Organizational virtuousness and spontaneity: a social identity view
| Date | 05 September 2016 |
| Pages | 1302-1322 |
| Published date | 05 September 2016 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-09-2014-0192 |
| Author | Irene Tsachouridi,Irene Nikandrou |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour,Global HRM |
Organizational virtuousness and
spontaneity: a social identity view
Irene Tsachouridi and Irene Nikandrou
Department of Marketing and Communication,
Athens University of Economics and Business, Athens, Greece
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to examine the direct and indirect effect of perceived
organizational virtuousness (POV) on organizational spontaneity. The assumed indirect effect is
investigated through the social identity perspective. As such, organizational identification, pride and
respect are examined as mediators of the POV-spontaneity relationship.
Design/methodology/approach –To test the hypotheses the authors conducted two studies. First,
the authorsconducted an experimental studywith 136 participants in whichthe authors investigated the
role of organizational identification as mediator of the examined relationship. Second, the authors
conducted a field study in which 572 employees working in various organizations participated. In this
study, pride and respect were incorporated as first-step mediators explaining serially (indirectly) the
relationship between the independent and thedependent variable through organizational identification.
Findings –The findings of the experimental study indicate that organizational identification mediates the
positive relationship between POV and organizational spontaneity. The results of the field study indicate
that pride and respect serially mediate the examined relationship through organizational identification.
Practical implications –The study accumulates further evidence that treating employees with care
and respect can bring benefits to organizations. Perceiving organizational virtuousness makes
employees identify with their organization and view organizational successes as their own. Thus, they
become more willing to benefit the organization.
Originality/value –This study is unique to the literature by being the first to examine the
relationship between POV and organizational spontaneity through social identity processes.
Keywords Quantitative, Identification, Pride, Respect, Mixed methodologies, Social identity,
Spontaneity, Virtuousness
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
The employee-employer relationship has been largely conceptualized in terms of social
exchange processes based on instrumentality. Based on the norm of reciprocity,
employees who perceive a favorable organizational treatment behave positively towa rd
their organization in order to reciprocate the organizational treatment and continue the
beneficial circle of exchange (Cropanzano and Mitchell, 2005). However, the employee-
employer relationship can be something more than a mere exchange relationship and
the beneficial exchanges between the employees and the organization are not always
the result of a pros and cons calculation. Organizations, similarly to human beings, can
prioritize positive human impact and act in a way that transcends self-interested
benefits and as such, employees can perceive their organization as virtuous (Cameron,
2003; Cameron et al., 2004; Cameron and Winn, 2012). Organizational virtuousness is
associated with goodness in organizational settings as well as with desires, actions and
behaviors with intended positive human impact (Cameron, 2003). By incorporating
perceived organizational virtuousness (POV) into the study of the employee-employer
relationship, we go beyond the traditional self-interested exchange processes, even
though organizations can accrue benefits as a byproduct (Bright et al., 2006; Cameron
et al., 2004; Caza et al., 2004). But, how is this possible? We argue that POV activates
Personnel Review
Vol. 45 No. 6, 2016
pp. 1302-1322
©Emerald Group Publishing Limited
0048-3486
DOI 10.1108/PR-09-2014-0192
Received 1 September 2014
Revised 29 May 2015
19 August 2015
Accepted 21 December 2015
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/0048-3486.htm
1302
PR
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social identity processes, through which employees identify organizational
characteristics and end up behaving in a way that benefits their organizatio n.
Theoretical arguments suggest that organizational virtuousness can have
amplifying effects and can spark additional demonstrations of virtuousness, thus
having a contagion effect (Bright et al., 2006; Cameron, 2003). POV seems to transmit
identity-relevant information to employees and becomes self-defining for them. In an
organization which is perceived as virtuous, employees believing that their
organization has attractive values and beliefs may incorporate their organizational
membership into their social identity. These social identity processes can play an
important role in explaining the relationship between POV and employee outcomes –if
one considers their association with employee outcomes (Blader and Tyler, 2009;
Cole and Bruch, 2006; Restubog et al., 2008; Riketta, 2005).
From a social identity perspective, individuals have a natural tendency to define and
locate themselvesin the environment by classifying themselves in groups (Ashforth and
Mael, 1989). These group classifications comprise individuals’social identity (Ashforth
and Mael, 1989). Social identity is a multidimensional concept incorporating a cognitive
component; that is, identification and two evaluative components, which according to
Tyler and Blader (2003) are pride and respect. In organizational settings, organizational
identification captures employees’cognitive belief that they belong to the organization
and they are one with it(Ashforth and Mael, 1989; Blader and Tyler, 2009). Pride reflects
employees’evaluation of the status of theirgroup (e.g. organization), and respectrefers to
employees’evaluation of their own status within their group (e.g. organization) (Blader
and Tyler, 2009). The evaluative components (pride and respect) have beensuggested to
affect employees’identification (Tyler and Blader, 2003). Until now, empirical research
has indicated that perceptions of organizational treatment spark employees’social
identity processes.Perceptions of favorable organizationaltreatment (procedural justice,
economic outcomes and organizational support) make employees identify with their
organization, thus leading to positive employee attitudes and behaviors (Blader and
Tyler, 2009; Marique et al.,2013;Ngoet al., 2013; Shen et al.,2014).
The aforementioned perceptions of organizational treatment (procedural justice ,
economic outcomes and organizational support) have to do more or less with tan gible
resources that employees receive from their organization. However, until now, no
empirical study has examined whether organizational treatment which su rpasses
instrumentality can spark employees’social identity processes, thus transforming their
subsequent behavior toward their organization.
In this study we try to gain insight into the above issue. More specifically, we investigate
the role of social identity processes in mediating the relationship between POV and a
special form of extra role behavior, namely, organizational spontaneity. Organizational
spontaneity is a construct capturing extra role and active positive employee behaviors, and
is different from that of organizational citizenship behavior which does not exclude
role-prescribed and passive employee behaviors as organizational spontaneity does
(George and Brief, 1992). For the purposes of our study, our focus is on organizational
spontaneity due to its extra role nature, which is more in line with theoretical arguments
suggesting that organizational virtuousness activates individuals’prosocial motives.
We have incorporated two studies to examine the mediating role of social identity
processes. The first study is an experimental study which investigates whether
organizational identification explains the relationship between POV and organizational
spontaneity. Our second study is a field study which further extends the findings of the
experimental study and examines the role of pride and respect in the formation of
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identity view
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