The standard target-based OCB measure separating citizenship aimed at individuals (OCBI) from citizenship aimed at the organization (OCBO).
OBWorkplace Behavior & ClimateFree for research
At a glance
Construct measured
Organizational citizenship behavior (individual- and organization-directed) and in-role behavior
Developed by
Williams & Anderson (1991)
Original publication
Williams, L. J., & Anderson, S. E. (1991). Job satisfaction and organizational commitment as predictors of organizational citizenship and in-role behaviors. Journal of Management, 17(3), 601–617. https://doi.org/10.1177/014920639101700305
Number of items
21 (7 per subscale)
Response format
7-point agreement scale (1 = Strongly disagree to 7 = Strongly agree); commonly supervisor-rated, sometimes self-rated
Dimensions & subscales
OCBI (7 items) — citizenship behaviors that immediately benefit specific individuals
OCBO (7 items) — citizenship behaviors that benefit the organization in general
IRB (7 items) — in-role behavior, useful for showing OCB is distinct from task performance
Reliability (commonly reported)
Alphas are commonly reported around .80s for OCBI and IRB and .70s for OCBO (which contains reverse-keyed items).
Validity evidence
CFA in the original study distinguished OCBI, OCBO and in-role behavior; the target-based distinction has proven robust and is now the default OCB taxonomy in much of the literature, with meta-analytic support for differential antecedents of OCBI and OCBO.
Populations & contexts
Employee samples across industries; frequently used in multisource designs with supervisor ratings.
Origin, translations & adaptations
United States. Translated widely; the target-based structure generally replicates across cultures.
Licensing & permission
Free for academic research (cite the source) The items are printed in the published article and are routinely used in academic research with citation. Contact the authors/publisher for commercial use.
How to cite (APA 7)
Williams, L. J., & Anderson, S. E. (1991). Job satisfaction and organizational commitment as predictors of organizational citizenship and in-role behaviors. Journal of Management, 17(3), 601–617. https://doi.org/10.1177/014920639101700305
Short versions & notable variants
OCBI and OCBO subscales are often administered without the IRB items when task performance is measured elsewhere