An emic approach to organizational citizenship behavior of Mexican professionals

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the dimensionality of emic (culturally specific) organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) of Mexican professionals. Design/methodology/approach – This study considered the collectivistic cultural background of Mexican professional employees and developed a framework based on the emic (culturally specific) dimensions of OCB. Findings – Based on exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, the authors find that the emic OCB of Mexican professionals is characterized by five dimensions: collegial harmony, organizational camaraderie, professional development, organizational faithfulness, and protecting company resources. Originality/value – The findings also offer incremental contributions to OCB research. In order to correctly capture the entire phenomena of OCB in different cultures, researchers often focus on the emic (specific/cultural unique) approach. Along this vein, the authors identified the Mexican OCB dimensions in an emic approach.