Shared values and organizational citizenship behavior of generational cohorts : a review and future directions

The literature implies that in the contemporary workforce, one of the interesting and challenging tasks of the management is to effectively handle different generations who possess various value systems. Hence, the foremost aspiration of the current study is to present the empirical evidence on the diverse characteristics and values of generational cohorts; the interests of HR specialists, managers and researchers in dealing with multigenerational workforce and their impact on work-related outcomes, the responsibility of management; the influence of values on behavior (especially, in-role and extra-role behaviours) and various positive outcomes to employees and organizations. This article also reviewed the previous studies related to shared values or P-O fit, OCB and highlighted that very little research was conducted in academic institutions. This study shows the generational categories from the Western context and the Indian context. It also intends to identify the gaps in the generational research and pave the way for further investigation. Finally, based on the research gaps identified, this article suggests and discusses the importance of generational difference on shared values and OCB in academic field in the Indian context as well as reframes the list of shared values from academic perspective for further investigation. Moreover, academic field is one of the predominant workplaces where intergenerational communication is at a high rate. Thus, the more attention needs to be given to the behaviours of generational cohorts in order to attain the goal of the institution.