IMPETUS FOR ACTION - A CULTURAL ANALYSIS OF JUSTICE AND ORGANIZATIONAL CITIZENSHIP BEHAVIOR IN CHINESE SOCIETY

To understand variations in citizenship behavior within a culture, we examine the relationship between citizenship behaviors and organizatio nal justice in two studies in a Chinese context, using two cultural ch aracteristics (traditionality and modernity) and one individual (gende r) characteristic. In Study 1, we develop an indigenous measure of org anizational citizenship behavior and explore the similarities and diff erences of this measure with its Western counterpart. In Study 2, we u se this citizenship behavior measure to test its relationship to justi ce. Results demonstrate that organizational justice (distributive and procedural) is most strongly related to citizenship behavior for indiv iduals who endorse less traditional, or high modernity, values. In add ition, we found the relationship between justice and citizenship behav ior to be stronger for men than for women. The studies are discussed i n terms of the generality of citizenship behavior and its relation to organizational justice and cultural characteristics.