Do supportive organizations make for good corporate citizens

In today's competitive business climate there is greater recognition of the importance that employee extra-role work behaviors play in organizational effectiveness (Borman and Motowidlo, 1993; Van Dyne et al., 1995; Van Scotter and Motowidlo, 1996). Extra-role behaviors, often labeled organizational citizenship behavior (0CB; Smith et al, 1983), encompass actions that lie outside the primary job responsibilities, but contribute to organizational effectiveness by supporting both organizational and social contexts in the workplace (Borman and Motowidlo, 1993; Organ and Ryan, 1995). Given the importance of OCBs, it is critical to develop a more complete conceptualization of the construct and to identify the types of discretionary behaviors employees choose to exhibit under various conditions (Orr et al., 1989). Although there have been many conceptualizations of OCBs put forth in the literature, one of the most promising is to consider the beneficiaries of these behaviors (Williams and Anderson, 1991). Specifically, research supports a two-factor classification of OCBs into behaviors that are interpersonally-focused and directly and intentionally aimed at assisting others (i.e., OCBI, which include behaviors such as orienting new employees and assisting a fellow employee with a heavy work load), and more organizationally-focused OCBs that function as a more impersonal form of citizenship directed at accomplishing organizational goals (i.e., OGBO; Latham and Skarlicki, 1995; Williams and Anderson, 1991). Although Williams and Anderson (1991) and others (Kemery et al., 1996; Moorman et at. , 1998; Skarlicki and Latham, 1997) have provided preliminary evidence for the differential effects of the extrinsic and intrinsic components of job satisfaction on OCBOs and OCBIs, respectively, a logical next step is to extend these findings and consider additional antecedents as differentially predictive of these two OCB dimensions. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to develop a more complete understanding of when and why employees decide to allocate discretionary effort toward different beneficiaries. Specifically, we focus on employees' perceptions of the extent to which they are valued by their organization (i.e., perceived organizational support; POS) (Eisenberger et al., 1990; Eisenberger et al., 1986; Wayne et al., 1997). POS develops through multiple exchanges between employees and their employers over time, and reflects the degree to which employees perceive that their work organizations genuinely care about their personal welfare (Eisenberger et al., 1986). The purpose of the present study is to explore how these perceptions of organizational support are associated with employee engagement in two types of discretionary work behavior, OCBI and OCBO (e.g., Williams and Anderson, 1991). POS was chosen as an antecedent based on both theoretical and empirical findings, suggesting the importance of this variable in influencing OCBs. That is, past research suggests a positive relationship between POS and extra-role behavior. Eisenberger et al. (1990) found a positive relationship between employees' perceptions of organizational support (POS) and the constructiveness of anonymous suggestions for improving organizational effectiveness (i.e., as judged in terms of the usefulness and concreteness of the suggestion). Although making suggestions for organizational improvement is one specific example of OCB (i.e., voice behavior) (Van Dyne and LePine, 1998), the narrow scope of the criterion used in the Eisenberger et al. (1990) study provides limited support for the relationship between POS and general OCBs. Specifically, the Eisenberger et al. (1990) study used employee suggestions for organizational improvement as the sole OCB measure. Despite Eisenberger et al.'s (1990) results suggesting the prese nce of a general relationship, providing only self-report evidence on a single-item measure of OCB fails to allow exploration of the more complex relationship between POS and the different forms of OCB. …