Relationship between personality and organizational citizenship behavior: Does personality influence employee citizenship

Abstract

This study examines the relationship between personality and Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB). Hierarchical regression analysis on data from 164 employees working in the service sector in Dubai-after controlling for work locus of control and organizational justice- indicated that openness to experience, conscientiousness, and emotional stability were valid predictors for OCB. However, both extraversion and agreeableness showed no significant relationship with OCB. The intriguing finding of this study is that openness was significantly related to OCB. This differs from prior research on openness that found few significant relationships. The current study shows that openness to experience is a crucial personality characteristic that is related to a person’s capability to perform OCB.