Materialistic attitude as an antecedent of organizational citizenship behavior

Abstract

Purpose – Organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) has continuously been an important issue for almost three decades. In contrast with the high interest in OCB, the effects of materialism on OCB have not attracted sufficient attention in the literature. The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between the materialistic attitudes of salespeople working in pharmaceutical and household white goods and furniture (HWGF) sectors and their OCB. Design/methodology/approach – It is hypothesized that materialistic attitude is one of the dispositional variables which is an antecedent of OCB. A total of 199 salespeople who work for pharmaceutical and HWGF sectors in Eskisehir, Turkey were surveyed. The questionnaire consisted of two scales to measure materialistic tendencies and OCB, respectively. Findings – The results of the study early indicate that materialistic attitude is one of the antecedents that have negative impacts on OCB. There are negative correlations between all dimensions of OCB and materialistic attitude. Research limitations/implications – Self-reporting for both materialistic attitudes and OCB may inflate correlations. Since the differences in cultural context between Turkey and Western countries and between the sectors can make it difficult to generalize the results universally, there is need for further research in different cultural contexts and sectors. Practical implications – According to the literature and previous research, managers’ evaluations of performance, organizational effectiveness, and customer perceptions of service quality are positively related with OCB. Sales managers must pay more attention to decreasing salespeople's materialistic tendencies and increasing the OCB. Originality/value – This is the first study that shows a relationship between materialistic attitude, as a dispositional variable and an individual characteristic, and OCB.