Importance of Organizational Citizenship Behaviour for Overall Performance Evaluation: Comparing the Role of Task Interdependence in China and the USA

Abstract

In a cross‐cultural experiment, we examined how task interdependence influences the importance of organizational citizenship behaviour (OCB) in employee performance evaluations in China and the USA. A total of 150 graduate students in China and 154 in the USA (a total of 304), who serve as evaluators, participated in the experiment. Participants were exposed to a task interdependence manipulation and then rated the importance of OCB in their overall performance evaluations of employees. Results support the moderating effects of national culture (both using a country proxy and as a measure of collectivism) on the affects of task interdependence. Although among evaluators from the USA perceptions of the importance of OCB increased as task interdependence increased, the effects of task interdependence were significantly attenuated among evaluators from China. Implications of these results for research and practice are discussed.

The impact of psychological capital on job embeddedness and job performance among nurses: a structural equation approach

“…1993). We focused on task performance, which refers to behaviours ‘that are recognized by formal reward systems and are part of the requirements as described in job descriptions’ (Williams & Anderson 1991, Bachrach et al. 2007).…”

“…2007). We used the five‐item scale developed by Williams and Anderson (Williams & Anderson 1991, Bachrach et al. 2007) to measure in‐role performance (e.g.…”

Resource Dependence Theory: A Review

“…As a macro concept, RDT addresses interdependence as the reciprocation between organizations and the environment as a contributor to firm success. Micro-level research has long studied reciprocal relationships and defines interdependence as the extent to which employees rely on their coworkers to perform successfully (Bachrach, Hui, Bendoly, & Shuoyang, 2007;Bachrach, Powell, Collins, & Richey, 2006). The micro-macro conceptualizations share a focus on reciprocation as a means to generate successful performance within a given environment.…”

The perception of difficulty in project‐work planning and its impact on resource sharing

“…A second direction regards the level of social contact or interdependence among project managers. For example, evidence from the citizenship area suggests that discretionary helping behaviors may both be recognized as more central for task accomplishment (Bachrach et al, 2006(Bachrach et al, , 2007 and occur with greater frequency when employees work interdependently or have emotional attachments (Smith et al, 1983;Pearce and Gregersen, 1991;Kogut and Ritaov, 2007). In contrast, research within transactions cost-economics suggests that workers are given incentives to withhold making contributions when conditions fail to highlight individual accomplishments (Jones, 1984;Williamson, 1975).…”