WDB appeared to play a relatively more important role than OCB in determining supervisor
ratings of business unit staff performance. Although it is necessary to replicate this finding before
drawing any firm conclusions, a preliminary speculation regarding this interesting finding is
offered here. As Borman and Motowidlo (1993) mentioned, OCB primarily influences
organizational effectiveness indirectly by improving ‘the broader organizational, social, and
psychological environment’ (p. 73) in which the organization must function. As with OCB, WDB
could disrupt these broader environments (e.g., by harassing coworkers, spreading rumors). Some
WDBs such as sabotage, neglecting the orders of one’s boss, and damaging organizational property,
however, do not only influence the broader social and psychological environments within a business
unit but also influence the task-related performance of the business unit. It could well be that it was this
latter aspect of WDB that served to escalate the impact of WDB on perceived business unit staff
effectiveness.