Information Technology Professionals as Citizens: An Expectancy Theory Perspective

Author

Shih Yung Chou, Southern Illinois University CarbondaleFollow

Date of Award

5-1-2010

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Department

Business Administration

First Advisor

Pearson, John

Abstract

Organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) has been suggested to facilitate organizational functioning. However, how OCB is motivated and the extent to which OCB is exhibited by highly skilled professionals remains uncertain. Very little theoretical and empirical research has focused on motivational factors that elicit the exhibition of OCB. In addition, previous research has found that information technology (IT) professionals exhibit significantly lower OCB than non-IT professionals. This particular discrepancy suggests that there is a need to study OCB exhibited by IT professionals from a motivational aspect. In order to provide a theory-based model that explains OCB, this research utilized expectancy theory to examine how an IT professional's cognitive forces affect the valence of a job outcome and how the valence of the job outcome influences his or her OCB. The hypotheses were tested using partial least squares and multiple regression techniques with a sample size of 85 IT professionals. Using IT professionals as the unit of analysis, the results indicated that the research model explained 36 percent of the variability of OCB exhibited by an IT professional. The results also confirmed the significant relationship between valence of job satisfaction and OCB and the significant relationship between OCB and actual job satisfaction. Among the five cognitive forces tested, commitment to organization and commitment to profession contributed significantly to valence of job satisfaction. Furthermore, this research found some significant relationships among trust in supervisors, trust in coworkers, job stress, commitment to organization, and commitment to profession. Finally, conclusions, limitations, and suggestions for future research directions were discussed based on the findings.