Brian G. Whitaker

The Development and Validation of a New Machiavellianism Scale

A new measure of Machiavellianism, the Machiavellian Personality Scale (MPS), was developed and validated over two studies. Machiavellianism is conceptualized as ones propensity to distrust others, engage in amoral manipulation, seek control over others, and seek status for oneself. Study 1 developed and tested the factor structure of the scale, whereas Study 2 provided evidence for the convergent, divergent, and criterion-related validity of the MPS. The results of these studies supported the a priori factor structure of the MPS and indicated that it is a valid predictor of such outcomes as job satisfaction, task performance, and counterproductive work behaviors.

The Development of a Feedback Environment and Role Clarity Model of Job Performance

Researchers have recently begun recognizing the impact of contextual factors on important organizational outcomes. This study, involving 170 subordinate-supervisor dyads, develops a model that demonstrates that subordinates who perceive a supportive feedback environment display increased feedback seeking, higher role clarity, and higher performance ratings. Furthermore, the results show that effort costs moderated the relationship between the coworker feedback environment and feedback seeking from coworkers. Implications are discussed.

Linking Feedback Quality and Goal Orientation to Feedback Seeking and Job Performance

Contemporary feedback researchers have adopted theoretical perspectives in which personal characteristics interact with aspects of the feedback environment to influence feedback-related perceptions, feedback seeking, and job performance. To test these assertions, this study incorporates implicit person theory, uncertainty reduction theory, and Kormans theory of work motivation (2001) to develop a model that links a critical aspect of the feedback environment (feedback quality) and goal orientation to perceptions of feedback utility, feedback seeking, role clarity, and task performance and organizational citizenship behaviors. Results from supervisor–subordinate dyadic data (N = 202) obtained from employed students largely support the hypothesized model. Implications are discussed.

Internet-based attitude assessment: does gender affect measurement equivalence?

As researchers and practitioners increasingly turn to the Internet as a data collection medium, investigating the differential effects of administration mode on data quality becomes increasingly important. To date, no research has investigated whether data gathered from differing subgroups demonstrate measurement equivalence across Internet and paper-and-pencil administration modes despite the large literature suggesting that males and females differ in terms of computer anxiety. The present study, employing a repeated measures design, investigated systematic cross-mode differences in responding as a function of gender. Results demonstrate that both sexes use the same psychological metric when providing satisfaction ratings regardless of Internet or paper-and-pencil administration (equivalent factor structure and factor loadings). Furthermore, there were no statistically significant differences in scale/item means over the modes of administration according to gender. These results suggest that gender does not lead to a negative impact on cross-mode measurement equivalence for self-report ratings.

The Influence of Autonomy and Supervisor Political Skill on the Use and Consequences of Peer Intimidation in Organizations

Based on social influence theory, we develop a model in which the use of peer intimidation by Machiavellian employees results in greater promotability ratings by supervisors. However, consistent with interdependence theory, we expect that this process is qualified by job autonomy and the political skill of the supervisor making the promotability rating. Based on a sample of 204 supervisor–subordinate dyads, we find that peer intimidation mediates the Machiavellianism–promotability relationship when supervisor political skill is low rather than high, and when job autonomy is high rather than low, thereby yielding a pattern of moderated mediation, and supporting the hypotheses. These results suggest that job autonomy and supervisor political skill represent key interdependent mechanisms that regulate the effectiveness of social influence attempts made with intimidation in organizations.

Assessing the measurement invariance of latent job satisfaction ratings across survey administration modes for respondent subgroups: a MIMIC modeling approach.

To date, many studies have assessed the measurement invariance of a wide variety of measures across Internet and paper-and-pencil conditions; however a relative dearth exists in the literature investigating measurement invariance across administration modes for differing subgroups of respondents. Using MIMIC modeling, this study assessed whether gender and age of the respondent systematically influenced responding according to administration mode above and beyond measurement invariance. Consistent with past research, this study demonstrated that job satisfaction ratings were indeed measurement invariant across Internet and paper-and-pencil conditions, however, older respondents tend to differentially rate job satisfaction according to administration mode. Implications are discussed.

Linking spirituality and values to personal initiative through psychological empowerment

To answer calls by organizational scholars for empirical works examining the important individual and contextual antecedents of personal initiative, we develop and test a model in which spirituality and alignment with organizational spiritual values result in greater personal initiative ratings by supervisors through the mediating effects of psychological empowerment. Results from supervisor–subordinate dyadic data (N = 150) obtained from employed MBA students indicated that psychological empowerment partially mediates the influence of spirituality on personal initiative and fully mediates the relationship between organizational spiritual values alignment and personal initiative. These results suggest that spirituality and organizational spiritual values alignment represent key antecedents of personal initiative and that psychological empowerment is an important intermediary of these links. Implications are discussed.

Linking the feedback environment to feedback seeking through perceptions of organizational support and job involvement

The burgeoning literature on the feedback environment has begun to link this important construct to many relevant employee behaviors and attitudes. However, the underlying mechanisms linking the feedback environment to feedback seeking are not well understood. To address these gaps in the literature, this study integrates organizational support theory, the norm of reciprocity, and current empirical research to develop and test a model explicating this link. Data obtained from 202 supervisor-subordinate dyads indicated that perceived organizational support and job involvement play important roles in linking the feedback environment to supervisorreported feedback seeking behavior.

When can feedback-seeking behavior result in a better performance rating? Investigating the moderating role of political skill

ABSTRACT Feedback-seeking behavior is generally used to acquire job-related information that enables performance improvement. However, it can also be a form of impression management that improves an employee’s reputation. In this study, we show that employees who hold an image enhancement motive are more likely to seek feedback from their supervisors. Further, this feedback-seeking behavior mediates the relationship between the image enhancement motive and task performance ratings, consistent with the self-concept enhancing tactician (SCENT) model. However, we additionally incorporate socioanalytic theory to demonstrate that this indirect effect is moderated: the image enhancement motive translates into greater feedback-seeking behavior and task performance ratings only for employees with high political skill, who are capable of acting on their image enhancement motive successfully.

Does social justice knowledge matter? Education for sustainable development and student attitudes

Recent conjecture on the potential primacy of physical environmental components in education for sustainable development (ESD) efforts serves to question the centrality of social justice education as a component of ESD. This research explores a sustainable development student’s basic knowledge of social justice conditions in their country of residence and its relationships to policy attitudes that should be of importance to ESD, including beliefs about the importance of corporate social responsibility, their endorsement of gross national product as an effective measure of progress, their overall assessment of the social fairness of current national social justice policy, and their endorsement of the goals of Occupy Wall Street. Results obtained using path-model hypothesis testing indicate that accuracy of knowledge of US standing on social justice issues is significantly related to these policy attitudes, providing support for social justice content in ESD endeavors to create students empowered for engagement in broader policy goals.