Influence factors of organizational citizenship behaviors in Latin American countries: a Brazilian case study

Abstract

Purpose Research on organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) has been based on Western developed economies’ samples (or specific Eastern countries such as China and Saudi Arabia), lacking attention to developing contexts (Latin America). Even though OCBs’ antecedents in the Global North context have been thoroughly explored, Corporate Social Responsibility’s (CSR) perceptions and organizational commitment’s (OC) roles are “under-studied” in such developing contexts. This study aims to respond to the call for research on the behavioral perspective on CSR in Latin America, challenging implicit assumptions of theories developed in Western developed countries, related to the employees’ CSR perceptions and OC and OCB research. Design/methodology/approach In a postpositivist approach, the authors tested whether CSR and OC directly affect OCB, exploring OCB’s five dimensions – altruism, courtesy, consciousness, civic virtue and sportsmanship, with a main hypothesis that CSR and OC directly affect OCBs. The sample comprises responses from 1,059 employees from public and private Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in Brazil – the largest economy in Latin America, yet a collectivistic society developing country, in which OCB phenomena is still underexplored or done to a lesser extent. Findings Whenever positively perceiving their organizations’ CSR activities, employees identify strongly with the organization, influencing positive job outcomes such as OC and OCBs. Findings indicate that despite not perfectly fitting non-North American contexts, the OCB five-dimension structure is positively related to employees’ CSR perception, confirming OC’s stronger role in the Brazilian context. Indeed, findings confirm OC’s influence over all OCB dimensions, re-stating it as a stronger predictor of behaviors like consciousness (compliance), civic virtue and sportsmanship. Originality/value This research accepted the challenge of bringing OC back to OCB research. Indeed, seminal work had implied OC as a robust and significant predictor of the OCB, yet in Western developed economies. The scarcity of research on the matter in developing collectivist economies such as Brazil, justifies this study’s novelty and appropriateness.