Search

PurposeThis study aims to test the propositions of socialization resources theory, specifically focusing on social capital resources and their prediction of proximal (relational learning) and distal (job satisfaction and intent to quit) outcomes. The authors include the job design characteristic of job autonomy as a moderator of these associations.Design/methodology/approachCheung et al.’s (2021) four-step SEM procedure was used to test our mediation, moderation and moderated mediation hypotheses. The sample consisted of newcomers (N = 175) measured at two time points.FindingsThe results support the proposed model. Relational learning mediates the associations between social capital resources and outcomes; the utility of these social capital resources is stronger when job autonomy is lower.Practical implicationsOrganizations can use social capital resources to reduce newcomers' uncertainty during socialization, facilitating learning and positive outcomes. Organizations should also carefully consider the amount of job autonomy they grant to newcomers, as too much can be detrimental.Originality/valueDespite the acknowledged importance of workplace resources and relationships, few studies have focused on social resources provided during socialization. Moreover, job design is rarely included in socialization research, despite its influence on workplace processes. Thus, this study provides information about two novel areas of investigation: socially-oriented socialization resources and the impact of job autonomy.

PurposeThe authors examine the interactive effects of work engagement and work autonomy in enhancing job crafting behaviour and performance.Design/methodology/approachDyadic data from a sample of 320 white-collar employees in an Indian manufacturer are analysed through structural equation modelling.FindingsThe level of job crafting is highest when both work engagement and work autonomy are high. Job crafting fully mediates the interactive effect of work engagement and autonomy on task performance and partially on contextual performance.Practical implicationsThere is value in reviewing organisational constraints on employee autonomy to foster the ways in which highly motivated workers can craft their jobs and, thus, maximise their performance.Originality/valueThis study demonstrates the interactive effects of work engagement and autonomy in enhancing job crafting and, through this mechanism, employee performance.

This study identifies a unique bias faced by Black employees which makes it challenging for this group to manage their professional image. Integrating research on racial backlash, image management, and expectancy violation theory, we argue that self-promotion by Black employees will result in detrimental outcomes for this group compared to White, Hispanic, and Asian employees. Due to negative racial stereotypes related to their job competence, we hypothesize that self-promotion by Black employees will be viewed by their White managers as a violation of stereotypically appropriate behavior and will result in a backlash in the form of lower job-related outcomes. We propose that the process by which these effects occur is through manager assessments of their employees on agentic and communal traits. Our hypothesized model was tested with a stratified sample of manager-employee dyads of a large financial institution. Results indicated that self-promotion by Black employees was associated with lower job performance and person-organization fit ratings, as well as fewer idiosyncratic deals with their immediate managers compared to White, Hispanic, and Asian employees. Implications of the divergent consequences of self-promotion for Black employees relative to other racial groups are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Many constructs in management studies, such as perceptions, personalities, attitudes, and behavioral intentions, are not directly observable. Typically, empirical studies measure such constructs using established scales with multiple indicators. When the scales are used in a different population, the items are translated into other languages or revised to adapt to other populations, it is essential for researchers to report the quality of measurement scales before using them to test hypotheses. Researchers commonly report the quality of these measurement scales based on Cronbach’s alpha and confirmatory factor analysis results. However, these results are usually inadequate and sometimes inappropriate. Moreover, researchers rarely consider sampling errors for these psychometric quality measures. In this best practice paper, we first critically review the most frequently-used approaches in empirical studies to evaluate the quality of measurement scales when using structural equation modeling. Next, we recommend best practices in assessing reliability, convergent and discriminant validity based on multiple criteria and taking sampling errors into consideration. Then, we illustrate with numerical examples the application of a specifically-developed R package, measureQ, that provides a one-stop solution for implementing the recommended best practices and a template for reporting the results. measureQ is easy to implement, even for those new to R. Our overall aim is to provide a best-practice reference for future authors, reviewers, and editors in reporting and reviewing the quality of measurement scales in empirical management studies.

Drawing on broaden-and-build theory and threat-rigidity hypothesis, we theorized and tested a multilevel model to examine the moderating effects of transformational leadership (TFL) on the team-level process that links positive/negative group affective tone (PGAT/NGAT) to team innovation via information elaboration. Data were collected from 299 team members and 65 leaders from Taiwanese companies at two time points. The multilevel path analysis demonstrated support for a positive indirect effect of PGAT on team innovation via information elaboration and a negative indirect effect of NGAT on team innovation via information elaboration. The positive indirect effect of PGAT on team innovation via information elaboration was found to be stronger when TFL was high rather than low. However, TFL did not attenuate the negative effects of NGAT. Negative group affective tone was negatively related to information elaboration when TFL was high, whereas NGAT had no significant relationship with information elaboration when TFL was low. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Social dominance orientation (SDO) is a widely researched construct that indexes a preference for hierarchical intergroup relations. However, it remains unclear whether this preference (a) motivates people to seek out occupations that enhance hierarchical relations between groups (i.e., occupational assortment), (b) develops as a result of working within hierarchy-enhancing occupations (i.e., occupational socialization), or (c) both. One reason for this gap is that the large-scale longitudinal data required to simultaneously model assortment and socialization processes are scarce. In this study, we analyzed data from two waves of longitudinal data (spaced either 1, 3, or 5 years apart) from a nationwide sample of adults ( N = 3,452–4,412) who were already working in either hierarchy-enhancing occupations (e.g., law enforcement) or hierarchy-attenuating occupations (e.g., social work). Results showed that SDO predicted an increased probability of working in a hierarchy-enhancing occupation 3 and 5 years later. Working in a hierarchy-enhancing occupation was also positively associated with SDO after 1 and 5 years. These patterns generally suggest that occupations both shape, and are shaped by, intergroup beliefs.

PurposeThis study aims to examine two individual dispositions, propensity to trust and reciprocation wariness, as antecedents of team–member exchange (TMX) and how shared leadership moderates these relationships. It also investigates work engagement as a consequence of TMX.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from 175 employees in 42 teams; a multilevel random slope model was used to test the moderating effect of shared leadership at the team level and across levels.FindingsShared leadership provides a boundary condition for the relationships from propensity to trust and reciprocation wariness to work engagement through TMX. At the individual level, the positive effects of propensity to trust and negative effects of reciprocation wariness on TMX, and their indirect effects on work engagement through TMX, were weaker at higher shared leadership. At the team level, the positive relationship between propensity to trust and TMX was unconditional on shared leadership, whereas the relationship between reciprocation wariness and TMX was moderated by shared leadership. At the team level, shared leadership had positive effects on TMX and work engagement.Practical implicationsManagers can adopt shared leadership to encourage social exchanges among team members to enhance TMX and work engagement.Originality/valueThe study extends the TMX research by investigating dispositions as antecedents and work engagement as a consequence at both individual and team levels. It also identifies the moderating role played by team-level shared leadership, which provides a strong situation supporting reciprocal interactions.

PurposeThe growing instability of the labor market will almost certainly result in more employees whose values misfit with their organization’s. This paper draws from the exit-neglect-voice-loyalty model to examine a broader range of responses to misfit; explores sociopolitical resources as the mechanisms through which misfit transmits its effects and investigates job mobility as a boundary condition enhancing or constraining responses to misfit.Design/methodology/approachA novel model (N = 152 New Zealand employees) examined links from misfit to two sociopolitical resources (perceived influence and organizational responsiveness) and from these to exit-neglect-voice-loyalty moderated by job mobility. Supplemental analyses examine moderated-mediation.FindingsMisfit negatively predicted both sociopolitical resources, perceived influence and organizational responsiveness. Moderated-mediation analyses showed that the constructive reactions to misfit (voice and loyalty) were predicted conditionally at low levels of job mobility and indirectly via the respective sociopolitical resources. In contrast, destructive reactions to misfit (exit and neglect) were predicted directly, with neglect predicted at high levels of job mobility.Research limitations/implicationsImplications for human resource practitioners highlight the deleterious repercussions of misfit but also include the conditions under which misfit employees may attempt to constructively salvage their employment relationship.Originality/valueThis study integrates a broader set of concurrent responses to misfit using the exit-neglect-voice-loyalty typology, as well as introducing sociopolitical perspectives to the literature on misfit.

Most organizational researchers understand the detrimental effects of measurement errors in testing relationships among latent variables and hence adopt structural equation modeling (SEM) to control for measurement errors. Nonetheless, many of them revert to regression-based approaches, such as moderated multiple regression (MMR), when testing for moderating and other nonlinear effects. The predominance of MMR is likely due to the limited evidence showing the superiority of latent interaction approaches over regression-based approaches combined with the previous complicated procedures for testing latent interactions. In this teaching note, we first briefly explain the latent moderated structural equations (LMS) approach, which estimates latent interaction effects while controlling for measurement errors. Then we explain the reliability-corrected single-indicator LMS (RCSLMS) approach to testing latent interactions with summated scales and correcting for measurement errors, yielding results which approximate those from LMS. Next, we report simulation results illustrating that LMS and RCSLMS outperform MMR in terms of accuracy of point estimates and confidence intervals for interaction effects under various conditions. Then, we show how LMS and RCSLMS can be implemented with Mplus, providing an example-based tutorial to demonstrate a 4-step procedure for testing a range of latent interactions, as well as the decisions at each step. Finally, we conclude with answers to some frequently asked questions when testing latent interactions. As supplementary files to support researchers, we provide a narrated PowerPoint presentation, all Mplus syntax and output files, data sets for numerical examples, and Excel files for conducting the loglikelihood values difference test and plotting the latent interaction effects.

Using a two-wave survey of 315 workers in a lean manufacturing plant, this study examines how work intensification affects employee wellbeing and how its effects may be ameliorated.It demonstrates that work intensification is transmitted into poorer wellbeing through greater emotional exhaustion. It shows that this mediation process is moderated by line-manager support, which buffers the relationship between emotional exhaustion and wellbeing. The study suggests that the health-impairing risks of high work intensity in lean settings can be reduced through better supervisory support. Ensuring that line managers have the opportunity, skills and motivation to offer good support to workers is a vital aspect of the interventions needed to counteract the health risks posed by lean production. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

PurposeChallenges of teamwork in online classes may adversely affect students’ future attitudes toward teamwork. Further, there is a concern about whether online programs foster students’ teamwork skills. To answer these questions, the purpose of this paper is to compare online and face-to-face students’ attitudes toward teamwork, interest in learning teamwork skills and teamwork self-efficacy.Design/methodology/approachThe authors developed a conceptual model explaining how students’ background, engagement in learning teamwork, teamwork self-efficacy and interest in learning teamwork affect attitudes toward teamwork and rigorously tested the model for a meaningful comparison between online and face-to-face students. Attitudes toward teamwork, teamwork interest and teamwork self-efficacy of 582 online and face-to-face students who attend the same academic program were compared.FindingsThe results suggest that online students have less positive attitudes towards teamwork compared to face-to-face students although online students have a higher level of teamwork self-efficacy. Therefore, online students’ relative less positive attitudes toward teamwork cannot be explained by the lack of engagement, teamwork skills or interest.Research limitations/implicationsThe homogeneity of the sample population is one of the limitations of the paper although it provides the opportunity for a comparative study of online and face-to-face students by controlling the majors.Practical implicationsInstructors should evaluate the appropriateness of team assignments while incorporating teamwork in online classes.Originality/valueConcerns about online teamwork are discussed but have not been rigorously investigated in the literature. The authors conducted a comprehensive study involving 582 undergraduate students. The findings of this paper suggest that new approaches are needed to incorporate teamwork in online classes. The results also show that importance of building teamwork self-efficacy.

This study tests the argument that human resource management in hotels enhances service-recovery performance and job satisfaction through empowering front-line employees to respond to service failures. After an initial phase of qualitative interviewing, dyadic data were gathered through a large-scale survey in thirty hotels in Sri Lanka. The results of structural equation modelling show that the HR practices and management styles adopted in this context help to develop job competence, which is then related to service-recovery performance and job satisfaction. However, they show that service recovery is carefully stage-managed and ‘staircased’ in this hotel context with empowerment strongly related to hierarchical level. Empowerment to address service failures is important in these hotels but it is deliberately graduated according to rank. While employee training shows benefits for both parties, greater job autonomy would enhance the well-being of these service workers.

Drawing on the job demands-resources and effort-reward imbalance models, this study investigates the mediating roles of intrinsic motivation and distributive justice in the relationships between line-manager support and employee wellbeing (job satisfaction, work engagement and physical health). Responses to a survey of 357 front-line workers in a Chinese manufacturer were analysed through structural equation modelling. We find, in this context, that line managers are a strong determinant of employee wellbeing when they foster the intrinsic motivation of employees and their perceptions of organisational justice. Such findings are helpful for our understanding of attitudes in the Chinese workforce and underline the value of analysing multiple mediating mechanisms and multiple wellbeing outcomes in human resource management-wellbeing research. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

Summary This diary study examined within-person effects of positive work and off-work experiences on daily work engagement. Assessing the gain cycle assumption of conservation of resources theory, we investigated the relationship of nighttime recovery experiences and subsequent resources including elevated sleep quality and morning positive affect; the relationship of morning positive affect with positive collegial interactions and subsequent work engagement; and the relationship of work engagement with nighttime recovery experiences. Sixty-nine employees completed 3 daily questionnaires over 5 consecutive working days. Multilevel analyses revealed that sleep quality positively predicted morning positive affect, which in turn predicted work engagement directly and also indirectly through having positive interactions with colleagues. Work engagement positively predicted nighttime recovery experiences, whereas nighttime recovery experiences were not related to sleep quality or morning positive affect the next day. Overall, on days after a good night's sleep, individuals feel more positive, bring this positivity to their workplace, reach out to their workplace colleagues, and are in turn more likely to be engaged in their work. Additionally, on days when individuals experience higher levels of positive collegial interactions at work and in turn higher work engagement, they are likely to enjoy better recovery experiences.

Summary Exploring the role of both the employee and supervisor, we tested a model of how cognition-based work-to-family conflict manifests itself in the workplace, impacting employee job success. Based on conservation of resources theory and the concept of loss spirals, we hypothesized that when an employee's work interferes with family demands, the resulting work-to-family conflict spills over to the work domain via employee emotional exhaustion. We further argued that the behavioral manifestation of employee emotional exhaustion in the workplace is low employee engagement, as assessed by the supervisor. Drawing on signaling theory, we proposed that supervisor assessments of employee engagement are related to promotability, performance ratings, and salary. Work scheduling autonomy, as a boundary condition, is examined as a resource that attenuates these relationships. Data collected from 192 employee–supervisor dyads of a Fortune 1000 company, as well as performance ratings and salary obtained from company records 9 months later, indicated support for our conceptual model. Future research examining employee work–family conflict and job outcomes is discussed. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Despite the increasing popularity of studying higher-level constructs in organizational research in recent years, few empirical studies have clarified the conceptual, measurement, and statistical p...

Background Many registered nurses (RNs) increased their participation in the New Zealand health workforce during the Global Financial Crisis (GFC), resulting in low vacancy rates. However, based on the documented impact of improving economies, a mean RN age of about 50, and just-agreed substantive increases in RN pay rates, it is likely that many will soon leave or reduce the hours they work. This study aims to investigate whether improved financial security will encourage RNs to leave or reduce their work commitment and to identify the factors that influence such intentions. Methods An exploratory study using a cross-sectional survey design. Data were collected in 2014-2015 via an e-survey of 2,910 RNs in New Zealand. Data were analysed by regression. Results We found that due to “burnout” and low “work engagement”, both of which are strongly affected by workload and work-life interference, 22.6% of the RNs surveyed plan to leave work altogether and a further 32% plan to reduce their workforce participation when their financial situations improve. Conclusions The findings justify the urgent cooperative development, implementation and evaluation of a comprehensive suite of RN ‘retention’ measures involving national nursing organisations, the RN regulator and health system employers and funders.

Currently, the most popular analytical method for testing moderated mediation is the regression approach, which is based on observed variables and assumes no measurement error. It is generally acknowledged that measurement errors result in biased estimates of regression coefficients. What has drawn relatively less attention is that the confidence intervals produced by regression are also biased when the variables are measured with errors. Therefore, we extend the latent moderated structural equations (LMS) method—which corrects for measurement errors when estimating latent interaction effects—to the study of the moderated mediation of latent variables. Simulations were conducted to compare the regression approach and the LMS approach. The results show that the LMS method produces accurate estimated effects and confidence intervals. By contrast, regression not only substantially underestimates the effects but also produces inaccurate confidence intervals. It is likely that the statistically significant moderated mediation effects that have been reported in previous studies using regression include biased estimated effects and confidence intervals that do not include the true values.

Aims To develop a comprehensive model of nursing turnover intention by examining the effects of job demands, job resources, personal demands and personal resources on burnout and work engagement and subsequently on the intention to leave the organization and profession. Background The ageing population and a growing prevalence of multimorbidity are placing increasing strain on an ageing nursing workforce. Solutions that address the anticipated nursing shortage should focus on reducing burnout and enhancing the engagement of Registered Nurses (RNs) to improve retention. Design A cross-sectional survey design. Method Data were collected in 2014–2015 via an e-survey from 2,876 RNs working in New Zealand. Data were analysed with structural equation modelling. Results Higher engagement results in lower intention to leave the organization and profession. Burnout has significant effects on intentions to leave through lower engagement. While most of the demands and resources’ variables (except professional development) have effects on intentions to leave, greater workload and greater work-life interference result in higher burnout and are the strongest predictors of intentions to leave. Greater emotional demands (challenges) and greater self-efficacy also have strong effects in lowering intentions to leave through higher engagement. Conclusions Employee burnout and work engagement play an important role in transmitting the impacts of job demands, job resources, personal demands and personal resources into RN intention to leave the organization and profession. Work-life interference and high workloads are major threats to nursing retention while challenge demands and higher levels of self-efficacy support better retention.

Measurement equivalence/invariance (ME/I) is a condition that should be met before meaningful comparisons of survey results across groups can be made. As an alternative to the likelihood ratio test...

The realization of within-person daily variations in some psychological constructs along with the fact that relationships among these constructs across longer periods may be different from daily re...

Research on employee reactions to misfit–the misalignment of values between people and organizations–has largely emphasized intentions to quit or actual turnover, yet recent evidence suggests this ...

A simulation of over one million samples from 5,184 population parameters was conducted to examine the performance of fit indices and rules of thumb in evaluating model fit. Results recommend a two...

Recent development in the area of measurement equivalence/invariance (ME/I) has promoted the prevalence of ME/I in organizational research. However, several questions concerning the practice of ME/...

Despite the popularity of the congruence construct (similarity, fit, and agreement) in organizational theories, the operationalization of congruence and the appropriate methods to analyze it have concerned many researchers. A structural equation modeling-based latent congruence model (LCM) that operationalizes congruence as the mean and difference of the component measures has recently been introduced. The LCM provides a simple analytical framework for examining the measurement equivalence of the component measures and for conducting congruence analysis and component analysis. The objective of this note is to highlight the similarities and differences between the LCM and the polynomial regression (PR) approach to studying congruence. The major difference is that the LCM considers congruence and its components as distinctive constructs, and therefore they can be used to answer different research questions. The determination of which constructs and analytical approach to use should be based on the theory and research hypotheses that answer the research question. Indeed, because LCM provides a simple framework for both congruence analysis and component analysis, researchers are encouraged to answer their research questions from both perspectives.

Recent developments in the literature provide us with a better understanding of the importance of and procedures for testing measurement equivalence in organizational research. However, whereas many constructs in organizational research are multidimensional and multifaceted, procedures for testing the measurement equivalence of higher-order constructs are not commonly known. This study first discusses the importance of examining the measurement equivalence of higher-order constructs from a theoretical perspective, and then demonstrates that importance with a small-scale simulation. Finally, the procedures for testing various forms of measurement equivalence with structural equation modeling for both firstand second-order constructs are clarified and illustrated with a numerical example.

A structural equation modeling—based latent congruence model (LCM) is developed for studying congruence in organizational research. Numerical examples are used to demonstrate that the LCM offers many advantages over the current approaches (difference scores, profile similarity indices, and polynomial regression) to studying congruence. The LCM can (a) control for measurement errors by specifying the congruence of latent variables, (b) examine measurement equivalence across the component measures, (c) examine the antecedents and consequences of both the mean (absolute level) and difference (congruence) of two component measures simultaneously, (d) study both congruence and components by decomposing the congruence measures into component measures, and (e) examine complex congruence models that include multiple congruence measures as antecedents and/or consequences.

Because of the importance of mediation studies, researchers have been continuously searching for the best statistical test for mediation effect. The approaches that have been most commonly employed include those that use zero-order and partial correlation, hierarchical regression models, and structural equation modeling (SEM). This study extends MacKinnon and colleagues (MacKinnon, Lockwood, Hoffmann, West, & Sheets, 2002; MacKinnon, Lockwood, & Williams, 2004, MacKinnon, Warsi, & Dwyer, 1995) works by conducting a simulation that examines the distribution of mediation and suppression effects of latent variables with SEM, and the properties of confidence intervals developed from eight different methods. Results show that SEM provides unbiased estimates of mediation and suppression effects, and that the bias-corrected bootstrap confidence intervals perform best in testing for mediation and suppression effects. Steps to implement the recommended procedures with Amos are presented.

Two-level data sets are frequently encountered in social and behavioral science research. They arise when observations are drawn from a known hierarchical structure, as when individuals are randomly drawn from groups that are randomly drawn from a target population. When the covariance structures in the group level and the individual level are the same, standard structural equation modeling software such as LISREL can be used easily to analyze 2-level data sets. However, if the data set consists of variables that have group-level characteristics, LISREL cannot be used in a straightforward manner to implement the analysis of structural equation models that have different structures at the group and individual level. This article illustrates how 2-level structural equation models with additional group-level variables, and hence different structures at the group and individual levels, can be analyzed by LISREL with appropriate settings. A small-scale simulation study was conducted to examine the performance ...

Current cross-cultural comparisons in hospitality and tourism research are largely based on differences in simple average scores. This method assumes equal weights for the items and hence fails to address cross-cultural differences in the relative importance of each attribute in comprising the overall evaluation. In this study, a comparison between United States customers and Hong Kong customers in restaurant service expectations is used to demonstrate that latent variable scores are more appropriate than simple average scores for cross-cultural comparisons. The two samples demonstrate differences in relative importance for some items measuring restaurant service expectations. By calculating the latent variable score both with and without factorial invariance, researchers can decompose cross-cultural differences into a component due to item responses, and a second component due to unequal item-construct relationships. It is demonstrated that meaningful cross-cultural comparisons are possible only when noninvariant items are carefully examined.

A structured telephone reference check (STRC) was developed to assess three job-relevant personality/interpersonal dimensions (Conscientiousness, Agreeableness, customer focus) for a family of entry-level, customer-contact jobs within a service organization. The procedure was designed to be brief (a 10–15 minute telephone call with each referee) and easy to administer by untrained recruitment staff. Confirmatory factor analyses on referee ratings for 223 applicants indicated that referees were able to adequately discriminate between dimensions of applicants' past performance. A predictive, criterion-related validation study on those applicants who were hired demonstrated that the STRC predicted supervisory ratings of job performance (r= .25, p < .01, uncorrected; .36 corrected for range restriction and criterion unreliability). No evidence was found that referees with shorter working relationships with applicants provided less valid ratings.

The present study reviews the methodologies used in cross-cultural advertising studies. We examine published cross-cultural advertising studies in eighteen journals between 1980 and 1999 in terms of topic studied, countries/cultures selected, research design, data equivalence and reliability check, as well as analytical techniques used. Results show that although significant methodological improvements have been made in cross-cultural advertising studies over the past two decades, recent studies are still suffering from a number of methodological limitations, such as the lack of theoretical guidelines in selecting culture/country, non-representativeness in sampling, and problems in establishing construct and metric equivalence. Recommendations are suggested to advance the quality of cross-cultural advertising studies.

Measurement invariance is usually tested using Multigroup Confirmatory Factor Analysis, which examines the change in the goodness-of-fit index (GFI) when cross-group constraints are imposed on a measurement model. Although many studies have examined the properties of GFI as indicators of overall model fit for single-group data, there have been none to date that examine how GFIs change when between-group constraints are added to a measurement model. The lack of a consensus about what constitutes significant GFI differences places limits on measurement invariance testing. We examine 20 GFIs based on the minimum fit function. A simulation under the two-group situation was used to examine changes in the GFIs (ΔGFIs) when invariance constraints were added. Based on the results, we recommend using Δcomparative fit index, ΔGamma hat, and ΔMcDonald's Noncentrality Index to evaluate measurement invariance. These three ΔGFIs are independent of both model complexity and sample size, and are not correlated with the o...

Moderated multiple regression (MMR) is the most frequently employed analytical method for testing for interaction effects in non-experimental studies. Previous studies have identified many methodol...

Since Campbell and Fiske (1959) defined convergent validity and discriminant validity, the tests for convergent validity and discriminant validity have evolved from checking the “high” and “low” co...

Although studies have demonstrated a positive relationship between work engagement and performance, research needs to more fully explore the network of linkages involving the antecedents and conseq...

The fit between a structural equation model and a data set is operationalized as the value of goodness-of-fit indices. The discrepancy between the estimated value and the value indicating perfect fit has three sources: misspecification, error arising from theoretical parsimony in the description of the model (parsimony error), and sampling error. Misspecification, which represents a disparity between “realworld” relationships and relationships in the model, is the most important source of error for researchers. It cannot be accurately assessed, however, unless parsimony error and sampling error are taken into account. Parsimony error occurs in measurement models when secondary relationships are excluded. Secondary relationships are defined here as secondary factor loadings and error term correlations that have small values, no theoretical bases, and no substantive meaning. A simulation was conducted to examine the effects of parsimony error on perfect measurement models and to establish appropriate criteria for model fit when parsimony error is present.

Many statistical techniques were originally invented for the purpose of making comparisons between and among groups of entities. Not surprisingly, difficulties arise when the entities are human bei...

Extreme response styles (ERS) and acquiescence response styles (ARS) may constitute important sources of cross-cultural differences on survey-type instruments. Differences in ERS and ARS, if undetected, may give rise to spurious results that do not reflect genuine differences in attitudes or perceptions. Multiple-group confirmatory factor analysis is recommended as the most effective method of testing for ERS and ARS and determining whether cultural groups can be meaningfully compared on the basis of factor (latent) means. A detailed numerical example is provided.

The present study reviews the methodologies used in recent cross-cultural consumer studies. We examine published cross-cultural consumer studies in nineteen journals between 1991 and 1996 in terms ...

The present study explored the relationship between cultural norms and customers’ expectations for service by means of a pancultural factor model of restaurant service expectations. A survey instrument was developed in a three-stage process using input generated from focus groups in both the United States and Hong Kong. The service encounter was the level of measure and the instrument emphasized the behavioral components of service. Data were collected from comparable samples in the United States and Hong Kong. A six-dimensional model of service expectations was generated. Subsequent analyses indicated that the two groups differed significantly in their assessments of importance for each of the six dimensions. The results provide meaningful implications for managing service quality and training customer contact employees.

Self-other ratings disagreement (S-ORD) is the extent to which one's self-rating of performance differs from ratings made by Other people (e.g., supervisors). As increasing number of organizations adopt self-assessment as a tool for managing performance, S-ORD is becoming a central concern in performance appraisal research. Most past research, however, only examines S-ORD in terms of the levels of ratings, and ignores other forms of disagreement. This paper identifies 7 different forms of S-ORD that are detectable through the use of confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The causes for each form of S-ORD are discussed, as well as its conceptual and practical implications. The procedure is illustrated by comparing 332 managers' self-evaluations with their supervisors' evaluations. An extension of the CFA model to a full structural equation model is used to illustrate and discuss the fragmentary nature of existing approaches to S-ORD. It is shown that valid inferences concerning S-ORD cannot be made unless various forms of S-ORD, and not merely the differences in overall ratings, are detected and dealt with.

Many cross-cultural researchers are concerned with factorial invariance; that is, with whether or not members of different cultures associate survey items, or similar measures, with similar constructs. Researchers usually test items for factorial invariance using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). CFA, however, poses certain problems that must be dealt with. Primary among them is standardization, the process that assigns units of measurement to the constructs (latent variables). Two standardization procedures and several minor variants have been reported in the literature, but using these procedures when testing for factorial invariance can lead to inaccurate results. In this paper we review basic theory, and propose an extension of Byrne, Shavelson, and Muthgn’s (1989) procedure for identifying non-invariant items. The extended procedure solves the standardization problem by performing a systematic comparison of all pairs of factor loadings across groups. A numerical example based upon a large published data set is presented to illustrate the utility of the new procedure, particularly with regard to partial factorial invariance.

Managerial values in the three regions that form Greater China — Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the People's Republic of China (PRC) — were compared. It is posited that in addition to Confucian philosophy, political and economic systems also have significant effects on the values of Chinese managers. Results show that despite the economic integration in Greater China, managerial values have yet to be unified. Managers in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the PRC are convergent in collectivism and uncertainty avoidance. On the other hand, managers in the PRC demonstrated higher power distance and less concern about deadlines and plans than in managers Hong Kong and Taiwan. Materialism is also greater in the PRC and Hong Kong than in Taiwan.

Comparing different groups (e.g., cultures, age cohorts) using survey-type instruments raises the question of factorial invariance, that is, whether or not members of different groups ascribe the same meanings to survey items. This article attempts to advance multi-group research by (a) providing a concise summary of the factorial invariance problem, (b) proposing a simplified notation intended to facilitate discussion of the problem, and (c) suggesting a structured approach for testing large models. This procedure is illustrated using an extended example. Two computer programs designed to make the recommended procedures less laborious are offered.

Confirmatory factor analysis is used to test for measurement artifacts in study of self-appraisal accuracy, including nonequivalent conceptualization of performance and dissimilar psychometric prop...

Researchers who use survey-type instruments to perform cross-cultural studies are frequently confronted with factorial non-invariance. This situation arises when the same set of items is used to measure a construct in different cultures, but the relationships between the items and the construct differ significantly across cultures. These (non-invariant) items are usually eliminated or ignored when calculating an index value representing the level of the construct. This paper proposes that under certain conditions non-invariant items ought to be retained, since they may constitute the only sources of information concerning cross-cultural differences. A new procedure is described that decomposes a cross-cultural difference into a component due to item responses, and a second component due to unequal item-construct relationships. A numerical example based upon a large published data set is presented, and the results of the new procedure are compared with those obtained using simple summated scores and regression-weighted factor scores.

Using Goffman’s (1959) original dramaturgical theory of self-presentation, we argue that the effectiveness of impression management (IM) usage can only be determined when ratings from both the actor and the audience are considered. To test our arguments, we employ congruence analysis (Cheung, 2009). Our approach differs from the majority of extant IM research that employs measures of IM only from the actor’s perspective. By incorporating assessments from the actor and the audience, we bring research on IM back to its theoretical roots and offer a rationale for the varied and inconsistent findings reported in the literature. Using a sample of 170 employees and their supervisors, we examine and compare IM ratings of subordinates’ ingratiation, self-promotion, and exemplification from both the employee and supervisor. Additionally, we investigate the ability of those ratings, individually and together, to predict both subordinate and supervisor ratings of key organizational outcomes. Implications for practic...