Haunted by the past: How performing or withholding organizational citizenship behavior may lead to regret

Abstract

SummaryAlthough organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs) contribute to the effective functioning of organizations, performing or withholding such behaviors can have both positive and negative implications for employees. In this conceptual paper, we explain why the outcomes associated with OCB, the discretionary nature of OCB, and the way feelings of regret affect future behavior make regret a useful perspective for understanding how OCB can be sustained. Further, we integrate theory and research on attribution and regret to propose that employees are most likely to experience regret when performing, or failing to perform OCB, leads to unexpected, negative outcomes. We also theorize that regret will be felt more strongly when these outcomes are severe, employees' decision to engage in (withhold) OCB was exceptional, employees' performance (withholding) of OCB was inconsistent with their orientation to act, and when the reason to engage in (withhold) OCB is difficult to justify. Altogether, our paper sheds light on when employees may regret performing OCB, when they may regret not engaging in OCB, and how such feelings may affect their willingness to be a good organizational citizen in the future. The implications of our propositions and directions for future research on regret and OCB are discussed.