‘Good Apples and Bad Apples: Is it the Apples, the Basket, or the Climate?’ Motivational Forces Behind OCB and CWB

Organizational citizenship behaviour (OCB) and counter-productive work behaviours (CWB) are discretionary organizational behaviours that have received much research attention. However, differing perspectives exist with reference to the consideration of these two constructs. Identifying the underlying motivation to perform these discretionary behaviours rather than investigating their generic antecedents is expected to better explain the complex interplay between the two constructs. In this chapter, we present the differing perspectives on the relationship between OCB and CWB and discuss the findings of a study that explored the relationship between these constructs in the context of the motivational forces driving them. Specifically, cultural, reciprocal/social, and individual motivational factors as predictors of both OCB and CWB were explored. The results of the study offer support for the perspective that OCB and CWB are two distinct constructs. The utility of this perspective and considering motivational forces in discretionary organizational behaviours are discussed.