Organizational Citizenship Behavior in Work Groups: A Group Norms Approach

Although the relationship between unit-level organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) and unit outcomes has been well established in recent years, the conceptual development of OCB at the unit level of analysis has not been adequately addressed. In an effort to fill this conceptual gap and to spur future research, the authors apply the literature on group norms to the concept of OCB. The resulting framework suggests a cyclical relationship between individual- and group-level processes and ultimately offers an explanation for how OCB norms are established and maintained in work groups. The authors demonstrate how this framework incorporates past research on the relationship between unit-level OCB and unit outcomes and how it extends previous research by suggesting multiple directions for future efforts related to unit-level OCB.