Antecedent of In-Role Performance: Test of a Latent Variable Mediated Model

The present study adds to the growing body of literature pertaining to cross-level research in organizational behaviour and human resources. Using a sample of 357 executives, a structural model of organizational commitment was tested as an antecedent of in-role performance when mediated by organizational citizenship behaviour. Subsequent statistical analyses confirmed the agreement between the study hypotheses and their empirical outcomes. Finally, the paper discusses the theoretical and practical implications of the results and concludes by indicating future scope of research. Introduction The conventional practice of organizations has been to rely chiefly on financial metrics to assess their performance and competitiveness (Luthans & Peterson 2003). While indicators such as firm profitability, returns on investment, and cash flow continue to be significant measures of an organization's well-being, there is an increasing trend of recognizing employees as key assets who provide firms with a source of sustainable competitive advantage (Biswas 2009). Conceptualized as the resource based view (RBV) of the firm (Barney 1986), employees are identified as providers of unique, inimitable, and rare services which not only help organizations assume business leadership, but also aids in maintaining that position over a period of time (Biswas 2008). For example, researches have reported significant and positive linkages between employees' attitude and behaviour and organizational effectiveness (Biswas & Srivastava 2007). The objective of the present study is to (a) investigate the overall mechanism through which employees' behaviours and attitudes impact their on-the-job performance and (b) examine organizational citizenship behaviours (OCBs) as a potential mediator between the antecedent and its consequence. Organizational Commitment Organizational commitment forms one of the fundamental bases of an individual's psychological affinity towards his/her employing organization (Williams & Anderson 1991). To that end, organizational commitment has been defined as "the relative strength of an individual's identification with and involvement in a particular organization" (Mowday, Steers & Pbrter 1979: 226). Early research related to organizational commitment revealed that employees' psychological attachment to their workplace greatly improved resource optimization (Cyert & March 1963). Linking commitment to performance, Goodman (2000) observes that commitment to work and consequent improvement in productivity of one unit of the firm will generate an obligation for members of the other work units to instigate similar improvement in their performance. This will ultimately lead to an improvement in organizational efficacy and effectiveness. According to Parnell and Crandall (2003), researches related to organizational commitment have followed one of the three theoretical premises. First, as a part of the 'side-bet' theory, organizational commitment has been conceptualized as a value-related venture for both the individual as well as the organization (Meyer & Allen 1984). So, as long as the individual continues to be a member of the organization it is in his/her as well as the organization's interest that the former is psychologically attached and pledged to the latter. When extrinsic rewards and recognition are neither an expectation nor an eventuality, organizational commitment forms the explanatory determinant Of a variety of behaviours displayed by individuals at the workplace (Scholl 1981, Weiner 1982). Weiner (1982) further employs the valence theory to conceptualize organizational commitment as a part of an individual organizational member's ascribed normative judgment. To that extent, Williams and Anderson (1991) suggest that organizational commitment leads to the manifestation of those prosocial behaviours by individuals that are not dependent on external reinforcement and which indicate a singular drive to maintain social harmony at the workplace. …