Organizational citizenship behavior: Development and validation of a measurement instrument

The construction and validation of a German questionnaire to measure organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) is presented. Organ (1988) defines OCB as individual discretionary behavior which fosters the productivity of organizations but is not formally required. In a heterogeneous sample, four OCB factors altruism, conscientiousness, sportsmanship and civic virtue were separable. whereas no empirical support was found for a subscale courtesy. In addition, the discriminant validity of the OCB scales could be demonstrated with respect to in-role behavior. In a second sample, as predicted OCB correlated positively with job satisfaction and affective commitment. These results as well as supported relationships with sociodemographical variables speak For the construct validity of the instrument.