Gender and organizational citizenship behavior: the performance and evaluation of gender-typed organizational citizenship behaviors

Clarke, Heather M. (2016) Gender and organizational citizenship behavior: the performance and evaluation of gender-typed organizational citizenship behaviors. Doctoral (PhD) thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

[English] PDF - Accepted Version Available under License - The author retains copyright ownership and moral rights in this thesis. Neither the thesis nor substantial extracts from it may be printed or otherwise reproduced without the author's permission. Download (934kB)

Abstract

A series of three studies examined the role of gender in predicting OCB performance as well as its impact on the appraisal and reward of OCB performance. Study 1 examined gender ideology as both a predictor of gender-congruent OCBs (i.e. helping for women and civic virtue for men) and a moderator of the relationships between attitudinal and dispositional antecedents and gender-congruent OCBs. Survey data from participants across a wide range of jobs and organizations revealed that men with a traditional gender ideology reported more civic virtue performance than women and men with an egalitarian ideology. Contrary to the predicted relationship, traditional women did not report more helping than egalitarian women or men. Consistent with previous research, job satisfaction, organizational justice, and conscientiousness were significantly correlated with OCBs. However, when modeled together, only conscientiousness explained additional variance in both helping and civic virtue. Contrary to predictions, a traditional gender ideology did not moderate the relationship between job attitudes and personality predictors and OCBs. Studies 2 and 3 examined the impact of gender-congruent OCBs on perceptions of competence, overall performance ratings and reward allocation decisions. In Study 2, students viewed a video of a male or female university instructor that included a brief lecture as well as additional statements, which in the experimental conditions, manipulated OCB performance. It was predicted that the performance of gender-incongruent OCBs (i.e. helping for men and civic virtue for women) would, because it is unexpected, be more likely to be noticed by raters than the performance of gender-congruent OCBs, and therefore cause inflation in competence and overall performance ratings. The hypotheses were not supported. Study 3 employed a modified design based upon Study 2 and results indicated that the highest competence and overall performance ratings were received when the instructor was female and performed civic virtue. OCB also explained unique variance in overall performance ratings over and above that accounted for by in-role performance. The results of the three studies are discussed along with their theoretical and applied implications, limitations of the studies, and recommendations for future research.

Actions (login required)

View Item