The Organizational Citizenship Behavior. Study on a Population of French Hospitals Agents

• Author: Rioux, L.
• Position: University Paris Quest Nanterre-La Défense, France
• Pages: 181-186

Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov • Vol. 5 (54) No. 1 - 2012

Series VII: Social Sciences • Law

THE ORGANISATIONAL CITIZENSHIP

BEHAVIOUR. STUDY ON A POPULATION

OF FRENCH HOSPITAL AGENTS

Liliane RIOUX1

Abstract: The current research aims to identify the variables which help

predict the organisational citizenship behav iour of the h ospital personnel in

the Central region (France). 150 hospital employees (nurses’-aids, nurses,

and healthcare personnel) were asked to fill in a questionnaire comprising

three scales which evaluated workplace attachment, organisational

involvement and the organisational citizenship be haviour. The results reveal

that the variables which carry an affective component p redict the dimension

‘help given to colleagues’ of the organisational citizenship behaviour, but not

the dimensions ‘altruism’ and ‘civic virtues’, the predictors of which are yet

to be found.

Key words: organisational citizenship behaviour, workplace attachment,

organisational involvement.

1 University Paris Quest Nanterre-La Défense, France.

1. Introduction

Organisational citizenship behaviours are

generally defined as a set of individual

actions left at the discretion of the

employees, which significantly contribute

to organisational efficiency [14].

According to Organ [13] these correspond

to ‘individual behaviours which are not

relevant as far as the role or the tasks

specific to the job are concerned, but rather

related to a personal choice, and which

contribute to the general proper

functioning of the organisation’.

Two approaches to organisational

citizenship behaviour stand out in the

literature, the Graham model and the

approach developed by Organ and his

collaborators. According to Graham [8],

this behaviour leads to (a) obedience

towards rules, norms and organisational

procedures, (b) loyalty towards the

organisation, which determines the

employees to value the interests of the

organisation more than their own ones, and

(c) organisational participation, which

refers to a personal interest towards the

events related to the life of the

organisation.

Based on the researches of Organ [13]

and the empirical works of Diefendorff,

Brown, Kamin, and Lord [7] and Lievens

and Anseel [11], this second approach

conceives the organisational citizenship

behaviour as a multidimensional construct,

composed of:

(a) the mutual aid b ehaviour, which

consists in offering a more or less

durable assistance to a colleague in

his job, so as to enable him to solve