The Relationship between Social Exchange Variables and In-Role Performance, Organizational Citizenship Behavior, and Commitment: Evidence from Israeli Community Centers

Aaron Cohen,Liat Blecher

doi:10.5539/ijps.v14n1p74

Abstract

Community centers provide invaluable services for local communities worldwide. This study examines the relationships between social exchange variables (affection toward supervisors, job satisfaction, distributive justice, and psychological contract violation) and in-role performance, organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), and commitment forms (community center, job, and the local community). The target population consisted of employees from 24 community centers working for national nonprofit organizations in Israel. A total of 176 questionnaires were distributed, and 129 employees returned usable questionnaires (a response rate of 73%). Supervisors provided information on in-role performance and OCB. The findings show that affection toward supervisors has a strong positive relationship with the three investigated commitment forms and altruistic OCB. Further, psychological contract violation has a negative relationship with in-role performance and OCB. Therefore, we conclude that the process of social exchange represents an important mechanism for increasing in-role performance, OCB, and commitment.

Highlights

Community centers are leading social organizations that aim to develop a nationwide network of workable local communities that contribute to a strong society (Stetsky & Kamagina, 2021)
Using the social exchange theory, this study argues that variables that represent social exchange are positively associated with the three commitment forms as well as in-role performance and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) as reported by the manager of each community center
This study examined the relationship between social exchange variables and the employees’ commitment forms and OCB, within a context that has rarely been examined empirically

Summary

Introduction

Community centers are leading social organizations that aim to develop a nationwide network of workable local communities that contribute to a strong society (Stetsky & Kamagina, 2021). Community centers in Israel are relatively new organizations as they were founded in the late 1960s (Hasenfeld & Schmidt, 1989). Their goal is to develop and manage progressive complementary educational frameworks and lifelong learning, and to comprehensively aid community members with special needs and for a wide range of ages. Each community center in Israel is assimilated as a public organization with a public board that represents a local municipality, citizen groups, and social service agencies. Most centers depend on volunteers from the community and enable them to participate in voluntary and mutual aid activities intended to improve the total welfare of the community (Hasenfeld & Schmidt, 1989)

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