Gender and Deployment Effects on Pro-Organizational Behaviors of U.S. Soldiers

Abstract

This study examines whether gender moderates the relationships between deployment and both organizational identification and pro-organizational behaviors. The broader context motivating this study is the U.S. military’s 2016 rescission of the ground combat exclusion, accomplishing full gender integration in the armed forces. Structural equation modeling is used to test for gender moderation effects. Results reveal deployment frequency, but not current deployment, has small effects on several pro-organizational behaviors. Results also show that gender does not moderate the effects of deployment frequency on soldiers’ perceptions of the organization or economic or social satisfaction. Gender does moderate the effects of deployment frequency on soldiers’ identification with the army. Additionally, while gender was not found to moderate the relationship between combat deployments and overall pro-organizational behaviors among soldiers, it does moderate the effect of deployments on one pro-organizational item: sacrificing behavior. Implications are discussed with an eye toward full gender inclusion in the U.S. military.