The Intentional Withdrawal of Organizational Citizenship Behavior

Abstract

Current definitions of withdrawal behavior include actions that fall beneath the umbrella for counterproductive work behaviors (CWBs). These acts of withdrawal include behaviors such as lateness, absenteeism and turnover intentions. The present effort investigates the intentional withdrawal of good behavior, specifically organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), as an additional form of withdrawal behavior not previously addressed in the literature. The intentional withdrawal of OCB is likely to comprise a variety of actions including reduced participation in OCB, completing OCBs at a lesser quality or shifting one’s motivations for completing OCB. To investigate these withdrawal behaviors, contextual shifts in organizational (downsizing threat and organizational justice) and personal (interpersonal conflict) work elements were examined as factors related to the induction of OCB withdrawal. In addition, the motivations for an individual’s continued OCB in the face of negative contextual factors were examined. These motivations included prosocial values, organizational concerns, image enhancement, obligation and functionality. Results provide some preliminary evidence to suggest that individuals withdraw their OCB in contexts of low organizational justice, but increase their participation in OCB when facing downsizing threat. For the examination of motivation, participants’ responses to the contexts of high downsizing threat and low organizational justice were significantly influenced by a sense of obligation. Furthermore, participants experiencing high interpersonal conflict expressed less image enhancement motivation.