Consequences of unit-level organizational citizenship behaviors: A review and recommendations for future research

Abstract

Summary During the past 30 years, interest in organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs) has grown substantially. Although much of the early empirical research in this domain was directed at the individual level of analysis, more recently, researchers have focused their attention on identifying the outcomes of group-level or unit-level OCBs, as well as the mediating mechanisms and boundary conditions of the relationships between OCBs and unit-level outcomes. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to provide a summary of the extant literature in this area. First, we discuss the applicability of the types of OCB to the unit level of analysis. Following this, we provide a summary of the literature examining outcomes of unit-level OCBs, with particular attention paid to the mediators and moderators of the relationship between OCBs and unit effectiveness. Next, we examine the methodological characteristics of studies conducted in this research domain. Finally, we make a series of conceptual and methodological recommendations regarding future research on the consequences of unit-level OCBs. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.