What is it about?
This cross-national study investigates how individual cultural values (collectivism vs. individualism) and national context shape the relationship between job satisfaction and organizational citizenship behaviors (OCB). Using matched samples of public-school teachers from the United States, China, and Kuwait, the study distinguishes between two forms of citizenship behavior: helping the organization (OCB-O) and helping individual coworkers (OCB-I). The findings show that collectivistic values predict both forms of OCB, while national context—rather than individual collectivism—moderates how strongly job satisfaction translates into organization-directed citizenship behavior.
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Why is it important?
Theoretical contribution: Demonstrates that country-level culture and individual-level values are not interchangeable, challenging common assumptions in cross-cultural organizational research. Conceptual clarity: Shows that job satisfaction does not universally translate into the same kinds of helping behaviors across cultures. Cross-cultural advancement: One of the few studies to include Kuwait alongside the U.S. and China, extending OCB theory beyond its Western bias. Practical relevance: Highlights why management practices that work in individualistic cultures may not yield the same outcomes in collectivistic or non-Western contexts.
Perspectives
Organizational research often assumes that satisfied employees will naturally “go the extra mile.” Our findings suggest that this assumption is culturally bounded. Whether employees channel their satisfaction into helping the organization or helping individuals depends not only on how they feel about their jobs, but also on the cultural and national context in which they work. Understanding this distinction is critical for both theory building and global management practice.
Prof. Othman H Alkhadher
Kuwait University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Individualism‐collectivism and nation as moderators of the job satisfaction‐organisational citizenship behaviour relationship in the United States, China, and Kuwait, Asian Journal Of Social Psychology, May 2020, Wiley,
DOI: 10.1111/ajsp.12414.
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