Going the extra-mile: a question of attachment orientations and gender?. Issue 3 (8th July 2014) - Schusterschitz, Claudia
Abstract : Purpose: – The purpose of this study is to examine the influence of attachment anxiety, attachment avoidance and gender on different forms of organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). Design/methodology/approach: – A total of 132 employees with different occupational backgrounds were surveyed by means of the "Scales to measure two dimensions of attachment insecurity" (Grau, 1999) and a German-speaking OCB questionnaire (Staufenbiel and Hartz 2000). Findings: – Results suggest that employees high in anxiety show higher ratings in OCB-conscientiousness, whereas employees high in avoidance show higher ratings in OCB-civic virtue. Moreover, we found highly avoidant individuals to be less likely to engage in OCB-altruism. Finally, besides an overall gender effect for OCB-loyalty, results reveal significant interaction effects of anxiety and gender on OCB-conscientiousness as well as of avoidance and gender on OCB-civic virtue. Practical implications: – Considering the increase in flexible employment relationships and in team work, we think of attachment orientations as a concept of practical relevance because adjustment to such work environments can be assumed to be highly dependent on attachment security. Originality/value: – The research at hand is the first that analyzes unique and joint contributions of attachment orientations and gender to the prediction of different OCBs. Thereby, it provides evidence for the neglected applicability of attachment theory to the understanding of workplace behaviors in general and of OCBs in particular. Furthermore, the present study expands existing knowledge on the relationship between gender and OCB and implies that the influence of attachment orientations on some OCB-dimensions is stronger in the absence of gender stereotypes.