The Influence of Equity, Equality and Gender on Organizational Citizenship Behaviors

摘要

To succeed, an organization needs more than competent employees, it needs employees who enhance each others' efforts, who engage in "citizenship behaviors." The primary way to encourage such behaviors is through a reward system. But should the system reflect equity by rewarding individuals for behavior that furthers organizational goals, or should it reflect equality by distributing rewards equally among members of a group? And do men and women react differently to these two types of reward systems? To find answers, a study of 467 employees in Ireland tested five hypotheses. The equity model generated the most positive results, but, somewhat surprisingly, the equality model did not discourage citizenship behaviors. The effects of gender were mixed.