Academy oi Management Executive. 201D3. Vol.

i7, No 3

Going the extra mile:

Cultivating and managing
employee citizenship behavior
Mart C. Bolino and William H. Turnley

Executive Overview
An organization's ability to elicit employee behavior that goes above and beyond the
call of duty can be a key asset and one that is difficult for competitors to imitate.
Researchers have given a label to the superior efforts that employees make on behalf of
their organizations—organizational citizenship behavior. Given the value of citizenship
behavior, it is important to gain a better understanding of what organizations can do fo
cultivate a workforce of good organizational citizens. This article provides an overview of
the factors that are responsible for producing citizenship behaviors. Based on these
factors, we explain how organizations can develop practices that foster and sustain
employee citizenship. Finally, the article describes how citizenship behaviors must be
monitored and properly managed in order for such behaviors to have enhancing rather
than deJeferious effects on organizational and employee performance.

"It's not enough to just show up at 8 o'clock each ing of what makes employees willing to go the extra
morning and say, 'Oh, I've done a wonderful mile for their organizations, as well as how such
thing.'" As Herb Kelleher, chairman of Southwest behaviors facilitate organizational functioning. This
Airlines, suggests, superior organizational perfor- article, then, explores the phenomenon of organi-
mance is not achieved through ordinary employee zational citizenship behavior. Specifically, we dis-
efforts.' One reason that companies like Southwest cuss how citizenship behaviors contribute to organi-
Airlines are so successful is that they have dedi- zational success, what organizations can do to
cated employees whose efforts surpass what is elicit superior efforts from their workforce, and
formally required of them. Organizational re- the ways in which organizations should manage
searchers refer to employee efforts that go "above citizenship behaviors.
and beyond the call of duty" as organizational
citizenship behaviors. Good citizenship is thought
to include a variety of employee behaviors, such Citizenship Behavior and the Effective
as taking on additional assignments, voluntarily Functioning of Organizations
assisting other people at work, keeping up with Based on anecdotal accounts, citizenship behavior
developments in one's field or profession, follow- clearly contributes to organizational competitive-
ing company rules even when no one is looking, ness and performance. As one example, employee
promoting and protecting the organization, and loyalty and worker enthusiasm at FedEx Corpora-
keeping a positive attitude and tolerating inconve- tion are frequently cited as key factors that are
niences at work.2 "unquantifiable and undeniable" in their value in
Citizenship behaviors generally have two com- helping the company win battles against its com-
mon features: they are not directly enforceable petitors. For instance, during the UPS strike in 1997,
{i.e., they are not technically required as a part of FedEx was overloaded with 800,000 additional
one's job), and they are representative of the packages each day. Thousands of employees re-
special or extra efforts that organizations need sponded to the challenge by volunteering to sort
from their workforce in order to be successful. In extra packages for several hours following their
recent years, we have broadened our understand- regularly scheduled shifts.^ Likewise, the impres-

60
2003 Bolino and Turnley 61

sive performance of Southwest Airlines is often ence of employees' formally required job perfor-
attributed to the willingness of its employees to go mance. In another study, employee citizenship
beyond the call of duty. Indeed, Herb Kelleher has within specific restaurant units was measured,
argued that employee citizenship is the single big- and then the profitability of these units was ex-
gest reason for the company's success: "Our esprit amined at a later date. One year later, those
de corps is the core of our success. That's the most units that had higher levels of employee citizen-
difficult thing for a competitor to imitate. They can ship were significantly more profitable overall
buy all the physical things. The thing you can't buy and had a higher level of profits as a percentage
is dedication, devotion, and loyalty."'^ of sales than those units that had lower levels of
However, although it has long been assumed citizenship.^
that citizenship behaviors facilitate organizational
Although the research on citizenship and organi-
effectiveness, until lately there was no hard evi-
dence on this point. In some recent empirical stud- zational or workgroup performance is in its in-
ies, though, several researchers investigating firm fancy, the existing studies clearly indicate that
performance in a variety of industries have found citizenship can be beneficial to organizations. Re-
that employee citizenship does produce tangible cently, it has been argued that one of the primary
benefits for organizations.^ For example, an inves- ways that citizenship behaviors contribute to or-
tigation of 116 sales units of an insurance agency ganizational performance is through the creation
revealed a generally positive relationship be- of social capital {i.e., strong interpersonal connec-
tween employee citizenship and several indicators tions among employees).' Specifically, social cap-
of organizational performance—the amount of new ital frequently results from the willingness of em-
business generated by the agents, the degree to ployees to exceed their formal job requirements in
which the agents surpassed earlier productivity order to help each other, to subordinate their indi-
levels, the average number of policies sold by the vidual interests for the good of the organization,
agents each week, and the total number of policies and to take a genuine interest in the organization's
sold. In addition, employee citizenship was also activities and overall mission. For example, when
found to be positively associated with indicators of employees take part in the social life of the organ-
both product quantity and product quality in a ization, they are likely to meet colleagues working
study of 40 machine crews working in a paper mill. in other departments (with whom they might not
Specifically, such behaviors were positively re- otherwise have contact). Likewise, when employ-
lated to the amount of paper produced as a per- ees help one another, it creates a sense of mutual
centage of machine capacity and negatively re- obligation and trust between them. Similarly,
lated to the percentage of paper that was rejected when employees stay involved in company affairs,
due to poor quality. Likewise, in a study of 306 they learn to speak the language of the organiza-
sales teams working for a pharmaceutical com- tion, communicate more effectively with one an-
pany, those teams that engaged in relatively other, and gain a better appreciation of the organi-
higher levels of citizenship were significantly zation's values and mission.
more likely to reach their sales quota than teams
that exhibited fewer citizenship behaviors. In general, organizations with relatively high
levels of social capital are better able to elicit
the commitment of their employees, to attract
Several researchers investigating firm and retain top employees, to be flexible, to man-
performance in a variety oi industries age collective action, and to develop high levels
of intellectual capital. Moreover, because high-
have found that employee citizenship quality relationships between employees (i.e.,
does produce tangible beneiits ior social capital) are valuable, not easily formed,
organizations. and difficult to imitate, such relations are likely
to give organizations a sustainable edge over
The relationship between citizenship behaviors their competitors.^ Thus, employee citizenship is
and organizational effectiveness has also been not only likely to enhance organization perfor-
studied in several fast-food restaurant chains. In mance directly, but also to provide a source of
one study, for example, higher levels of employee competitive advantage that is maintainable in
citizenship resulted in higher levels of revenue, the long run. It is important, then, that organiza-
customer satisfaction, and quality of service. Fur- tions and managers have a better understanding
thermore, citizenship behaviors predicted such of the factors that make employees willing to go
outcomes even after taking into account the influ- the extra mile.
62 Academy oi Management Executive August

TABLE 1
Factors That Promote Employee Citizenship
Factor Example

lob Satisiaction • Happy workers are good organizational citizens.

Transformational and Supportive Leadership • Employees are willing to go the extra mile when they work ior inspirational
and supportive managers.
Interesting Work and lob Involvement • When employees are given interesting work assignments and jobs in which
they can really immerse themselves, they are more likely to go beyond the
call of duty.
Organizational Support • Employees who feel that their organizations really care about them are more
likely to support the organization with higher levels of citizenship.
Trust, Organizational Justice, and Psychological • Citizenship is likely to occur when employers are trustworthy, fair, and live
Contract Fulfillment up to the commitments they have made to their employees.
Employee Characteristics • Employees who are conscientious, optimistic, extroverted, empathetic, and
team-oriented may be more willing to engage in certain types of citizenship
behaviors.

Predictors ol Employee Citizenship in ployee productivity.^° Although job satisfaction

Organizations was the initial variable of interest in examining
citizenship behavior, several other factors and pro-
If citizenship behaviors are an important contribu- cesses have been shown to elicit good citizenship
tor to organizational performance, what factors in organizations as well.
produce citizenship? Citizenship researchers have
directed most of their attention to answering this
question. In this section, the causes of organiza- Trans/ormafi on a/ and Supportive Leadership
tional citizenship are discussed. These factors are
summarized in Table 1. Transformational leaders are charismatic individ-
uals with whom subordinates identify emotionally.
Moreover, transformational leaders create and
Satisfied Workers communicate a vision for the company that brings
An old business axiom suggests that "Happy work- employees together to accomplish organizational
ers are productive workers." For years, many aca- goals by emphasizing the interests of the organi-
demics felt validated by their ability to contest this zation more than those of the individual. Finally,
belief, widely held by practicing managers. That transformational leaders not only build commit-
is, empirical investigations consistently indicate ment to their vision, but they also model the be-
that job satisfaction has only minimal or weak haviors that are necessary to achieve the vision—
effects on objective indicators of worker productiv- that is, a transformational leader not only "talks
ity.*^ However, one researcher, Dennis Organ, sug- the talk" but "walks the walk" as well. For exam-
gested that the reason empirical evidence contra- ple, David Neeleman of JetBlue Airways might be
dicted common sense was attributable to the considered a prototypical transformational leader.
definition of worker productivity used in most re- In particular, he has been described as someone
search. Based on this idea, he proposed that al- who can inspire employees "through the sheer
though job satisfaction may only be weakly related force of his personality and the example of his
to how productive workers are in carrying out their dedication."" The findings of several studies indi-
official job duties, satisfied workers would be more cate that transformational leadership is especially
prone to undertake activities that are not formally relevant in eliciting employee citizenship behav-
required by their employer but that ultimately ben- iors. That is, employees who work for transfor-
efit the organization. mational leaders are frequently motivated to go
above and beyond the call of duty for the benefit of
Organ's idea about the relationship between job
their organization.^^
satisfaction and what he would later refer to as
organizational citizenship behaviors proved true. Employees are also willing to engage in rela-
In subsequent research involving over 50 empirical tively higher levels of citizenship when they work
studies, the relationship between job satisfaction for managers with whom they have developed
and employee citizenship behavior has been close, supportive relationships.'^ Put simply, em-
shown to be more than twice as strong as the ployees tend to respond favorably—by engaging
relationship between job satisfaction and em- in citizenship behavior—^when managers take the
2003 BoJino and Turniey 63

time to get to know them. Likewise, managers who ple of citizenship behavior, individuals at Agilent
demonstrate loyalty and show professional respect Technologies (a high-tech company located in Palo
for their employees are also likely to elicit higher Alto, California) continued working very long
levels of citizenship. Conversely, employees who hours (up until their very last day} even after they
see their supervisors as rather distant, or feel ig- had been notified that they were being laid off.
nored by them, are typically less likely to engage Because these employees believed that the com-
in citizenship behavior. pany really cared about them and had done every-
thing that it could to avoid layoffs, the employees
wanted to make sure that their long-term projects
Interesting Work and Job Involvement got completed before they left and that the transi-
Another way in which organizations can foster cit- tion would go smoothly after they were gone.'^
izenship is to provide employees with meaningful, Consistent with this notion, providing work-life
interesting work. Job involvement, which results benefits and other types of employee support is
from the opportunity to complete interesting tasks likely to elicit citizenship behavior. In one study, for
and assignments, describes the extent to which example, employees were more willing to go beyond
employees feel immersed in their work. Like the the call of duty when they worked for companies that
research on job satisfaction, prior studies indicate offered support which enabled them to more easily
that job involvement is only weakly related to tra- balance their work and family responsibilities, as-
ditional indicators of employee performance or sisted them through difficult times, provided them
productivity. However, individuals who are highly with benefits they could not afford, and helped their
involved in their work are, in fact, more likely to children do things they would not have been able to
engage in organizational citizenship behavior.''^ do otherwise.'^ For example, SAS Institute employ-
For example, employees engage in higher levels ees often discuss the lengths they are willing to go to
of citizenship behavior when they have the oppor- in order to repay the company for its wide-ranging
tunity to work on intrinsically satisfying tasks and benefits plan, which includes on-site day care, on-
activities that give them some sense of how they site health care, and support staff to assist employ-
are doing in their jobs (i.e., tasks that provide feed- ees with family issues (e.g., completing college ap-
back). However, citizenship levels are likely to be plications and finding senior care for parents). Thus,
markedly lower when employees are given very to the extent that employees feel supported and
repetitive, highly routinized tasks to complete. In taken care of by their employers, they are likely to
addition, bureaucratic rules and procedures that repay the organization by engaging in constructive
overly constrain workers may serve to inhibit acts behaviors not formally required by their jobs.
of citizenship. Overall, then, providing employees
with interesting and exciting work is likely to lead
to higher levels of citizenship on their part. Trust, Organizational Justice, and Psychological
Contract Fulfillment
Employees who trust their supervisors and their
Citizenship levels are likely to be organizations are also likely to exhibit higher lev-
markedly lower when employees are els of citizenship. Fairness is an important deter-
given very repetitive, highly routinized minant of employee citizenship behavior as well.
tasks to complete. Specifically, research has shown that employees
are more willing to go beyond the call of duty when
they believe that: (1) important outcomes (e.g., pro-
motions or pay raises} are fairly distributed by the
Organizational Support
organization; (2) the procedures used to make crit-
There is a significant association between em- ical organizational decisions are just; and (3) their
ployee citizenship behavior and the extent to direct supervisors are truthful, consider employees'
which employees believe that their organization point of view, and show concern for the rights of
values their contributions and cares about their employees. Thus, the degree to which employees
well-being. For example, employees are likely to display high levels of citizenship behavior is often a
engage in citizenship behavior when they feel that function of their beliefs that the organization is char-
their organization really considers their goals and acterized by high levels of what have been termed
values, cares about their opinions, would be will- distributive, procedural, and interactional justice.'^
ing to forgive honest mistakes on their part, and Related to the idea of organizational justice is
would be willing to help them if they needed a the concept of the psychological contract that ex-
special favor. Indeed, in a fairly remarkable exam- ists between employees and their organization.
64 Academy of Management Executive August

Psychological contracts consist of the obligations behaviors because they conceptualize such activ-
that employees believe their organization owes ities as being an important part of their jobs. In
them and the obligations the employees believe short, certain people may be more likely to make
they owe their organization in return. Psychologi- good organizational citizens than others.^-°
cal contract fulfillment occurs when individuals Over the past twenty years, organizational re-
perceive that their organization has kept the prom- searchers have learned a great deal about the
ises that have been made to employees. In con- determinants of employee citizenship. In the next
trast, psychological contract breach arises when section, we draw upon the findings of this research
employees perceive that their organization has in order to outline some practical steps for eliciting
failed to fulfill its obligations or keep its promises. citizenship behavior in organizations.
Employees who feel that their psychological con-
tracts have been broken or violated often respond
by decreasing their citizenship behavior.'^ Encouraging Organizational Citizenship Behavior
Indeed, employees who feel that their psycho- Given our understanding of the factors that pro-
logical contract has been breached are especially duce citizenship behaviors, what specific practices
likely to withhold those types of citizenship behav- might organizations use to elicit good citizenship
ior that most directly benefit the organization. from their employees? In this section, we discuss
Thus, even when an employee perceives that the two principal avenues by which organizations can
organization has reneged on its earlier promises, create the fertile conditions under which citizen-
the employee may still be willing to engage in ship might flourish: (1) formal HRM practices that
those forms of citizenship behavior that are di- emphasize good citizenship, and (2) informal sys-
rected at work colleagues (e.g., interpersonal help- tems that encourage good citizenship. These or-
ing). However, employees who perceive that their ganizational actions are summarized in Table 2.
psychological contracts have been breached ap-
pear very likely to cut back on citizenship behav-
iors that are intended to help the organization (e.g., HRM Practices Emphasizing Good Citizenship
defending the organization against an external Firms may be able to elicit more citizenship in
threat or working beyond enforceable standards}.'^ their organizations by establishing HRM systems
that encourage citizenship. Specifically, organiza-
tions can develop recruitment and selection, train-
Employee Characteristics ing and development, and performance appraisal
A great deal of research has sought to determine if and compensation/benefits practices that foster or-
certain types of people are more likely to be good ganizational citizenship behavior.
citizens than others. Thus, while some determi-
nants of citizenship are under the control of man-
Recruitment and Selection
agers and organizations, research also indicates
that some individuals may simply be more predis- As described earlier, some researchers suggest
posed to engage in citizenship than others. In par- that certain individuals may be more predisposed
ticular, individuals who are highly conscientious toward citizenship than others. Organizations may
are generally more likely to engage in citizenship be able to identify such individuals during the
behaviors. Also, employees who are outgoing (ex- selection process.
troverted} and generally have a positive outlook on To begin with, companies may be able to target
life (optimistic} are often more inclined to exhibit those types of applicants who are generally in-
citizenship in the workplace. Individuals who are clined to engage in citizenship. For example, an
team oriented (i.e., coUectivistic rather than indi- organization could try to recruit graduates who
vidualistic} and tend to place the goals and con- have actively participated in the life of their aca-
cerns of the group above their own typically en- demic institutions. That is, individuals who have
gage in more citizenship behaviors, too. Likewise, shown high levels of involvement and have taken
individuals who are empathetic and value helping on extracurricular responsibilities in addition to
others (i.e., are altruistic) may also be more in- their normal coursework might also be inclined to
clined to initiate citizenship behaviors at work. go outside of their normal roles as future employ-
Finally, certain individuals tend to define their ees. Along the same lines, organizations might
jobs more broadly than others. For these individu- look to see whether potential applicants are com-
als, then, engaging in citizenship behavior is sim- mitted to causes beyond themselves as a possible
ply seen as an integral aspect of their jobs—-that is, indicator of their citizenship tendencies. Thus, par-
such employees frequently engage in citizenship ticipation in volunteer or service organizations
2003 Boiino and Turnkey 65

TABLE 2 ing employees who are more prone to engage in

Organizational Actions That Encourage citizenship. Accordingly, an interview might focus
Citizenship on critical incidents in which the potential em-
ployee had demonstrated good citizenship. Simi-
HRM Practices Fostering Citizenship larly, the interview can also be designed to gauge
Recruitment & Selection an applicant's interest in teamwork. For example,
• Use selection procedures that are predictive of employee at ]. M. Smucker (one of the 10 "Best Companies to
citizenship.
• Seek out applicant pools comprised of individuals
Work For" in 2003 according to Fortune}, managers
committed to causes other than themselves. are especially careful about the new people that
• Use situational interviews to identify which applicants are they bring into their company. One manager noted
most willing to engage in citizenship behaviors. that their hiring process goes way beyond simply
• Use validated tests to identify individuals with personality checking references and administering a drug test
traits that predispose them to engage in citizenship as a precondition for employment. Rather, the com-
behavior.
pany places a lot of emphasis on whether or not
Training & Development new hires will be able to work alongside the other
• Sponsor training programs thai teach teamwork and
cooperation or the importance of taking initiative and
employees who have been loyal to Smucker's over
exceeding one's formally prescribed job duties. many years.^^
• Implement training designed to improve relationships In addition, at least one study suggests that sit-
among coworkers or between supervisors and subordinates.
uational interviews may be especially useful in
Performance Appraisal & Compensation/Benefits identifying good citizens.^^ Situational interviews
• Reward citizenship by focusing on the extent to which present job-related scenarios to applicants and
employees engage in such behavior in addition to their
prescribed job duties.
ask them what they would do in those situations.
• Remember that compensation systems linked to group- or To screen for citizenship, questions could be devel-
organizational-level outcomes tend to encourage employee oped to determine how the applicant commonly
citizenship. reacts to situations that focus on various types of
• Be careful not to reward employees who engage in citizenship behavior. Thus, all applicants would be
competitive or non-cooperative behaviors that are asked this same questions, and a scoring guide
inconsistent with the notion of good citizenship.
• Initiate flexible and family-friendly workplace benefits that would be developed to evaluate the responses of
show appreciation for employees and make it easier for potential employees.
them to go beyond the call of duty. Because traits such as conscientiousness have
Informal Systems Fostering Citizenship been linked with citizenship, it may also be tempt-
• Develop a corporate culture thai emphasizes going the ing to supplement the selection process with per-
extra mile for customers, colleagues, or the organization sonality tests. However, when using personality
itself.
• Place new employees, whenever possible, into work units tests, organizations need to ensure that the tests
or groups characterized by high levels of organizational can reliably measure the personality traits in
citizenship behavior. question and that the validity of the tests can be
• Keep in mind that managers who expect their employees to established (i.e., by showing that these tests truly
go above and beyond the call oi duty have to set an distinguish high performers from low performers).
example by their willingness to do so themselves. Furthermore, while there is currently no evidence
• Recognize that organizations wanting loyalty and sacrifice
from their employees should act in ways that make them to suggest that such screening devices adversely
deserving of such contributions. impact women and minority applicants, organiza-
tions must ensure that such an unintended out-
come does not result.
may indicate that the individual is inclined to en- Finally, while organizations can (and probably
gage in citizenship behaviors. Indeed, some re- should} do more to identify good citizens in the
searchers have argued that individuals who dem- selection process, they should also keep in mind
onstrate good citizenship in other domains of their that citizenship behaviors are generally not a sub-
lives tend to be good organizational citizens as stitute for traditional job performance. Thus, while
well.2' In addition, information on how well the the selection procedures described above should
applicant works with others may also provide in- provide useful insights into the kind of organiza-
sight into how likely the individual is to be a good tional citizen that the individual is likely to be,
organizational citizen. other screening devices are likely to be more
Thus, in terms of selection tools that might be meaningful in terms of how capable applicants are
used to identify good citizens, interview proce- in executing their formally required duties. For this
dures that place greater emphasis on cooperative reason, companies should first seek to determine
behaviors should increase the likelihood of select- the relative importance of traditional job perfor-
66 Academy of Management Executive August

mance and organizational citizenship behavior Perfoimance Appraisal and Compensation/

and then use multiple assessment methods to Benefits
identify the right employees for their needs.
Organizations may also facilitate citizenship to the
extent that they directly acknowledge or reward
Training & Deveiopmenf such behaviors. A long line of research suggests
that employees are likely to engage in those be-
Organizations may not only be able to more effec-
tively identify good citizens prior to making hiring haviors for which they perceive they will be re-
decisions, but they may also be able to implement warded. Reward systems that directly recognize
training that is helpful in eliciting citizenship be- good citizenship make it clear to employees that
haviors among their current employees. Unfor- the organization truly values such behaviors. For
tunately, many organizations have emphasized example, at Asda, the British subsidiary of Wal-
individual achievement to such an extent that Mart, "A" awards are given to employees who help
employees are often conditioned to view selfless others in ways that go above and beyond the call
behaviors that benefit coworkers or the organiza- of duty, and at Plante and Moran, an accounting
tion itself as unnatural. However, companies may firm, awards are given annually to those employ-
be able to curb individualistic tendencies by spon- ees who best exemplify the "spirit of team play and
soring training programs that teach teamwork and selfless behavior."^^
cooperation or the importance of taking initia- Generally speaking, research on performance
tive and exceeding one's formally prescribed job appraisal indicates that systems emphasizing ob-
duties. servable behaviors, rather than generalized per-
For instance, companies as diverse as Signacast sonality traits, tend to be more accurate. Thus,
Corporation (a metal fabrication company), Boe- organizations looking to reward citizenship should
ing, and Southwest Airlines use team-building ex- focus on the extent to which employees engage in
ercises or courses that emphasize the importance such behaviors, rather than the extent to which
of teamwork to increase the level of cooperation employees possess positive personality traits (like
among employees. Southwest Airlines, in particu- concern for others), when evaluating their perfor-
lar, stresses training intact work teams in order to mance. Because rewards (e.g., promotions, bo-
build trust among colleagues and also utilizes nuses, salary increases) are often linked to perfor-
cross-training in order to facilitate interpersonal mance evaluations, it is very possible to reward
helping. In addition to developing employee skills, citizenship in this way. For example, in its assess-
organizations that use cross-training and job rota- ments of managerial personnel, Payless Shoe
tion report another advantage to such practices. Source gives equal weight to factors evaluating
Not only are employees more willing and better in-role performance (e.g., the extent to which man-
able to help out when one member of the organi- agers have met their goals and are technically
zation falls behind or is absent, but workers also proficient in their jobs} and the extent to which
develop a greater understanding of the demands managers have "lived" the company's guiding
inherent in other employees' jobs. Consequently, principles (which focus more on citizenship behav-
employees tend to be more supportive of one an- iors, including how individuals interact with and
other and more tolerant of the inconveniences that support other employees).
sometimes arise when another part of the organi- However, directly rewarding organizational citi-
zation is understaffed. zenship behaviors has a potential downside. Spe-
Another promising avenue is to implement train- cifically, some researchers warn that directly com-
ing and development programs that elicit citizen- pensating employees who perform citizenship
ship behavior more indirectly. Two recent studies behaviors may make those individuals pay some-
indicate that training supervisors in organiza- what less attention \o their regular job responsibil-
tional justice principles is associated with in- ities.^^ That is, if organizations give equal weight
creased levels of citizenship behavior among their to the performance of citizenship behaviors, then
subordinates.^'*' In other words, employees whose employees may be motivated to engage in more
supervisors had received justice training were organizational citizenship behaviors while cutting
more willing to go beyond the call of duty than back on their normal job duties.
employees whose supervisors had not received In terms of assessment and rewards, then, it is
such training. Thus, training designed to improve perhaps most important that organizational ap-
relationships either among coworkers or between praisal and compensation programs do not work to
supervisors and subordinates is likely to increase inhibit citizenship behaviors. In particular, it has
the level of citizenship within the organization. been found that individualized goals and mone-
2003 Boiino and Turnley 67

tary rewards serve to strongly discourage citizen- One means by which such corporate cultures
ship behaviors; in contrast, rewards that are linked emerge is through effective socialization. Social-
to group or organizational-level outcomes tend to ization is the process by which new organizational
encourage employee citizenship.^'' For example, members learn what other members of the organi-
when the Metropolitan Talent Agency in Holly- zation consider acceptable or desirable behavior.
wood moved away from an individualistic reward In order to develop citizenship in the organization,
system, management found that collaboration and then, new employees must learn from their earliest
teamwork became the norm, while the conflicts experiences that citizenship is a critical part of the
and adversarial relationships that had once ex- organization's identity. One way to foster the effec-
isted among employees disappeared.^^ At a mini- tive socialization of newcomers is to place them,
mum, organizations should ensure that good citi- whenever possible, into workgroups characterized
zens are not, in effect, being punished for their by a high level of citizenship. In this way, new
willingness to help out their colleagues or for tak- employees model existing behavior and learn to
ing on special projects that benefit the entire or- be good organizational citizens.
ganization. At the same time, managers should In addition, the behaviors that managers and
make sure not to unduly reward employees who other company leaders engage in help to set an
engage in competitive and non-cooperative behav- example for their subordinates. Managers who ex-
iors (e.g., refusing to help a colleague or take on pect their employees to go above and beyond the
one's share of special projects} that are inconsis- call of duty, then, have to be willing to do so them-
tent with the notion of good citizenship. selves. For example, the CEO of letBlue, David
Finally, having flexible and family-friendly Neeleman, frequently loads bags or serves custom-
workplace policies is another practice that can ers himself in order to convey that all employees
elicit citizenship behaviors from employees. Such are expected to pitch in where necessary. As a
policies encourage citizenship in two ways. First, result, JetBlue pilots often help clean up the air-
they encourage citizenship by conveying to work- craft or assist their colleagues or customers in
ers that the organization cares about them and other ways during the downtime between flights.^'^
values them. Second, these policies may provide Managers should be particularly mindful of setting
workers with the support required to execute citi- an example of bad citizenship. The manager who
zenship behaviors. For example, employees may consistently refuses to undertake special projects
be able to work the longer hours needed during because they are "someone else's responsibility"
crunch time if their employers provide on-site day- is likely to convey to subordinates that they need
care facilities. Similarly, flexible work schedules not engage in citizenship behaviors either.
may make it easier for employees to balance their Overall, if organizations want loyalty and sacri-
personal responsibilities with their responsibili- fice from their people, then they must act in ways
ties to their organization. that make them deserving of such contributions.
Such thinking is reflected in a concept called the
"covenantal relationship" which is based on a mu-
Informal Systems Encouraging Citizenship tual commitment between the employer and em-
In addition to formal practices that endeavor to ployee to look out for the common interests of both
foster citizenship, organizations can develop infor- parties in the employment relationship.^° Such re-
mal processes that make such behavior more com- lationships are not based merely on the notion of
monplace. Many social psychologists argue that fair social exchange (i.e., I'll treat you well if you
social pressures and group norms frequently rep- treat me well); rather, covenantal relationships
resent a more powerful determinant of individuals' have normative and moral components as well
behavior than more formal mechanisms. For this (which define the values that are expected to guide
reason, developing informal mechanisms like a the actions of both parties}. Indeed, the two parties
strong corporate culture may prove pivotal in fos- in the covenant (the employee and the organiza-
tering workplace citizenship. tion) share an allegiance based on common values
Corporate culture describes the norms, beliefs, and, for the covenant to be meaningful, each party
and values of an organization. Certain organiza- must be willing to sacrifice its own interests to
tions have gained a reputation for having a culture protect the interests of the other party and to pro-
that values citizenship behaviors. Thus, to the ex- mote their shared (or superordinate) goals.
tent that organizations can foster a culture that Employees are most likely to demonstrate high
emphasizes going the extra mile for the company, levels of citizenship when they share this type of
its customers, or other employees, it is likely to covenantal relationship with their employers. John
develop a workforce comprised of good citizens. Bachmann, CEO of stockbroker Edward Jones (and
 Academy of Management Executive August

the very best company to work for in America in TABLE 3

2003, according to For(une), indicates that the com- Managing Some Potential Pitfalls Associated
pany works hard to "build the kind of relationship With Employee Citizenship
with workers that makes them willing to go the
extra mile." He also emphasizes the importance of Citizenship and Impression Management
honoring the covenant with employees, stating • Keep in mind that when citizenship is used ior impression-
management purposes, it can greatly politicize the
that "you can't do that if you get rid of them when- workplace.
ever times are rocky."^' Thus, developing a culture • Be aware that employees who engage in citizenship
in which employer and employees look out for primarily to enhance their own image may perform such
each other's interests is another important way in behaviors less conscientiously and may greatly reduce
which an organization can elicit higher levels of their citizenship when those behaviors are not immediately
citizenship behavior from its workforce. rewarded.
• Given that citizenship may sometimes be used for
impression-management purposes, managers need to be
especially cautious in their assessment of such behaviors.
The Downside of Citizenship: Managing Some
Potential Costs of Citizenship
Potential Pitfalls • Recognize that when employees engage in citizenship
Clearly, having employees who are willing to en- behaviors at the expense of their required duties, the costs
of citizenship could outweigh the benefits.
gage in citizenship behavior is likely to benefit • Remember that the quality ol citizenship behavior may be
organizations greatly. Indeed, as discussed earlier, as important as the quantity.
the performance of citizenship behaviors by employ- • Keep in mind that too much citizenship could be a signal
ees is generally related to increases in organiza- that the organization is understaffed, needs to be more
tional efficiency and effectiveness. However, some rigorous in its selection procedures, or needs to provide
potential downsides to such behaviors should also additional training to its employees.
• Be mindful that citizenship behaviors may also have the
be addressed. How effectively organizational lead- potential to foster resistance to change and stifle
ers deal with these drawbacks is likely to be an organizational creativity.
important determinant of the extent to which such Escalating Citizenship
behaviors actually facilitate the achievement of or- • Be careful of escalating citizenship—the pressure that
ganizational success. Some guidelines for managing employees feel to continually increase their citizenship in
the possible pitfalls associated with employee citi- order to be seen as going above and beyond the call of
zenship are briefly described in Table 3. duty.
• Realize that escalating citizenship may lead to exhaustion,
higher levels of stress, and work-family conflict.
• Recognize that escalating citizenship may also adversely
Using Citizenship Behaviors for Impression affect the relationship beiween the employee and the
Management organization and may increase employee turnover.
• Keep in mind that escalating citizenship could harm the
Impression-management activities are the behav- relationships among coworkers if employees feel that they
iors that individuals use in order to try to create a are in a contest with one another to see who can be the
favorable image of themselves among their col- "best" employee.
leagues or supervisors. Several organizational be-
havior scholars have noted that individuals may
engage in organizational citizenship behaviors not First, when colleagues perceive that their peers
because they are concerned about the organiza- are using citizenship behaviors to create an im-
tion's welfare but because such activities may pression, the rewarding of such behaviors can
cause others (especially their supervisors) to look greatly politicize the workplace. Managers risk
favorably upon them.^^ alienating employees if they reward or promote
Frankly, managers may not care why employees someone who frequently engages in citizenship
engage in desirable workplace behaviors (such as behaviors only when those behaviors are likely to
citizenship}. That is, many managers may not be help the supervisor or to be noticed by those in
concerned whether employees engage in such ac- higher-level positions. Prior research also sug-
tions (like volunteering for a special project} be- gests that individuals who engage in citizenship
cause they are genuinely concerned about the cor- behaviors primarily to impress are likely to per-
poration, because they are looking to get ahead in form those behaviors less conscientiously and to
the corporation, or for some combination of both greatly reduce such behaviors when it will not
motives. However, there are several reasons why help their image.^^ Such employees are most likely
managers should potentially be concerned if em- to participate in such behaviors around the time of
ployees are engaging in citizenship behaviors for their performance appraisals or when they are up
purely impression-management motives. for a promotion. In one study, employees were
2003 Boiino and Turnley 69

shown to engage in high levels of citizenship im- cordingly, supervisors may sometimes need to re-
mediately preceding a promotion decision. Follow- mind their subordinates that citizenship efforts,
ing the decision, many employees who were actu- while valued and appreciated, should not come at
ally promoted reduced the level of their citizenship the expense of the employee's regular duties.
behavior.^** Second, in some cases at least, it may be more
Second, most managers and scholars would costly for companies to rely on citizenship behav-
probably agree that people should be rewarded for iors to solve organizational problems than to hire
their willingness to go the extra mile. However, additional personnel instead. For example, a story
because citizenship behaviors are often subjec- in The Wall Street Journal focusing on ten large
tively evaluated and because the visibility of citi- U.S. firms (including the Ford Motor Company, Xe-
zenship behaviors can vary so greatly (e.g., some rox Corporation, and Sprint Corporation) indicated
employees will only engage in behaviors that ben- that the time spent by employees helping their
efit their boss or draw attention to themselves, coworkers with their personal computing problems
while others will help their colleagues in ways cost between $6,000 to $15,000 per year for every
that no one else knows about}, managers need to personal computer in these businesses.^^ It might
be cautious in their assessment of citizenship be- have been significantly less expensive for these
havior. Indeed, without input from the individual's companies to hire additional support personnel
colleagues, customers, or subordinates, it may be rather than to encourage employees to help one
hard for supervisors to accurately determine which another. Moreover, because the vast majority of
subordinates truly engage in the highest levels of citizenship behaviors are voluntary, their actual
citizenship behavior. As a result, some workers quality is rarely assessed. Individuals may volun-
who do not engage in highly visible citizenship teer to help out in areas where they actually have
behavior may be unfairly denied organizational few skills, or they may provide incorrect guidance
rewards when they are, in fact, highly valuable when assisting their colleagues. Thus, organiza-
employees. Moreover, this lack of fairness is likely tions and managers need to be mindful that the
to be associated with the performance appraisal quality and quantity of citizenship behaviors are
system being viewed more cynically, which, in both important.
turn, is likely to adversely affect workers' job atti-
tudes and increase turnover. Third, there may be long-term costs for organi-
zations that continually depend upon high levels
of citizenship behavior from their employees. In-
deed, rather than being indicative of a strong or-
The Potential Costs of Citizenship
ganizational culture, very high levels of citizen-
In general, citizenship behavior helps organiza- ship could also signal that the organization has
tions function more effectively. However, several serious problems. For example, if colleagues con-
potential costs are associated with having employ- stantly have to help out their coworkers, the organ-
ees engage in citizenship behavior. While it would ization may need to provide additional training to
generally be a mistake to try to eliminate citizen- its employees or may not be selective enough in its
ship behaviors, organizational leaders should hiring practices. Likewise, if employees constantly
work to ensure that the costs of such behaviors do have to stay late or work weekends in order to meet
not exceed their benefits. In particular, organiza- the demands of their jobs, then the organization is
tions need to pay attention to four things in this probably understaffed. While little harm is likely
regard. to occur in the short term, continually having to do
First, citizenship is generally thought of as be- much more than what is technically required may
haviors that employees engage in over and result in poorer job attitudes, burnout, or turnover.
above—rather than in place of—their regular job Fourth and finally, managers and organizations
duties. However, some employees neglect certain should recognize that too much citizenship on the
aspects of their jobs in order to engage in citizen- part of employees could stifle creativity and ham-
ship behaviors. For example, employees may vol- per innovation. For example, workers who tolerate
unteer to help out on so many special projects or unreasonable working conditions or defend the or-
take on so many volunteer activities that they let ganization against all criticism may ultimately do
their daily responsibilities slide. Citizenship be- more harm than good by suppressing important
haviors may be more enjoyable than the individu- feedback that would help the company to improve
al's normal responsibilities at work. However, its operations. Indeed, much of the research that
when employees engage in citizenship behaviors has investigated citizenship and organization
at the expense of their required duties, the costs of functioning has focused on settings in which coop-
citizenship are likely to outweigh the benefits. Ac- erative and affiliative behaviors are necessary for
70 Academy of Managemenl Execufive August

high levels of productivity. In contexts that call for The Future of Organizational Citizenship
higher levels of creativity, though, too much citi- Behavior
zenship may be more problematic. Accordingly,
managers must be careful that employee citizen- As competitive pressures continue to grow and
market conditions continue to rapidly change,
ship behaviors do not foster complacency and re-
organizations are increasingly reliant on the will-
sistance to change within the organization.
ingness of employees to go beyond the call of duty.
As outlined here, research indicates that employ-
ees who ieel they have a covenantal relationship
The Potential for Escalating Citizenship with their employers are most willing to be good
organizational citizens. Therefore, building long-
One final potential downside is sometimes associ- term, committed relationships with employees is
ated with the performance of citizenship behaviors critical for eliciting citizenship behavior. Ironi-
in organizations. In particular, because citizenship cally, though, the current trend is for organizations
is valuable and is often rewarded by employers to emphasize shorter-term, less committed employ-
(through higher performance evaluations and in- ment relationships where the organization is free
creased opportunities for promotion), employees to hire and fire employees as it sees fit. While there
sometimes end up "competing" to be viewed as the may be some benefits to this approach, especially
"best" organizational citizen. Such competition in the short run, it is also likely to have consider-
may gradually increase the scope of the employ- able long-term costs. In particular, the failure of an
ees' jobs such that they end up feeling pressured to organization to build a truly covenantal relation-
continually do more and more in order to be seen ship with its employees could adversely affect the
as going above and beyond the call of duty. This willingness of those employees to engage in the
phenomenon of the gradual increase in the amount very types of behavior that might enable the or-
of citizenship behavior that is required to be ganization to develop an important source of sus-
viewed as an exceptional employee has been re- tainable competitive advantage.
ferred to as escalating citizenship.^^
Recent evidence suggests that escalating citi-
zenship may be a fairly common problem. A num-
ber of recent studies indicate that employers are Endnotes
increasingly calling upon their employees to work ' Lee, W. G. 1994. A conversation with Herb Kelleher, Organ-
longer hours and be more accessible on behalf of izational Dynamics. 23(2): 64-74.
their organizations.^^ For example, advances in ^ Podsakoff, P. M., et al. 2000. Organizational citizenship be-
technology frequently mean that employees are haviois: A critical review of the theoretical and empirical liter-
ature and suggestions for iuture research. Journal of Manage-
forced to work more (rather than less) and often ment. 26(3): 513-563.
find it difficult to get away from their jobs com- ^ Grant, L 1997. Why FedEx is flying high. Eortune, 136(9): 155-
pletely. Consequently, employees may frequently 160.
go beyond the call of duty for their organizations, * Brooker, K. 2000. Can anyone replace Herb? Fortune, 141(8):
not because of their loyalty or commitment, but 186, 188, 190, 192.
because they are afraid that their careers will be ^ For reviews of this research, see Podsakoff, et al., op. cit.;
Podsakofi, P. M., & MacKenzie, S. B. 1997. Impact of organiza-
derailed otherwise. tional citizenship behavior on organizational performance: A
Unfortunately, escalating citizenship is likely to review and suggestions for future research. Human Perfor-
be associated with a variety of negative outcomes mance. 10(2): 133-151.
for employees. In particular, escalating citizenship ^ Koys, D. J. 2001. The effects of employee satisfaction, organ-
izational citizenship behavior, and turnover on organizational
can lead to exhaustion, higher levels of stress, and effectiveness: A unit-level, longitudinal study. Personnel
work-family conflict. Escalating citizenship may Psychology. 54(1): 101-114; Walz, S. M,, & Niehoff, B, P. 2G00.
negatively impact the relationship between the Organizational citizenship behaviors: Their relationship to or-
employee and the organization and may make it ganizational effectiveness. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism
more likely that the employee will seek work else- Research. 24(3): 301-319,
where. Finally, pressures to escalate citizenship ' Bolino, M. C. Turnley, W. H., & Bloodgood, J. M, 2002, Citi-
zenship behavior and the creation of social capital in organi-
also tend to harm the relationships among cowork- zations. Academy of Management Review, 27(4): 505-522.
ers as employees feel that they are in a contest ^ For a practical discussion of social capital in organizations,
with one another to see who can demonstrate the see Cohen. D. J., & Prusak, L. 2001. In good company: How social
highest levels of citizenship. Thus, when taken to capital makes organizations work. Boston, MA: Harvard Busi-
an extreme, even something as beneficial as citi- ness School Press.
^Brayfield, A. H., & Crockett, W. H. 1955. Employee attitudes
zenship behavior can ultimately harm organiza- and employee performance. Psychoiogicai Bulletin, 52(5): 396-
tional functioning. 424; Iaffaldano, M. T., & Muchinsky, P. M. 1985. Job satisfaction
2003 Boiino and Tumley 71

and job performance: A meta-analysis. Psychoiogicai Bulletin. ^'^ Skarlicki, D. P., & Latham, G. P. 1996. Increasing citizenship
97(2): 251-273. within a union: A test of organizational justice theory. Journal of
'"Organ, D. W., & Ryan, K. 1995. A meta-analytic review oi Applied Psychology. 81(2): 161-169; Skarlicki, D. P., & Latham,
attitudinal and dispositional predictors of organizational citi- G. P. 1997. Leadership training in organizational justice to in-
zenship behavior. Personnel Psychology. 48(4): 775-802. crease citizenship behavior within a labor union: A replication.
" This description is taken from Brown, E. 2001. A smokeless Personnel Psychology. 50(3): 617-633.
Herb. Fortune, 143(11): 78-79. For an additional description of ^'"^ Meet Asda's happy family pack. 2002. Sunday Times—Lon-
Neeleman's leadership style, see Wells, M. 2002, Lord ot the don. March 24, 100 Best companies to work ior 2002: 12; and
skies. Forbes. 170(8): 130-136. Levering, R., & Moskowitz, M. 2003. 100 Best companies to work
'^ Podsakoff, et a l , op. cit. for. Fortune, 147(1): 127-130, 134, 136. 138, 140, 143, 150, 152.
'•'Wayne, S. ]., Shore, L. M., & Liden, R. C. 1997. Perceived '-^ Bolino, M. C, Turnley, W. H., & Niehoff, B. P. The other side
organizational support and leader-member exchange: A social of the story: Reexamining prevailing assumptions about organ-
exchange perspective. Academy of Management jouinal. 40(1): izational citizenship behavior. Human Resource Management
82-111. Review, forthcoming.
'•* Diefendorff: J. M., et al. 2001. Examining the roles of job ^' Deckop, I. R., Mangel, R.. & Cirka, C. C. 1999. Getting more
involvement and work centrality in predicting organizational than you pay for: Organizational citizenship behavior and pay-
citizenship behaviors and job performance. Journal of Organi- for-performance plans. Academy of Management /ournai, 42(4):
zational Behavior. 23(1): 93-108; and Podsakoff, et al., op. cit. 420-428; Wright, P. M., et al. 1993, Productivity and extra-role
'^ Roth, D. 2002. How to cut pay, lay off 8,000 people, and still behavior: The effects of goals and incentives on spontaneous
have workers who love you. Fortune. 145(3): 62-68. helping, /ournai of Applied Psychology. 78(3): 374-381.
'^ Lambert, S. J. 2000, Added benefits: The link between work- ^^ Petzinger, T. 1996. Talent agency shows stellar team-
life benefits and organizational citizenship behavior. Academy work—In Hollywood, no less. The Wall Slree( Journal. 28 January
of Management Journal. 43(5): 801-815, 1996. Section B: 1.
" The relationship between these dimensions of justice and
^^ Brown, op, cit.; Wells, op. cit.
citizenship behavior is discussed by Moorman, R. H. 1991. Re-
^° Vaill, P. B. 1991- Managing as a performing art. San Fran-
lationship between organizational justice and organizational
cisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers; Van Dyne, L., Graham, J. W,,
citizenship behaviors: Do fairness perceptions influence em-
& Dienesch, R. M. 1994. Organizational citizenship behavior:
ployee citizenship? Journal oi Applied Psychology, 76(6): 845-855.
Construct redefinition, measurement, and validation. Academy
'^Turnley, W. H., et al. 2003. The impact of psychological con-
ol Management Journal. 37(4): 765-802,
tract fulfillment on the performance of in-role and organizational
citizenship behaviors. Journal of Management, 29(2): 187-206. ^' Levering, R., & Moskowitz, M, 2002. The best in the worst of
'^ Ibid. times. Fortune. 145(3): 60-61.
'"' Borman, W. C , et al. 2001. Personality predictors of citizen- ^^ For a review of this perspective, see Bolino, M, C. 1999.
ship performance. International Journal of Selection and Assess- Citizenship and impression management: Good soldiers or
ment, 9(1/2): 52-69; Organ, D. W. 1994. Personality and organi- good actors? Academy of Management Review. 24(1); 82-98.
zational citizenship behavior. Journal of Management. 20(2): ^^ Ibid.
465-478; and Podsakoff, et al., op, cit. ^* Hui, C, Lam, S. K., & Law, K. S- 2000. Instrumental values
^' Cohen, A., & Vigoda, E. 2000. Do good citizens make good of organizational citizenship behavior for promotion: A field
organizational citizens? An empirical examination of the rela- quasi-experiment. Journal of Applied Psychology. 85(5): 822-828.
tionship between general citizenship and organizational citi- ^^ Bulkeley, W. M. Study finds hidden costs of computing. The
zenship in Israel. Adminis(/a(ioii & Sociefy, 32(5): 596-624. Wall Street Journal. 2 November 1992, Section B: 4.
^'' Goforth, C. Key ingredient for happy workers: Smuckers ^'^ Bolino, M. C , 8t Turnley, W. H. 2002. Escalating citizenship;
says it's respect. Tbe San Diego Union-Trihune, 1 May 2000, The pressure of the "good soldier" syndrome. Paper presented
Section C: 4. at the National Academy oj Management Meetings.
^Hatham, G. P., & Skarlicki, D. P. 1995. Criterion-related ^'Bond, ]. T., Galinsky, E., & Swanberg, J. E. 1997. The 1997
validity of the situational and patterned behavior description national study of the changing workforce. New York: Families
interviews with organizational citizenship behavior. Human and Work Institute; and Reich, R. B. 2001. The future of success:
Performance. 8(2): 67-80. Wording and iiving in the new economy. New York: Knopf.

Mark C. Bolino is an assistant William H, Turnley is an asso-

professor of management in the ciate professor of management
Mendoza College of Business at at Kansas State University. He
the University of Notre Dame. received his Ph.D. in organiza-
He received his Ph.D. in organi- tional behavior from the Uni-
zational behavior from the Uni- versity of South Carolina. His
versity of South Carolina. His research interests include psy-
research interests include organ- chological contracts, organi-
izational citizenship behavior, zational citizenship behavior,
impression management, psy- impression management, and
chological contracts, and inter- contingent employment. Con-
national management. Contact: tact: [email protected].
[email protected].