Alex L. Rubenstein

The Other Side of Method Bias: The Perils of Distinct Source Research Designs

Common source bias has been the focus of much attention. To minimize the problem, researchers have sometimes been advised to take measurements of predictors from one observer and measurements of outcomes from another observer or to use separate occasions of measurement. We propose that these efforts to eliminate biases due to common source variance create serious problems. To demonstrate the problems of using what we term the “distinct sources” measurement design, we provide an integrative review of the literature regarding both contamination and deficiency of measures. Building on this theme, the article uses simulated data to demonstrate how using data from distinct observers or occasions of measurement can distort estimates of predictor importance at least as much as common source variance. Alternative multisource designs are advocated and examined for tractability by simulating various numbers of observations and sources in the research design.

What’s Past (and Present) Is Prologue: Interactions Between Justice Levels and Trajectories Predicting Behavioral Reciprocity

Much of organizational justice research has tended to take a static approach, linking employees’ contemporaneous justice levels to outcomes of interest. In the present study, we tested a dynamic model emphasizing the interactive influences of both justice levels and trajectories for predicting behavioral social exchange outcomes. Specifically, our model posited both main effects and interactions between present justice levels and past justice changes over time in predicting helping behavior and voluntary turnover behavior. Data over four yearly measurement periods from 4,348 employees of a banking organization generally supported the notion that justice trajectories interact with absolute levels to predict both outcomes. Together, the findings highlight how employees invoke present fairness evaluations within the context of past fairness trends—rather than either in isolation—to inform decisions about behaviorally reciprocating at work.

Looking Beyond the Trees: A Meta-Analysis and Integration of Voluntary Turnover Research

More than two decades have passed since Griffeth, Hom, & Gaertner (2000) published the last comprehensive meta-analysis of voluntary turnover. Considering the criticality of voluntary turnover as a...