Powerful, high-performing employees and psychological entitlement: The detrimental effects on citizenship behaviors

Abstract

We extend the performance literature by moving beyond a focus on antecedents of employees' job performance. Rather, we consider the effects of employees' high performance on their subsequent psychological states and behaviors. We adopt a social exchange approach to explain why powerful, high-performing employees may feel psychologically entitled (i.e., a belief that they are owed more than what is typical from the organization), which then prevents them from engaging in organizational citizenship behaviors (i.e., discretionary behaviors that contribute to the effective functioning of the organization). We first establish internal validity by testing our theoretical model using an experimental study design. We then establish external validity by testing our theoretical model using multi-source field data from university employees in the United States. Both studies provide support for our theoretical model in that psychological entitlement mediates the negative indirect relationship between employees' performance and OCB when employee power is higher versus lower. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.