Individual differences in reactions to work location decisions

Mee Sook Kim, Kaumudi Misra and Jean M. Phillips

Organization Management Journal, 2022, vol. 20, issue 1, 17-29

Abstract: Purpose - The purpose of this study is to apply reciprocity theory to understand how hypothetical work location decision outcomes and individual differences affect employees’ trust in their employer and willingness to engage in organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs). Design/methodology/approach - Three vignettes were used to manipulate work location decision outcomes and hypotheses were tested using Hayes’ (2008) PROCESS in a sample of 378 adults who worked in the USA during the first six months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings - Participants reported greater OCB intentions through higher trust in the employer when given their hypothetical choice of work location compared to being assigned one, and when assigned to their preferred compared to nonpreferred location. External work locus of control (EWLC) moderated the effects of work location on trust in the employer. The relationship between trust and OCB intentions was weakened when employees perceived greater difficulty in leaving their jobs. Originality/value - This study examined the roles of felt reciprocity, individual differences, choice and hypothetically receiving one’s preferred work location, on trust in the employer and willingness to engage in OCBs during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Keywords: COVID-19; Work location; External work locus of control; Trust in the employer; Organizational citizenship behavior; Difficulty of leaving (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.110 ... d&utm_campaign=repec (text/html)
https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.110 ... d&utm_campaign=repec (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eme:omjpps:omj-06-2021-1281

DOI: 10.1108/OMJ-06-2021-1281

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Organization Management Journal from Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Emerald Support ().