Understanding Why and When Compulsory Citizenship Behaviors Lead to Subsequent Destructive Voice and Citizenship Behaviors: The Retributive Justice and Impression Management Perspectives

Abstract

ABSTRACT Recent studies have attempted to clarify the detrimental consequences of compulsory citizenship behaviors (CCB; employees are pressured or forced to engage in extra-role activities). Based on the retributive justice and impression management perspectives, we simultaneously examine potentially harmful outcomes (i.e., destructive voice, DSV) and constructive outcomes (organizational citizenship behaviors, OCB) of CCB, and propose justice and impression management mechanisms and boundaries to explain the dark and potential bright sides of CCB. Data was collected from 276 supervisor-subordinate pairs across various industries at different time points. The results show that CCB increases DSV through increased perceived distributive injustice, while employees’ equity sensitivity further enhances such effects. Moreover, the indirect effect of CCB on OCB via increased impression management motive depends on employees’ self-monitoring: it becomes positive when employees rate high in self-monitoring. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.