of Ethical Climate in Organizations in W. Frederick and L.E. Preston (eds.), Research in Corporate Social Perfomance Policy, Vol. 9 (JAI Press, Greenwich, Conn) pp. 51–71

  • Victor B., Cullen J. B. (1988) The Organizational Bases of Ethical Work Climates, Administrative Science Quarterly 33:101–125

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Waldman D. A. (1994) The Contributions of Total Quality Management to a Theory of Work Performance, Academy of Management Review 19:510–536

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wasti S. A. (2003) Organizational Commitment, Turnover Intentions and the Influence of Cultural Values, Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology 76:303–321

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weeks W. A., Nantel J. (1992) Corporate Codes of Ethics and Sales Force Behavior: A Case Study, Journal of Business Ethics 11:753–760

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wiener Y. (1982) Commitment in Organization. A Normative View, Academy of Management Review 7(3):418–428

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williams L. J., Anderson S. E. (1991) Job Satisfaction and Organizational Commitment as Predictors of Organizational Citizenship and In-Role Behaviors, Journal of Management 17(3):601–617

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zellars K. L., Tepper B. J., Duffy M. K. (2002) Abusive Supervision and Subordinates’ Organizational Citizenship Behavior, Journal of Applied Psychology 87(6):1068–1076

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Management, School of Business, Hong Kong Baptist University, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong

    Alicia S. M. Leung

Authors
  1. Alicia S. M. Leung
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Alicia S. M. Leung.

Additional information

Dr. Alicia Leung is an Associate Professor of Management at the Hong Kong Baptist University. She received her Ph.D. degree in Management Learning from the University of Lancaster, U.K. She is active in researching and writing materials about Asian organizations and management issues. Her research interests include gender issues and feminist methodology, business ethics, corporate governance, and strategic management in the Asian context.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Leung, A.S.M. Matching Ethical Work Climate to In-role and Extra-role Behaviors in a Collectivist Work Setting. J Bus Ethics 79, 43–55 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-007-9392-6

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-007-9392-6

Keywords

Search

Navigation