DISPOSITIONAL GROUP LOYALTY AND INDIVIDUAL ACTION FOR THE BENEFIT OF AN INGROUP - EXPERIMENTAL AND CORRELATIONAL EVIDENCE

Much of individuals' lives are spent working in groups, but not all in dividuals necessarily react to groups in the same way. Based upon prev ious research, we examined the construct of dispositional group loyalt y as a predictor of willingness to contribute to organizational succes s. Individuals high in dispositional group loyalty were thought to be more likely to exert effort on behalf of their ingroups than individua ls low in dispositional group loyalty. Furthermore, this effect should only be manifested in certain situations. In particular, individuals with high group loyalty should perform better when their group is bein g compared to another than when intergroup comparison is lacking. Thre e experimental studies were done to test this possibility. In each cas e, the prediction outlined above was supported. A fourth correlational study provided evidence from outside of the laboratory that dispositi onal group loyalty predicts involvement in group-based organizational activities, positiveness of attitudes toward organizations, and inclin ation to perform behaviors for the benefit of one's organization. Theo retical and applied implications are discussed. (C) 1994 Academic Pres s, Inc.