Personality traits, organizational commitment and organizational citizenship behavior in healthcare: a study using McCrae and Costa’s meta-theoretical framework

Purpose Drawing upon tenets of McCrae and Costa’s meta-theoretical framework of personality theories and human capital theory, the study aims to examine organizational commitment as an underlying psychological mechanism between personality traits and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). Design/methodology/approach A quantitative research approach was employed to gather data from 379 healthcare professionals, including doctors, nurses and paramedics. The data were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling and hierarchical component modeling, enabling a comprehensive examination of the underlying relationships within the study. Findings The results revealed that organizational commitment mediated the relationship between personality traits and OCB. Specifically, extraversion has no direct impact on OCB; it only exerted an indirect impact on OCB through organizational commitment. Agreeableness and conscientiousness have direct positive impact on OCB. Besides, agreeableness and conscientiousness have significant indirect effect on OCB via organizational commitment. Practical implications The insights derived from the results have strengthened comprehension of individual differences in prosocial behaviors. Based on these insights, valuable suggestions are provided to healthcare organizations that are experiencing enormous pressure to improve quality of service with limited resources. Originality/value The study has added to the literature on human capital theory and McCrae and Costa’s meta-theoretical framework of personality theories by testing the impact of non-cognitive human capital, i.e. personality traits, on OCB and specified patterns of relationships that can add economic value to an organization.