TY - JOUR
T1 - Matching ethical work climate to in-role and extra-role behaviors in a collectivist work setting
AU - LEUNG, Alicia S M
N1 - Copyright:
Copyright 2011 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2008/4
Y1 - 2008/4
N2 - This paper studies the relationship between organizational ethical climate and the forms of organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), including in-role and extra-role behaviors, and examines the mediating effect of employee loyalty. A sample of employees from a traditional Hong Kong-based company was used as a study group. The purpose of this study was to examine the causes and implications of how various ethical work climates affect employee performance. Based on a model proposed by Victor and Cullen, ethical climate is arranged from lower levels to higher levels. The results suggest that lower levels of ethical climate (instrumentality and independence), characterizing a weak relational contract between employee and employer, are associated with negative extra-role behavior. In contrast, higher levels of ethical climate (caring and law-and-code), symbolic of a strong relational contract at work, are associated with positive extra-role behavior. Moreover, normative commitment mediated a positive relationship between caring and identification with the company, whereas attitudinal loyalty mediated the negative relationship between independence and altruism. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.
AB - This paper studies the relationship between organizational ethical climate and the forms of organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), including in-role and extra-role behaviors, and examines the mediating effect of employee loyalty. A sample of employees from a traditional Hong Kong-based company was used as a study group. The purpose of this study was to examine the causes and implications of how various ethical work climates affect employee performance. Based on a model proposed by Victor and Cullen, ethical climate is arranged from lower levels to higher levels. The results suggest that lower levels of ethical climate (instrumentality and independence), characterizing a weak relational contract between employee and employer, are associated with negative extra-role behavior. In contrast, higher levels of ethical climate (caring and law-and-code), symbolic of a strong relational contract at work, are associated with positive extra-role behavior. Moreover, normative commitment mediated a positive relationship between caring and identification with the company, whereas attitudinal loyalty mediated the negative relationship between independence and altruism. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.
KW - Employee loyalty
KW - Ethical climate
KW - Extra-role behaviors
KW - In-role behaviors
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=43449112696&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s10551-007-9392-6
DO - 10.1007/s10551-007-9392-6
M3 - Journal article
AN - SCOPUS:43449112696
SN - 0167-4544
VL - 79
SP - 43
EP - 55
JO - Journal of Business Ethics
JF - Journal of Business Ethics
IS - 1-2
ER -