The Effects of Job Characteristics on Citizenship Performance

Abstract

The study of job performance has been a high priority for organizational researchers and practitioners alike. Models of performance have acknowledged that it is affected by both individual differences and environmental factors and also that behaviors outside the job description, called citizenship performance, have value. Despite these acknowledgements, researchers have placed much more emphasis on understanding the influence of individual differences (rather than environmental characteristics) on citizenship performance. Counter to the emphasis on individual differences, the current study sought to evaluate the relationships between environmental characteristics and citizenship performance in the context of the Job Characteristics Model (JCM) and to determine whether the relationships could be both theoretically and empirically understood. Additionally, the relative importance of the environmental variables in the JCM were evaluated and compared to well-known individual difference predictors of citizenship performance. Finally, the current study sought to provide initial evidence for different patterns of relationships between the JCM variables and the three facets of citizenship performance. Undergraduate students employed for at least 20 hours per week were recruited for participation (n = 379) in a cross-sectional study, and data were analyzed using structural equation modeling and regression. Generally, model tests revealed that the JCM as configured performed poorly, though the variables did predict citizenship performance. When job satisfaction was added as another mediator in the model, results were slightly better. Regarding incremental validity, JCM variables were able to explain variance above and beyond the individual difference variables, providing additional support for the importance of the environment in understanding behavior. One implication of this is that practitioners may be able to justify changes to the work environment in an effort to increase citizenship performance. Future research should continue to explore the environment’s effects on citizenship.