Citizenship Pressure on Organizational Citizenship Behavior of Public Officials : Exploring non Linear Effects

This study aims to clarify the effect of Citizenship Pressure (CP) on Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB). CP is a complex concept that induces OCB while also causing negative effects such as work-family conflict and stress. We applied Social Learning Theory and Conservation of Resource Theory to capture these dynamics. OCB towards Individuals (OCBI) and OCB towards the Organization (OCBO) were set as dependent variables, CP was set as the independent variable, and control variables were established with factors that have been verified to affect OCB. Data were obtained through a survey of 400 public officials in the Republic of Korea. The results showed that with a weak level of CP, both OCBI and OCBO decreased, but as the level of CP increased beyond a certain point, both OCBI and OCBO increased, illustrating a U-shaped effect. Specifically, the inflection point where CP’s effect turns from negative to positive occurred sooner in OCBI than in OCBO. Therefore, this study further claims that the direction of the effect of CP on OCB can differ according to its degree and the types of OCB, which has been predominantly discussed in terms of a linear relationship. Theoretical implications and practical points are suggested based on the results.