FEATURE ARTICLE DOI: 10.1002/joe.21825 16 © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/joe Global Business and Organizational Excellence. 2017;37(1):16–27. To better understand the various dimensions of organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) in Mexico, a study of 200 professionals in the shopping center management industry considers the collectivistic cultural background of Mexican employees. Us- ing a framework based on both etic (universal) and emic (culturally specifc) dimen- sions of OCB, researchers found that OCB in Mexico embraces eight dimensions. Three of them—altruism, civic virtue, and sportsmanship—were found to be etic, or universal, dimensions, while three others—interpersonal harmony, protecting company resources, and professional development—were identifed as emic, or cul- turally specifc, dimensions for collectivistic cultures including that of Mexico. The remaining two dimensions of organizational camaraderie and organizational dedica- tion were recognized as emic dimensions of OCB particular only to Mexico. These fndings can help managers tailor their evaluation and incentive programs to attract and retain Mexican personnel and ensure a productive work environment. 1 | INTRODUCTION Companies in which employees exhibit high levels of orga- nizational citizenship behavior (OCB) are more likely to successfully utilize resources, coordinate group activities, attract and retain high-quality staf, and adapt to environ- mental changes (Podsakof, Mackenzie, Paine, & Bachrach, 2000). Furthermore, it has been estimated that the cost of negative work behavior in US organizations alone is as much as $200 billion per year (Vardi & Weitz, 2004). Thus, “good soldiers”—employees who are very committed to their employers and willing to make extra eforts to achieve their goals—have been vaunted as among the most positive assets of any organization (Bolino, 1999; Hodson, 1991). In the past few decades, researchers have identifed various elements beyond an employee’s basic responsibilities that contribute to OCB and add substantial value to organizational opera- tions (LePine, Erez, & Johnson, 2002; Lin, Lyau, Tsai, Chen, & Chiu, 2010; Organ, 1988; Schnake, 1991). A stream of OCB research has focused on cultures outside the United States and other Western nations (for example, Farh, Earley, & Lin, 1997; Farh, Zhong, & Organ, 2004; Kim, 2006; Lievens & Anseel, 2004; Paillé, 2009, 2010). Meanwhile, a number of cross-cultural studies have explored possible similarities and diferences in OCB across borders. A study comparing Taiwan and the United States found that certain OCB elements are salient in both countries (Farh, Podsakof, & Organ, 1990). Another investigated OCB in similar cultures and found no major diferences in OCB dimensions between American and British samples (Organ & Lingl, 1995). A comparison of Australia and the United States with Hong Kong and Japan concluded that individuals in Hong Kong and Japan are more likely to consider sports- manship and courtesy as in-role behaviors (Lam, Hui, & Law, 1999). This is a characteristic of cultures with high-power distance and strong collectivism, such as those in Hong Kong and Japan (Hofstede, 2003). For the most part, there appears to be a direct link between national culture and some of the variance in OCB (Farh, Zhong, & Organ, 2004; Paine & Organ, 2000). According to Lam, Hui, and Law (1999, p. 600), “there may be perfor- mance norms (etic OCB) that transcend cultural values … as well as performance norms (emic OCB) that are afected by particular cultural values.” Farh, Earley, and Lin (1997) also Analyzing organizational citizenship behavior in Mexico: A collectivist perspective Miguel A. Baeza | Yong J. Wang | Valerie Lynette Wang