Supporting team citizenship: The influence of team social resources on team-level affiliation-oriented and challenge-oriented behaviour

Using a conservation of resources theoretical framework, we connect within-team social resources with team-level citizenship behaviours. In a sample of 385 employees situated in 70 teams from China, we confirm that team social support and team psychological safety interact to influence both affiliation-oriented (AOCB) and challenge-oriented (COCB) citizenship. Specifically, the two social resources substitute for one another, such that either team social support or psychological safety may be sufficient to increase AOCB. We find a consistent yet more complex pattern for COCB. Furthermore, drawing on the team prosocial motivation literature, we uncover team effort as a mediator to the effects of both social resources on AOCB. Our findings suggest that managers may enhance team citizenship by promoting team-level social resources (social support and psychological safety), and they may only need to focus their energies on one of these resources, as exerting effort towards both may be redundant and inefficient.