A longitudinal examination of the consequences of OCBs for individuals in organisations: the moderating roles of percieved organisational support and control

The present thesis was conceptualised and conducted against the backdrop of rapidly emerging research that challenges the conventional depiction of OCBs as positive extra-role behaviours that produce beneficial outcomes to both individuals and organisations. The thesis contends that OCBs may be either beneficial or detrimental to individual performers depending on their perceptions of the psychosocial work environment – i.e. perceived job control and perceived organisational support. Both perceived job control and organisational support have been researched in existing theoretical models and prior research which depict and assess these variables as key moderators in the relationship between work stressors and job strain. Hence, the present thesis hypothesised that both job control and support will moderate the effects of Time 1 OCBs (peer reports of OCB-I and OCB-O) on various individual-level outcomes of job satisfaction, organisational commitment, role ambiguity, role overload, work-family conflict, physical exhaustion and work-related depression measured at Time 2, based on a two-wave longitudinal panel methodological design. This newly proposed moderation model was tested across three interrelated Studies (Study 1, Study 2, and Study 3) in which the first two studies were cross-sectional based on Time 1 and Time 2 data, respectively, and the final study provided a longitudinal version of the same analyses. A direct effects model (where the effects of Time 1 OCBs on the Time 2 outcomes were assessed) and a mediation model (in which role stressors were modelled as mediators between OCBs and job attitudes and health) were also examined, alongside the proposed moderation model. In Study 1, based on data from 562 employees in Barbados captured at the first wave, structural equation modelling (SEM) analyses revealed that the direct effects model emerged superior to the mediation and moderation models. There were no significant interaction effects of control and support on any of the outcomes in Study 1. In Study 2, based on data from 427 employees (an attrition rate of 24%) captured at the second wave, the SEM analyses revealed that both mediation and moderation models emerged as the superior models. In the moderation model, both control and support emerged as significant moderators in several relationships between OCBs and the outcome variables. Finally in Study 3, the longitudinal SEM analyses revealed that the ‘normal causation’ direct effects model emerged superior to the reverse and reciprocal causation models as well as the mediation models. The moderation model also emerged as a superior model in which both control and support moderated several relationships between Time 1 OCBs and Time 2 outcome variables. Overall, the present thesis provided some support for the proposed moderation model and is consistent with key assumptions underlying existing theoretical models and findings of prior research on the stressor-strain relationship. The findings reinforced the role of personal job resources such as job autonomy and organisational support as critical factors that can buffer the potentially negative effects of OCBs for individual performers. Theoretical and practical implications, future research recommendations, and study limitations have been discussed in the final chapter of the thesis

A longitudinal examination of the consequences of OCBs for individuals in organisations: the moderating roles of percieved organisational support and control

The present thesis was conceptualised and conducted against the backdrop of rapidly emerging research that challenges the conventional depiction of OCBs as positive extra-role behaviours that produce beneficial outcomes to both individuals and organisations. The thesis contends that OCBs may be either beneficial or detrimental to individual performers depending on their perceptions of the psychosocial work environment – i.e. perceived job control and perceived organisational support. Both perceived job control and organisational support have been researched in existing theoretical models and prior research which depict and assess these variables as key moderators in the relationship between work stressors and job strain. Hence, the present thesis hypothesised that both job control and support will moderate the effects of Time 1 OCBs (peer reports of OCB-I and OCB-O) on various individual-level outcomes of job satisfaction, organisational commitment, role ambiguity, role overload, work-family conflict, physical exhaustion and work-related depression measured at Time 2, based on a two-wave longitudinal panel methodological design. This newly proposed moderation model was tested across three interrelated Studies (Study 1, Study 2, and Study 3) in which the first two studies were cross-sectional based on Time 1 and Time 2 data, respectively, and the final study provided a longitudinal version of the same analyses. A direct effects model (where the effects of Time 1 OCBs on the Time 2 outcomes were assessed) and a mediation model (in which role stressors were modelled as mediators between OCBs and job attitudes and health) were also examined, alongside the proposed moderation model. In Study 1, based on data from 562 employees in Barbados captured at the first wave, structural equation modelling (SEM) analyses revealed that the direct effects model emerged superior to the mediation and moderation models. There were no significant interaction effects of control and support on any of the outcomes in Study 1. In Study 2, based on data from 427 employees (an attrition rate of 24%) captured at the second wave, the SEM analyses revealed that both mediation and moderation models emerged as the superior models. In the moderation model, both control and support emerged as significant moderators in several relationships between OCBs and the outcome variables. Finally in Study 3, the longitudinal SEM analyses revealed that the ‘normal causation’ direct effects model emerged superior to the reverse and reciprocal causation models as well as the mediation models. The moderation model also emerged as a superior model in which both control and support moderated several relationships between Time 1 OCBs and Time 2 outcome variables. Overall, the present thesis provided some support for the proposed moderation model and is consistent with key assumptions underlying existing theoretical models and findings of prior research on the stressor-strain relationship. The findings reinforced the role of personal job resources such as job autonomy and organisational support as critical factors that can buffer the potentially negative effects of OCBs for individual performers. Theoretical and practical implications, future research recommendations, and study limitations have been discussed in the final chapter of the thesis

Perceived COVID-19 Vaccine Pressure in the Caribbean: Exploring a New Stressor–Strain Phenomenon in the Pandemic

This research introduced the new construct of ‘perceived COVID-19 vaccine pressure’ (i.e., the psychological strain associated with societal demands on vaccine taking) and examined the initial psychometric properties of a newly proposed measure. The study surveyed 411 Barbadian respondents to examine their level of perceived COVID-19 vaccine pressure using an online survey modality. The results revealed strong and robust psychometric properties for the scale and its unidimensionality. Younger and employed respondents as well as those working in the tourism and hospitality and government (public) sectors experienced the greatest internalised vaccine pressure relative to other respondent groups. Only initial/preliminary evidence of the scale’s validity and reliability was revealed by this cross-sectional study. A follow-up study (using CFA on a new sample) is needed to provide stronger evidence for its validity and reliability. Understanding the dynamics of perceived or internalised vaccine pressure might help explain the positive or negative effects of societal pressure and its implications for vaccine hesitancy and other vaccine-related attitudes and behaviours. The study is the first to conceptually discuss and empirically examine the mental health strain occasioned by societal demands placed on individuals to take a COVID-19 vaccine