Organization-, supervisor-, and workgroup-directed commitments and citizenship behaviours: A comparison of models

The purpose of this study was to test two competing theoretical models explaining the relationships between affective commitment to the organization, the supervisor, and the workgroup, and organizational citizenship behaviours (OCB) specifically directed toward these foci. Drawing on cohesion theory, the first model stated that commitment to the organization is a key mediating variable intervening between “local” commitments and OCB (Hunt & Morgan, 1994). Building on Lewin's (1943) field theory and the notion of psychological proximity, the second model proposed that commitment to the most proximal focus should mediate the effect of commitment to more distal entities on OCB. Data drawn from a sample of blue-collar workers and their supervisors in an iron and steel company indicated that the model of a proximal mediation best represented the relationships between commitments and OCB.