Two Sides of the Same Coin: The Association between Organizational Citizenship Behavior and Unethical Pro-organizational Behavior

This study examines the relationship between organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) and unethical pro-organizational behavior (UPB) through the lens of social identity theory. It further distinguishes between OCB directed toward individuals (OCBI) and the organization (OCBO) to explore their differential associations with UPB. Data were collected via a questionnaire survey of procurement professionals in Taiwan to test the proposed hypotheses. The results reveal a significant positive relationship between OCB and UPB, suggesting that employees’ strong identification with their organization may motivate behaviors that, while intended to benefit the organization, violate ethical standards. Moreover, OCBO exhibits a stronger positive association with UPB than OCBI, indicating that organization-focused discretionary behaviors are more likely to translate into ethically questionable actions. These findings contribute to the literature on extra-role behaviors by highlighting the potential dark side of OCB and offering nuanced insights into its distinct dimensions. JEL classification numbers: M10, M12, M14. Keywords: Extra-role behavior, Organizational citizenship behavior, Unethical pro-organizational behavior, Organizational identification.