When does role ambiguity escalate into diminished change-oriented organizational citizenship behavior?

Abstract

This research investigates how employees’ experience of role ambiguity may dampen their change-oriented organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), a harmful process that might be buffered by employees’ access to relevant resources, stemming from their work (work passion), coworkers (peer harmony), or employing organization (affective commitment). If the hardships induced by unclear job descriptions can be subdued by these complementary, energy-enhancing resources, it becomes less likely that employees respond to resource-draining job conditions by halting extra-role work activities. Survey data collected in a large transportation company offer empirical support for these mitigating effects. As a primary conclusion, this study reveals that organizations that cannot eliminate role ambiguity completely for employees still can guarantee a certain degree of change-oriented OCB, by nurturing various resources that generate positive emotional energy among employees.