Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-wzw2p Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-05-07T01:06:25.436Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Detrimental Citizenship Behaviour: A Multilevel Framework of Antecedents and Consequences

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 April 2015

Jason R. Pierce  and
Herman Aguinis
Jason R. Pierce
Affiliation:
Adolfo Ibáñez University, Chile
Herman Aguinis
Affiliation:
Indiana University, USA
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

There is regular and explicit media coverage of employee behaviour intended to advance organizational goals, but that harms stakeholder interests in ways that exceed necessity and reason. Although several constructs such as workplace deviance, organizational misbehaviour, corporate crime and corruption, and unethical pro-organizational behaviour have been advanced to account for this type of behaviour, no comprehensive framework exists that also includes the full scope of its important consequences. Accordingly, we propose the umbrella construct of detrimental citizenship behaviour (DCB) that allows us to integrate and build upon previous related conceptualizations that have developed mostly in parallel bodies of research. We rely on ethical decision-making, creativity, and instrumental stakeholder theories to embed the umbrella DCB construct within a multi-level and longitudinal model. The DCB model includes processes through which such behaviour and its consequences unfold over time for organizational members, organizations, and society at large. The proposed framework describes, explains, and predicts DCB and also leads to suggestions for future research. In addition, we offer suggestions regarding how to manage this highly consequential type of organizational behaviour, thereby engaging in a much-needed science-practice dialogue in management and organization studies.

Keywords

behavioural ethicscitizenship behaviourethicspro-organizational behaviourstakeholder theory
Type
Special Issue Articles
Information
Management and Organization Review , Volume 11 , Issue 1: Special Issue Behavioral Ethics, Organizational Justice, and Social Responsibility , March 2015 , pp. 69 - 99
Copyright
Copyright © The International Association for Chinese Management Research 2015 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Aguinis, H., Boyd, B. K., Pierce, C. A., & Short, J. C. 2011. Walking new avenues in management research methods and theories: Bridging micro and macro domains. Journal of Management, 37 (2): 395–403.Google Scholar
Aguinis, H., & Henle, C.A. 2003. The search for universals in cross-cultural organizational behaviour. In Greenberg, J. (Ed.), Organizational behavior: The state of the science (2nd ed.): 373–411. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Google Scholar
Aguinis, H., & Lawal, S.O. 2012. Conducting field experiments using eLancing's natural environment. Journal of Business Venturing, 27 (4): 493–505.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Amabile, T. M. 1988. A model of creativity and innovation in organizations. Research in Organizational Behaviour, 10: 123–167.Google Scholar
Amabile, T. M. 1996. Creativity in context. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.Google Scholar
Ashforth, B. E., & Mael, F. 1989. Social identity theory and the organization. Academy of Management Review, 14 (1): 20–39.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bachrach, D. G., Bendoly, E., & Podsakoff, P. M. 2001. Attributions of the ‘causes’ of group performance as an alternative explanation of the relationship between organizational citizenship behaviour and organizational performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 86 (6): 1285–1293.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Baucus, M. S. 1994. Pressure, opportunity and predisposition: A multivariate model of corporate illegality. Journal of Management, 20 (4): 699–721.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baucus, M. S., & Baucus, D. A. 1997. Paying the piper: An empirical examination of longer-term financial consequences of illegal corporate behaviour. Academy of Management Journal, 40 (1): 129–151.Google Scholar
Bersoff, D. M. 1999. Explaining unethical behaviour among people motivated to act prosocially. Journal of Moral Education, 28 (4): 413–428.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blumberg, M., & Pringle, C. D. 1982. The missing opportunity in organizational research: Some implications for a theory of work performance. Academy of Management Review, 7 (4): 560–569.Google Scholar
Boles, T. L., Croson, R. T. A., & Murnighan, J. K. 2000. Deception and retribution in repeated ultmatum bargaining. Organizational Behaviour and Human Decision Processess 83 (2): 235–259.Google Scholar
Brockner, J., & Higgins, E. T. 2001. Regulatory focus theory: Implications for the study of emotions at work. Organizational Behaviour and Human Decision Processes, 86 (1): 35–66.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brown, J. 1996. Cruise line charged with dumping oil, conspiring to hide it. Washington, DC: Associated Press. December 19. [Cited 4 December 2011.] Available from URL: http://global.factiva.com/ha/default.aspx: December 19.Google Scholar
Burkitt, L. 2011. Police detain 37 in Wal-Mart pork case. Wall Street Journal , October 12. [Cited 4 December 2011.] Available from URL: http://global.factiva.com.ezproxy.lib.indiana.edu/ha/default.aspx.Google Scholar
Cascio, W. F., & Aguinis, H. 2008. Research in industrial and organizational psychology from 1963 to 2007: Changes, choices, and trends. Journal of Applied Psychology, 93 (5): 1062–1081.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chen, M., & Bargh, J. A. 1999. Consequences of automatic evaluation: Immediate behavioural predispositions to approach or avoid the stimulus. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 25 (2): 215–224.Google Scholar
China Economic Review. 2011. Chinese firms lose up to US$92bn annually due to a lack of credibility. China Economic Review , July 18. [Cited 11 October 2011.] Available from URL: http://global.factiva.com.ezproxy.lib.indiana.edu/ha/default.aspx.Google Scholar
Dalal, R. S. 2005. A meta-analysis of the relationship between organizational citizenship behaviour and counterproductive work behaviour. Journal of Applied Psychology, 90 (6): 1241–1255.Google Scholar
Davidson, W. N., & Worrell, D. L. 1988. The impact of announcements of corporate illegalities on shareholder returns. Academy of Management Journal, 31 (1): 195–200.Google Scholar
Dean, T. J., & Brown, R. L. 1995. Pollution regulation as a barrier to new firm entry: Initial evidence and implications for future research. Academy of Management Journal, 38 (1): 288–303.Google Scholar
Donaldson, T., & Dunfee, T. W. 1994. Toward a unified conception of business ethics: Integrative social contracts theory. Academy of Management Review, 19 (2): 252–284.Google Scholar
Donaldson, T., & Preston, L. E. 1995. The stakeholder theory of the corporation: Concepts, evidence, and implications. Academy of Management Review, 20 (1): 65–91.Google Scholar
Dubin, R. 1976. Theory building in applied areas. In Dunnette, M. D. (Ed.), Handbook of industrial and organizational psychology: 17–40. Chicago, IL: Rand McNally College Publishing Company.Google Scholar
Dukerich, J. M., Kramer, R., & Parks, J. M. 1998. The dark side of organizational identification. In Whetten, D. A. & Godfrey, P. C. (Eds.), Identity in organizations: Building theory through conversations: 245–256. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.Google Scholar
Eisenberg, N., Miller, P. A., Schaller, M., Fabes, R. A., Fultz, J., Shell, R., & Shea, C. L. 1989. The role of sympathy and altruistic personality traits in helping: A reexamination. Journal of Personality, 57 (1): 41–67.Google Scholar
Fehr, E., & Gachter, S. 2000. Cooperation and punishment in public goods experiments. American Economic Review, 90 (4): 980–994.Google Scholar
Fombrun, C. J. 1996. Reputation: Realizing value from the corporate image. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.Google Scholar
Gelfand, M. J., Erez, M., & Aycan, Z. 2007. Cross-cultural organizational behavior. Annual Review of Psychology, 58: 479–514.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gino, F., & Margolis, J. D. 2011. Bringing ethics into focus: How regulatory focus and risk preferences influence (Un) ethical behaviour. Organizational Behaviour and Human Decision Processes, 115 (2): 145–156.Google Scholar
Greene, J. D., Sommerville, R. B., Nystrom, L. E., Darley, J. M., & Cohen, J. D. 2001. An fMRI investigation of emotional engagement in moral judgment. Science, 293 (5537): 2105–2108.Google Scholar
Haidt, J. 2001. The emotional dog and its rational tail: A social intuitionist approach to moral judgment. Psychological Review, 108 (4): 814–834.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hambrick, D. C. 1994. 1993 presidential address: What if the academy actually mattered? Academy of Management Review, 19 (1): 11–16.Google Scholar
Hambrick, D. C., & D’Aveni, R. A. 1988. Large corporate failures as downward spirals. Administrative Science Quarterly, 33 (1): 1–23.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hastorf, A. H., & Cantril, H. 1954. They saw a game; a case study. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 49 (1): 129–134.Google Scholar
Hendry, J. R. 2006. Taking aim at business: What factors lead environmental non-governmental organizations to target particular firms? Business & Society, 45 (1): 47–86.Google Scholar
Hofstede, G. 1980. Culture's consequences: International differences in work-related values. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Hosmer, L. T., & Kiewitz, C. 2005. Organizational justice: A behavioural science concept with critical implications for business ethics and stakeholder theory. Business Ethics Quarterly, 15 (1): 67–91.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hunt, S. D., & Vitell, S. J. 1993. The general theory of marketing ethics: A retrospective and revision. In Smith, N. C. & Quelch, J. A. (Eds.), Ethics in marketing: 775–784. Homewood, IL: Irwin.Google Scholar
Jensen, M. C., & Meckling, W. H. 1976. Theory of the firm: Managerial behaviour, agency costs, and ownership structure. Journal of Financial Economics, 3 (4): 305–360.Google Scholar
Jones, T. M. 1991. Ethical decision making by individuals in organizations: An issue-contingent model. Academy of Management Review, 16 (2): 366–395.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jones, T. M. 1995. Instrumental stakeholder theory: A synthesis of ethics and economics. Academy of Management Review, 20 (2): 404–437.Google Scholar
Kessler, S. R., Bandelli, A. C., Spector, P. E., Borman, W. C., Nelson, C. E., & Penney, L. M. 2010. Re-examining Machiavelli: A three-dimensional model of machiavellianism in the workplace. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 40 (8): 1868–1896.Google Scholar
Klein, R. A. 2005. Cruise ship squeeze: The new pirates of the seven seas. Gabriola Island, BC, Canada: New Society Publishers.Google Scholar
Knight, T. 1996. Rockwell debacle: How did it start? Investigators probe waste violations. Los Angeles Daily News , April 14: N1.Google Scholar
Kohlberg, L. 1969. Stage and sequence: The cognitive-developmental approach to socialization. In Goslin, D. A. (Ed.), Handbook of socialization theory and research, 347–480. Chicago, IL: Rand McNally.Google Scholar
Krebs, D. L., & Denton, K. 2005. Toward a more pragmatic approach to morality: a critical evaluation of kohlberg's model. Psychological Review, 112 (3): 629–649.Google Scholar
Kunda, Z. 1990. The case for motivated reasoning. Psychological Bulletin, 108 (3): 480–498.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Liptak, A. 2009. Strip search of girl by school officials seeking drugs was illegal, justices rule. New York Times , June 26: A16.Google Scholar
Lundberg, C. C. 2004. Is there really nothing so practical as a good theory? Business Horizons, 47 (5): 7–14.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mazar, N., Amir, O. N., & Ariely, D. 2008. The dishonesty of honest people: A theory of self-concept maintenance. Journal of Marketing Research, 45 (5): 633–644.Google Scholar
Molinsky, A., & Margolis, J. 2005. Necessary evils and interpersonal sensitivity in organizations. Academy of Management Review, 30 (2): 245–268.Google Scholar
Murnighan, J. K., Cantelon, D. A., & Elyashiv, T. 2001. Bounded personal ethics and the tap dance of real estate agency. Advances in Qualitative Organizational Research, 3: 1–40.Google Scholar
Napier, B. 1972. Working to rule – A breach of the contract of employment? Industrial Law Journal, 1 (1): 125–134.Google Scholar
Noon, M., & Delbridge, R. 1993. News from behind my hand: Gossip in organizations. Organization Studies, 14 (1): 23–36.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Noreen, E. 1988. The economics of ethics: A new perspective on agency theory. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 13 (4): 359–369.Google Scholar
Pan, Y., Rowney, J. A., Peterson, M. F. 2012. The structure of Chinese cultural traditions: An empirical study of business employees in China. Management and Organization Review, 8 (1): 77–95.Google Scholar
Pierce, J. R. 2008. The cost of corporate criminal convictions: An event study Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management . Anaheim.Google Scholar
Pierce, J. R., Kilduff, G. J., Galinsky, A. D., & Sivanathan, N. In press. From glue to gasoline: How competition turns perspective-takers unethical. Psychological Science .Google Scholar
Pinto, J., Leana, C. R., & Pil, F. K. 2008. Corrupt organizations or organizations of corrupt individuals? Two types of organization-level corruption. Academy of Management Review, 33 (3): 685–709.Google Scholar
Rest, J. R. 1986. Moral judgment, behaviour, decision making, and attitudes. New York: Praeger.Google Scholar
Reynolds, S. J. 2006a. A neurocognitive model of the ethical decision-making process: Implications for study and practice. Journal of Applied Psychology, 91 (4): 737–748.Google Scholar
Reynolds, S. J. 2006b. Moral awareness and ethical predispositions: Investigating the role of individual differences in the recognition of moral issues. Journal of Applied Psychology, 91 (1): 233–243.Google Scholar
Rioux, S. M., & Penner, L. A. 2001. The causes of organizational citizenship behaviour: A motivational analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 86 (6): 1306–1314.Google Scholar
Robertson, D. C. 1993. Empiricism in business ethics: Suggested research directions. Journal of Business Ethics, 12 (8): 585–599.Google Scholar
Robinson, S. L., & Bennett, R. J. 1995. A typology of deviant workplace behaviours: a multidimensional scaling study. Academy of Management Journal, 38 (2): 555–572.Google Scholar
Rowley, T., & Berman, S. 2000. A brand new brand of corporate social performance. Business & Society, 39 (4): 397–418.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rowley, T. J. 1997. Moving beyond dyadic ties: A network theory of stakeholder influence. Academy of Management Review, 22 (4): 887–910.Google Scholar
Schwartz, S. H. 1992. Universals in the content and structure of values: theoretical advances and empirical tests in 20 countries. In Zanna, M. P. (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 25): 1–65. San Diego, CA: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Schwartz, S. H. (Ed.): 1994. Beyond individualism/collectivism: New cultural dimensions of values. (Vol. 18). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Scott, S. G., & Bruce, R. A. 1994. Determinants of innovative behaviour: A path model of individual innovation in the workplace. Academy of Management Journal, 37 (3): 580–607.Google Scholar
Scott, S. G., & Lane, V. R. 2000. A stakeholder approach to organizational identity. Academy of Management Review, 25 (1): 43–62.Google Scholar
Shaub, M. K., Finn, D. W., & Munter, P. 1993. The effects of auditors’ ethical orientation on commitment and ethical sensitivity. Behavioural Research in Accounting, 5 (1): 145–169.Google Scholar
Skarlicki, D. P., & Folger, R. 1997. Retaliation in the workplace: The roles of distributive, procedural, and interactional justice. Journal of Applied Psychology, 82 (3): 434–443.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sonenshein, S. 2007. The role of construction, intuition, and justification in responding to ethical issues at work: the sensemaking-intuition model. Academy of Management Review, 32 (4): 1022–1040.Google Scholar
Sparks, J. R., & Hunt, S. D. 1998. Marketing researcher ethical sensitivity: Conceptualization, measurement, and exploratory investigation. Journal of Marketing, 62 (2): 92–109.Google Scholar
Spector, P. E., & Fox, S. 2002. An emotion-centered model of voluntary work behaviour: Some parallels between counterproductive work behaviour and organizational citizenship behaviour. Human resource management review, 12 (2): 269–292.Google Scholar
Stieghorst, T. 1999. Royal Caribbean engineer arrested on charges of violating clean water act. Sun-Sentinel, November 13.Google Scholar
Sutherland, E. H. 1940. White-collar criminality. American Sociological Review, 5 (1): 1–12.Google Scholar
The New Paper. 2011. No baggage money, so she's stuck in airport for 8 days. Singapore: Singapore Press Holdings Limited. [Cited 4 December 2011.] Available from URL: http://global.factiva.com/ha/default.aspx Google Scholar
Umphress, E. E., & Bingham, J. B. 2011. When employees do bad things for good reasons: examining unethical pro-organizational behaviours. Organization Science, 22 (3): 621–640.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Umphress, E. E., Bingham, J. B., & Mitchell, M. S. 2010. Unethical behaviour in the name of the company: The moderating effect of organizational identification and positive reciprocity beliefs on unethical pro-organizational behaviour. Journal of applied psychology, 95 (4): 769–780.Google Scholar
Van de Ven, A. H., Jing, R. 2012. Indigenous management research in China from an engaged scholarship perspective. Management and Organization Review 8 (1): 123–137.Google Scholar
Van Maanen, J., Sørensen, J. B., & Mitchell, T. R. 2007. Introduction to special topic forum: The interplay between theory and method. Academy of Management Review, 32 (4): 1145–1154.Google Scholar
Vardi, Y., & Wiener, Y. 1996. Misbehaviour in organizations: A motivational framework. Organization Science, 7 (2): 151–165.Google Scholar
Wang, C. S. 2007. Punishing deception and rewarding honesty . Unpublished doctoral dissertation. Northwestern University, Evanston, IL.Google Scholar
Warren, D. E. 2003. Constructive and destructive deviance in organizations. Academy of Management Review, 28 (4): 622–632.Google Scholar
Weick, K. E. 1979. The social psychology of organizing (2nd ed.) New York: Addison Wesley.Google Scholar
Weick, K. E. 2007. The generative properties of richness. Academy of Management Journal, 50 (1): 14–19.Google Scholar
Wright, P. M., George, J. M., Farnsworth, S. R., & McMahan, G. C. 1993. Productivity and extra-role behaviour: The effects of goals and incentives on spontaneous helping. Journal of Applied Psychology, 78 (3): 374–381.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: File

Pierce supplementary material

Translated abstracts

Download Pierce supplementary material(File)
File 20.5 KB