How Does Work Engagement Lead to In-Role Behavior and OCB? An Empirical Test of Affective Events Theory

This study integrates Kahn’s (1990) engagement theory with Affective Events Theory (AET; Weiss & Cropanzano, 1996) to clarify the mediating mechanism and boundary conditions between work engagement and two types of workplace behavior: in-role behavior and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). AET suggests work events, like work engagement, facilitate discrete emotions which in turn, impact work attitudes and behavior. Drawing on the broader pride literature (Tracy & Robins, 2007; Tyler & Blader, 2002), I argue that feelings of authentic pride and organizational pride mediate the relationship between work engagement and in-role behavior or OCB. Drawing on the self-construal literature (Markus & Kitayama, 1991), I contend that one’s self-definition in comparison to others represents Kahn’s (1990) notion of the “preferred self” and impacts the extent to which individuals direct their work efforts toward in-role behavior or OCB. Finally, I consider the combined effects of pride and job satisfaction, serving as mediating mechanisms, and independent and interdependent self-construal, serving as boundary conditions, on the overall work engagement-work behavior relationship. I tested these predictions in two studies: a cross-sectional field study designed to investigate work engagement, pride, job satisfaction, and work behavior as more stable phenomena, and a study employing an experience sampling method (ESM) designed to investigate day-to-day fluctuations of work engagement, pride, job satisfaction, and work behavior. Findings from a sample of 403 matched supervisor-subordinate dyads drawn from a medium-sized technology company (Study 1: field study) and a sample of 94 working adults who completed thrice daily surveys over 10 workdays (Study 2: ESM) provided limited support for the model. In both studies, a significant and positive relationship was established between work engagement and feelings of both authentic pride and organizational pride. In Study 2, feelings of daily organizational pride predicted daily OCB. However, in both studies, the interactive effects of self-construal on the work engagement-pride relationship were not significant and thus, did not support my hypothesized model. I conclude by discussing the implications for continued academic research and managerial practice regarding work engagement, work behavior, individual differences, and discrete emotions in the workplace.