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ERIC Number: ED551278
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2012
Pages: 151
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: 978-1-2677-7165-0
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Investigating Relationships between Sense of Belonging and Organizational Citizenship Behavior among Adjunct Faculty
Edgren, Gerald R., Jr.
ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, Marian University
Organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) is a social science construct defined by Organ (1988) as employee actions that are discretionary, not formally recognized or rewarded, and that are helpful to the effectiveness of the organization. This study explored part-time work as a base of OCB by investigating the relationship between this construct and organizational sense of belonging (OSB) as proffered by Quinn (2006) and Merriman (2010) among adjunct faculty at a two-year, Midwestern technical college. Teaching faculty, both full-time and adjunct, were sent an email explaining the study and containing an embedded hyperlink connecting them to an electronic survey. The instrument used to measure OCB was created by Podsakoff, MacKenzie, Moorman and Fetter (1990). Somers' (1999) BESR work/school subscale assessed OSB. There were 92 full-time and 77 adjunct faculty who participated in this study. Three research questions were examined and eight associated hypotheses tested. There was a statistically significant difference in the degree of OSB measured among full-time faculty when compared to the degree of OSB measured among adjunct faculty. The results of a two-tailed difference of means t-test accepted hypothesis one, t(100.15) = 2.31, p = 0.023, alpha = 0.05. This was an expected outcome as they have committed to make teaching their full-time occupation at this institution, and have greater opportunities to create and maintain connections with other employees that enhance their OSB (Baumeister & Leary, 1995). There was not a statistically significant difference in the degree of OCB measured among full-time faculty when compared to the degree of OCB measured among adjunct faculty. The results of a two-tailed difference of means t-test rejected hypothesis two, t(101.27) = 0.36, p = 0.723, alpha = 0.05. These results suggest that OCB can not necessarily be attributed solely to full-time workers; part-time employees have been shown to be equally likely to engage in OCB. This was an unexpected finding. However, since the mean scores of both groups are relatively high (M = 5.92 for full-time faculty and M = 5.85 for adjuncts on a scale of 1.0 to 7.0), it could be concluded that the faculty at the institution in this study exhibit a strong degree of extra-role behavior, regardless of employee class. Simple linear regression was utilized to analyze hypothesis three through eight, testing the model OCB = ß[subscript 0] + ß[subscript1](OSB) where OSB was the predictor variable for the criterion variable OCB (or one of the five dimensions of OCB) as proffered by Organ (1988). OSB was found to be a statistically significant linear predictor of the general OCB construct (F(1) = 29.57, p < 0.001, alpha = 0.05), and was found to be a significant linear predictor of the following dimensions of OCB: altruism (F[1] = 36.45, p < 0.001, alpha = 0.05), conscientiousness (F[1] = 8.51, p = 0.005, alpha = 0.05), and civic virtue (F[1] = 16.70, p < 0.001, alpha = 0.05). Since OCB is inherently beneficial and the hiring of these part-time workers has increased over the last few decades, it is fitting for college administrators to find ways to help them make connections at their institutions (Lee & Robbins, 1995; Quinn, 2006). [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]
ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway, P.O. Box 1346, Ann Arbor, MI 48106. Tel: 800-521-0600; Web site: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml
Publication Type: Dissertations/Theses - Doctoral Dissertations
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A