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Differentiating Good Soldiers from Good Actors

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  • Robin S. Snell
  • Yuk Lan Wong

Abstract

abstract In a qualitative interview study, 20 Hong Kong Chinese informants were asked to report stories about colleagues who were either ‘good soldiers’ or ‘good actors’. In stories about good soldiers, informants attributed their colleagues' organizational citizenship behaviour (OCB) primarily to prosocial or pro‐organizational motives. Informants' stories about good actors broke down into three major subcategories of citizenship‐related impression management: OCB attributed primarily to impression management motives; alleged pseudo‐OCB concomitant with minimal compliance; and alleged pseudo‐OCB concomitant with counterproductive behaviour. When distinguishing good soldiers from good actors, informants adopted two criteria for attribution: wilful behavioural inconsistency, i.e. low generality of behaviour across contexts; and alleged false pretence, i.e. discrepancy between claims or allusions and actual deeds. Our findings partially supported a prior hypothesis from attribution theory, that consistency was a criterion for attribution, but indicated that consensus, i.e. correspondence between the focal colleague's behaviour and other employees' behaviour, failed to differentiate good soldiers from good actors. Informants generally regarded OCB as socially desirable only when it was attributed primarily to prosocial/pro‐organizational motives.

Suggested Citation

  • Robin S. Snell & Yuk Lan Wong, 2007. "Differentiating Good Soldiers from Good Actors," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(6), pages 883-909, September.
  • Handle: RePEc:bla:jomstd:v:44:y:2007:i:6:p:883-909
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-6486.2007.00699.x
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    Cited by:

    1. Liu, Yongmei & He, Hongwei & Zhu, Weichun, 2020. "Motivational analyses of the relationship between negative affectivity and workplace helping behaviors: A Conservation of Resources perspective," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 362-374.
    2. Xiaoyan Su & Yating Liu & Nancy Hanson-Rasmussen, 2017. "Voice Behavior, Supervisor Attribution and Employee Performance Appraisal," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(10), pages 1-14, October.
    3. Dorothea Wahyu Ariani, 2017. "Good Soldiers and Good Actors: Is there Any Differences?," International Journal of Asian Social Science, Asian Economic and Social Society, vol. 7(1), pages 31-44, January.
    4. Jin Nam Choi, 2009. "Collective Dynamics of Citizenship Behaviour: What Group Characteristics Promote Group‐Level Helping?," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(8), pages 1396-1420, December.
    5. Schreurs, Bert & van Emmerik, IJ. Hetty & Guenter, Hannes & Germeys, Filip, 2011. "A Weekly Diary Study on the Buffering Role of Social Support in the Relationship between Job Insecurity and Employee Performance," Working Papers 2011/27, Hogeschool-Universiteit Brussel, Faculteit Economie en Management.

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