Student Classroom and Career Success: The Role of Organizational Citizenship Behavior

Management researchers have linked organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) to individual success in organizational settings. Unfortunately, the OCB concept has largely been ignored in business education. In this study, some undergraduate students indicated that they did practice OCB, but a considerable number did not. Our study found a significant positive relationship between OCB and two measures of academic performance. These findings suggest a need for business educators to (a) encourage students who do not engage in these critical behaviors to do so and (b) hone the OCB skills of students currently practicing them. We discuss implications for business educators, and offer suggestions for introducing OCB into the classroom.