David A. Hofmann

Centering Decisions in Hierarchical Linear Models: Implications for Research in Organizations

Organizational researchers are increasingly interested in model ing the multilevel nature of organizational data. Although most organi zational researchers have chosen to investigate these models using traditional Ordinary Least Squares approaches, hierarchical linear models (i.e., random coefficient models) recently have been receiving increased attention. One of the key questions in using hierarchical linear models is how a researcher chooses to scale the Level-1 indepen dent variables (e.g., raw metric, grand mean centering, group mean centering), because it directly influences the interpretation of both the level-1 and level-2 parameters. Several scaling options are reviewed and discussed in light of four paradigms of multilevellcross-level research in organizational science: incremental (i.e., group variables add incremental prediction to individual level outcomes over and above individual level predictors), mediational (i.e., the influence of group level variables on individual outcomes are mediated...

Climate as a moderator of the relationship between leader-member exchange and content specific citizenship: Safety climate as an exemplar

The present study integrates role theory, social exchange, organizational citizenship, and climate research to suggest that employees will reciprocate implied obligations of leadership-based social exchange (e.g., leader-member exchange [LMX]) by expanding their role and behaving in ways consistent with contextual behavioral expectations (e.g., work group climate). Using safety climate as an exemplar, the authors found that the relationship between LMX and subordinate safety citizenship role definitions was moderated by safety climate. In summary, high-quality LMX relationships resulted in expanded safety citizenship role definitions when there was a positive safety climate and there was no such expansion under less positive safety climates. The authors also found that safety citizenship role definitions were significantly related to safety citizenship behavior. Implications for both social exchange theory and safety research are discussed.

Safety-related behavior as a social exchange: The role of perceived organizational support and leader-member exchange

Researchers have been giving increased attention to the role larger organizational variables play in safety and accidents. Although generally neglected by this research, the nature of the exchange relationships between individuals, leaders, and the organization appears to have safety-related implications. The present research linked leader-member exchange (LMX) and perceived organizational support (POS) to safety communication, safety commitment, and accidents. Data were collected from 49 supervisor-group-leader dyads in a manufacturing facility. The results indicated that POS was significantly related to safety communication and that LMX was significantly related to safety communication, safety commitment, and accidents. Support was also found for a structural model linking POS and LMX to safety communication, safety commitment, and accidents. Implications of these findings for safety and social exchange research are outlined.

High reliability process industries: Individual, micro, and macro organizational influences on safety performance.

Within the process industries (e.g., chemical and nuclear power plants), safety is of paramount importance. Although there has been much research investigating safety issues in these industries, the current paper reviews and integrates literature pertaining to individual, micro organizational, and macro organizational influences on safety. This paper can serve as a starting point for continued consideration of the influences of social-organizational factors on safety.

Leadership, Collective Personality, and Performance

By viewing behavior regularities at the individual and collective level as functionally isomorphic, a referent-shift compositional model for the Big 5 personality dimensions is developed. On the basis of this compositional model, a common measure of Big 5 personality at the individual level is applied to the collective as a whole. Within this framework, it is also hypothesized that leadership (i.e., transformational, transactional, and passive) would predict collective personality and that collective personality would be significantly related to collective performance. The results supported these hypotheses using a sample of franchised units. On the basis of recent research at the individual level, several interactions among the various personality dimensions were hypothesized and supported. Implications are discussed.

Using hierarchical linear modeling to investigate the moderating influence of leadership climate

When confronted with multilevel data, e.g., when individuals are nested within work groups, hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) [Bryk, A. S., & Raudenbush, S. W. (1992). Hierarchical linear models. Newbury Park, CA: SAGE Publications.] can provide a powerful analytical approach. Using the common data set and the theoretical framework presented in the introductory paper as a foundation, we begin by providing a brief introduction to the HLM analytical framework and describe the basic HLM model. Next, we develop a set of hypotheses concerning relationships among task significance, leadership climate, and hostility both within and across levels of analysis. We then describe and test a series of HLM models designed to investigate these hypotheses. Finally, we conclude with a brief discussion of the interpretation and implications of the results as well as the benefits of HLM in the context of multilevel modeling.

Dynamic criteria and the measurement of change.

The question of whether work performance criteria are dynamic has been addressed by applied psychologists for many years. Despite this attention, we have few definitive answers. This article provides both theoretical and methodological arguments for refocusing investigations into dynamic criteria toward the study of intraindividual change and interindividual differences in intraindividual change. A longitudinal sample of insurance sales personnels performance is used to demonstrate that systematic time trends are present at the individual level and that there are interindividual differences in these change patterns

It’s Not All About Me Motivating Hand Hygiene Among Health Care Professionals by Focusing on Patients

Diseases often spread in hospitals because health care professionals fail to wash their hands. Research suggests that to increase health and safety behaviors, it is important to highlight the personal consequences for the actor. However, because people (and health care professionals in particular) tend to be overconfident about personal immunity, the most effective messages about hand hygiene may be those that highlight its consequences for other people. In two field experiments in a hospital, we compared the effectiveness of signs about hand hygiene that emphasized personal safety (“Hand hygiene prevents you from catching diseases”) or patient safety (“Hand hygiene prevents patients from catching diseases”). We assessed hand hygiene by measuring the amount of soap and hand-sanitizing gel used from dispensers (Experiment 1) and conducting covert, independent observations of health care professionals’ hand-hygiene behaviors (Experiment 2). Results showed that changing a single word in messages motivated meaningful changes in behavior: The hand hygiene of health care professionals increased significantly when they were reminded of the implications for patients but not when they were reminded of the implications for themselves.

The Impact of Time at Work and Time Off From Work on Rule Compliance: The Case of Hand Hygiene in Health Care

To deliver high-quality, reliable, and consistent services safely, organizations develop professional standards. Despite the communication and reinforcement of these standards, they are often not followed consistently. Although previous research suggests that high job demands are associated with declines in compliance over lengthy intervals, we hypothesized-drawing on theoretical arguments focused on fatigue and depletion-that the impact of job demands on routine compliance with professional standards might accumulate much more quickly. To test this hypothesis, we studied a problem that represents one of the most significant compliance challenges in health care today: hand hygiene. Using longitudinal field observations of over 4,157 caregivers working in 35 different hospitals and experiencing more than 13.7 million hand hygiene opportunities, we found that hand hygiene compliance rates dropped by a regression-estimated 8.7 percentage points on average from the beginning to the end of a typical 12-hr work shift. This decline in compliance was magnified by increased work intensity. Further, longer breaks between work shifts increased subsequent compliance rates, and such benefits were greater for individuals when they had ended their preceding shift with a lower compliance rate. In addition, (a) the decline in compliance over the course of a work shift and (b) the improvement in compliance following a longer break increased as individuals accumulated more total work hours the preceding week. The implications of these findings for patient safety and job design are discussed.

Determining the predictors of innovation implementation in healthcare: A quantitative analysis of implementation effectiveness

BackgroundThe failure rates for implementing complex innovations in healthcare organizations are high. Estimates range from 30% to 90% depending on the scope of the organizational change involved, the definition of failure, and the criteria to judge it. The innovation implementation framework offers a promising approach to examine the organizational factors that determine effective implementation. To date, the utility of this framework in a healthcare setting has been limited to qualitative studies and/or group level analyses. Therefore, the goal of this study was to quantitatively examine this framework among individual participants in the National Cancer Institute’s Community Clinical Oncology Program using structural equation modeling.MethodsWe examined the innovation implementation framework using structural equation modeling (SEM) among 481 physician participants in the National Cancer Institute’s Community Clinical Oncology Program (CCOP). The data sources included the CCOP Annual Progress Reports, surveys of CCOP physician participants and administrators, and the American Medical Association Physician Masterfile.ResultsOverall the final model fit well. Our results demonstrated that not only did perceptions of implementation climate have a statistically significant direct effect on implementation effectiveness, but physicians’ perceptions of implementation climate also mediated the relationship between organizational implementation policies and practices (IPP) and enrollment (p <0.05). In addition, physician factors such as CCOP PI status, age, radiological oncologists, and non-oncologist specialists significantly influenced enrollment as well as CCOP organizational size and structure, which had indirect effects on implementation effectiveness through IPP and implementation climate.ConclusionsOverall, our results quantitatively confirmed the main relationship postulated in the innovation implementation framework between IPP, implementation climate, and implementation effectiveness among individual physicians. This finding is important, as although the model has been discussed within healthcare organizations before, the studies have been predominately qualitative in nature and/or at the organizational level. In addition, our findings have practical applications. Managers looking to increase implementation effectiveness of an innovation should focus on creating an environment that physicians perceive as encouraging implementation. In addition, managers should consider instituting specific organizational IPP aimed at increasing positive perceptions of implementation climate. For example, IPP should include specific expectations, support, and rewards for innovation use.