Organizational Capital and Joining-up: Linking the Individual to the Organization and to Society

Abstract

Do employees ever make efforts on behalf of their employing organization's interests or fellow employees' interests when it is not in their direct self-interest to do so? By drawing on organizational behavior literature relating to the joining-up process, organizational commitment, and organizational citizenship behavior, and integrating these insights with economic theory, this article provides a new explanation of why employees' efforts are typically suboptimal and what organizational activities can resolve this problem. The key variable explaining whether organization members behave responsibly or not is the presence of organizational capital formed either during the joining-up process or in preparation for it.