The relationship between multiple commitments and organizational citizenship behavior in Arab and Jewish culture

This study examined the relation between multiple commitments (organizational commitment, occupational commitment, job involvement, and group commitment), ethnicity, and cultural values (individualism/collectivism, power distance, uncertainty avoidance, and masculinity/femininity) with organizational citizenship behaviors (OCB) and in-role performance. Two ethnic groups of Israeli teachers, Jews and Arabs, were examined. Of the 880 questionnaires that were distributed in 18 schools in northern Israel, 569 usable questionnaires were returned, a response rate of 65%. The findings showed substantial differences between the two groups in the four cultural dimensions and in two commitment forms. Ethnicity and the four cultural values related strongly to in-role performance and organizational OCB. The results showed 16 significant interactions of multiple commitments with ethnicity and with cultural dimensions in relation to OCB and in-role performance. Implications of the findings for research on commitment and culture are discussed. (c) 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.