Start Date
10-12-2017 12:00 AM
Description
Though prior research recognizes the role of organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) in addressing issues related to employee motivation and retention, the bulk of such research focuses on traditional, less knowledge-intensive industries. Knowledge workers tend to evaluate their work cognitively, and this may lead to differences in the ways their OCB is fostered. Given the unique context of IT employees, who perform knowledge-intensive work but are expected to work in a production-oriented environment, we need to examine how IT employees appraise their work and how this appraisal influences their OCB. Leveraging self-determination theory, we hypothesize the mediating role of affective commitment in explaining the mechanisms through which cognitive evaluations of work affectively manifest into OCB. The theorized model is tested via data collected through a two-wave survey design comprising 416 employees from an Indian IT company. Results offer a nuanced understanding of the meaning of work and OCB for IT workers.
Recommended Citation
Chandra, Shalini; Srivastava, Shirish C.; and Joseph, Damien, "Meaning of Work and Organizational Citizenship Behavior for IT Employees: The Mediating Role of Affective Commitment" (2017). ICIS 2017 Proceedings. 14.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/icis2017/HumanBehavior/Presentations/14
Meaning of Work and Organizational Citizenship Behavior for IT Employees: The Mediating Role of Affective Commitment
Though prior research recognizes the role of organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) in addressing issues related to employee motivation and retention, the bulk of such research focuses on traditional, less knowledge-intensive industries. Knowledge workers tend to evaluate their work cognitively, and this may lead to differences in the ways their OCB is fostered. Given the unique context of IT employees, who perform knowledge-intensive work but are expected to work in a production-oriented environment, we need to examine how IT employees appraise their work and how this appraisal influences their OCB. Leveraging self-determination theory, we hypothesize the mediating role of affective commitment in explaining the mechanisms through which cognitive evaluations of work affectively manifest into OCB. The theorized model is tested via data collected through a two-wave survey design comprising 416 employees from an Indian IT company. Results offer a nuanced understanding of the meaning of work and OCB for IT workers.