Organizational Identification and Social Networks: A Complementary Role in Explaining Interpersonal Citizenship’ Attitude and Performance

In this work, we claim that additional understanding of interpersonal citizenship behaviors’ attitude and performance can be gained incorporating current insights concerning social identity theory (SIT), self-categorization theory (SCT) and network research. In particular we developed a model that considers, respectively, the influence of individuals perceived members’ prototypicality (the extent to which a member perceives himself and the others as typical member of a particular social category) and the role played by members’ relational patterns within the organization on the performance of interpersonal citizenship behaviors (ICBs). Additionally we explore the role of being the recipient of ICBs in fostering individuals’ attitude towards helping behaviors (OCBIs attitude). Using data from a 167-member world-leader chassis manufacturer for various motor-racing series, two-stage least squares (2SLS) instrumental variables regression methods were employed to test our hypotheses. Our results showed the unique role played by individual’s perceived alters protototypicality in influencing individuals’ interpersonal citizenship performance above and beyond members’ attitude and networks position. More interestingly, we found a positive relationship between being helped (that is being the recipient of cooperative behaviors) and individual’s OCBIs attitude but no relationships with their actual performance. In line with previous researches, in fact, we found a positive relationship between a member’s centrality in the affective and instrumental network and their actual cooperative behaviors but surprisingly no relationship with individuals’ attitudes towards interpersonal citizenship behaviors