Counterproductive Work Behavior
6
likely to be impacted by cultural differences. Research has already begun to explore the content
of OCB in the Chinese context (e.g., Farh, Earley, & Lin, 1997; Farh, Zhong, & Organ, 2004). To
our knowledge no research has yet explicitly explored the content of CWB in China. Hence, our
research on the Chinese conceptualization of job performance focused on CWB.
Job Performance in the Western Literature
Traditionally performance appraisal systems were comprised of statements related to the
completion of tasks specific to one's job. During the industrial revolution where manufacturing
dominated, jobs were defined primarily by a set of tasks bundled together to form a job
(Fleishman & Quaintance, 1984). The emphasis at that time was rating employees on the
completion of tasks. The eighties brought about total quality management, the emphasis on cross-
functional teams, and the importance of communication. Increased competition and the shift
from a manufacturing-based economy to an information-and-service based economy in the new
millennium brought greater accountability for production deviance and unethical behavior and
the necessity of sharing knowledge and building relationships. Thus, the modern workplace drew
our attention to a category of behaviors that detract from the goals of the organization by harming
the well-being of coworkers or the organization. Examples of these behaviors include
absenteeism, production deviance, workplace aggression, theft, sabotage, or fraud. Various labels
have been given to these behaviors: counterproductive work behavior (Gruys & Sackett, 2003),
professional deviant-adaptive behaviors
(Raelin, 1994), workplace deviance (Bennett &
Robinson, 2000), generic work behaviors (Hunt, 1996), or destructive/ hazardous behaviors
(Murphy, 1989). These conceptualizations have been based on research conducted using Western
samples in Western social and cultural contexts.
Western Conceptualizations of Job Performance in China: Applicability and Constraints