Group-Level Organizational Citizenship Behavior in the Education System: A Scale Reconstruction and Validation

Abstract

Purpose: Most writings on Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB) to date have focused on analysis at the individual level and paid less attention to other analytical frameworks at the group level (i.e., team, unit, or organization). This article approaches OCB from the less conventional perspective of group-level activities and uses it to develop and validate a scale of Group-level Organizational Citizenship Behavior (GOCB) in the education system.Data Collection: Data were collected from a survey of 206 Israeli teachers and their principals at 13 schools.Findings: The scores were found to be statistically valid and demonstrated a high degree of reliability. In addition, two intra-factors (GOCB-I [group-level OCB toward individuals] and GOCB-O [group-level OCB toward the organization]) that are quite similar to those suggested in previous OCB literature emerged as key components.Conclusions: The advantages of the group-level scale over other individual-level scales are explored and discussed in detail. The article ends with theoretical and practical implications for future studies that may focus on the “good platoon syndrome” of educational and other administrative systems rather than merely on the “good soldier syndrome.” The authors elaborate on the potential reconstruction of group-level measures of OCB that can enrich studies on organizational climate, culture, and social norms. Finally, the authors argue that their results as well as those suggested in previous research may direct future studies to develop the idea of “organizational citizenship climate” in the educational system and beyond.