Keith Hattrup

The effects of varying conceptualizations of job performance on adverse impact, minority hiring, and predicted performance.

The present research explored the effects of various strategies of weighting criterion dimensions on adverse impact, minority hiring, and job performance. In particular, this research compared strategies that vary the weight of task and contextual performance dimensions in calculating a composite criterion measure, in terms of their effects on regression weights assigned to predictors and effects on adverse impact, percentage of minorities hired, and predicted performance. With a Monte Carlo simulation based on meta-analytic evidence of multiple predictor and criterion relationships, the authors illustrate how organizations might think through the consequences of varying conceptualizations of job performance in selection contexts. Approaches that simultaneously increase aggregate predicted job performa.nce and reduce adverse impact are described and illustrated.

An evaluation of the cross-national generalizability of organizational commitment

Using data from two large multinational samples, this research sought to contribute to our knowledge of international organizational behaviour by examining the cross-national generalizability of organizational commitment. Sample 1 included employees of 10 subsidiaries of a large multinational organization, whereas Sample 2 relied on data collected in 25 nations in the context of a large opinion survey. Results in both samples supported the expectation that measures of commitment would be more susceptible to measurement non-equivalence than measures of job satisfaction. Differences in relationships between commitment and satisfaction across countries were observed in both samples, as were differences in mean commitment levels. Nation-level individualism/collectivism (I/C) failed to account for the observed differences, however, suggesting that commitment and I/C are largely independent, despite theoretical arguments to the contrary. Results of the study suggest that despite some cross-national variation, differences in commitment across national boundaries are small and empirically unrelated to I/C.

Operationalizing value importance in cross-cultural research: Comparing direct and indirect measures

This research compared direct and indirect operationalizations of work value importance across 25 nations using data from the Work Orientations II Module of the International Social Survey Program (ISSP). Respondents provided direct ratings of the extent to which each of seven work goals was subjectively important to them. They also rated their satisfaction with each of the same work goals and with their jobs overall. Thus, an indirect operationalization of work value importance was formed from the empirical relationships between satisfaction with each work goal and overall job satisfaction. As expected, results showed that conclusions drawn about cross-cultural differences depended on the method used for operationalizing work values. Implications of the results for the interpretation of cross-cultural differences are discussed.

Stereotype Threat, State Anxiety, and Specific Self-Efficacy as Predictors of Promotion Exam Performance

This field study examined perceived stereotype threat in a promotion context using a written job knowledge test. The authors hypothesized that race and ethnic identity would predict perceptions of stereotype threat and that the effect of stereotype threat on test performance would be mediated by state anxiety and specific self-efficacy in a specified sequential order. Using structural equation modeling analyses of data from two public safety departments in a metropolitan city indicated support for this model. However, the stereotype threat effect was small, which may be because of the use of a job knowledge test, a promotion sample, or the composition of the applicant pool. Noteworthy contributions include the use of a self-report measure of stereotype threat, inclusion of two mediator variables in a theory-based sequence, and a test of the stereotype threat effect in an actual employment context.

The Validity of “Mini” Simulations for Mexican Retail Salespeople

The use of “mini” role play simulations was proposed as a means of collecting predictor data in a low-cost, time-efficient, and reliable manner. Mini role play simulations were developed for the purpose of measuring sales ability. In order to evaluate the efficacy of using the mini role play simulations, a concurrent validation study was conducted with 94 salespeople from a large, Mexican retail chain. Results indicated that the simulations significantly predicted performance and also added to the prediction of performance after controlling for a biodata instrument.

Work Group Collectivism and the Centrality of Work A Multinational Investigation

This study examined relationships at the individual level of analysis between work group collectivism and work centrality and pride in work, and the moderating effects of nations on these relationships. Participants from Ecuador, Germany, India, Mexico, and the United States completed questionnaire measures of the constructs of interest. Multiple-groups confirmatory factor analyses were performed to evaluate and control for psychometric nonequivalence in the measurement of latent constructs, prior to multiple-groups structural equation modeling analyses of the relationships between work group collectivism and work centrality and pride in work. Results showed positive relationships between collectivism and work centrality and work pride in each country, and non-significant differences between countries in these relationships. Tests of mean differences at the nation level of analysis also showed somewhat higher work centrality and pride in work among countries that scored higher in work group collectivism.

An investigation of cross-national differences in positivity and job satisfaction

The present research examined the role of national differences in positivity as an explanation of cross-national variation in job satisfaction (JS) ratings. National positivity values were derived from a sample of current employees by calculating the mean residual in a regression of global JS on mean facet satisfaction ratings. As predicted, the positivity values derived in the present research showed convergent validity with other indices of nation-level positivity, and national differences in extraversion. National differences in positivity showed significant incremental associations with national differences in JS ratings after controlling for the effects of acquiescence, perceived differences in working conditions, and national development. Theoretical and practical implications of the results are discussed.

Computerizing Organizational Attitude Surveys An Investigation of the Measurement Equivalence of a Multifaceted Job Satisfaction Measure

Two quasi-experimental field studies were conducted to evaluate the psychometric equivalence of computerized and paper-and-pencil job satisfaction measures. The present research extends previous work in the area by providing better control of common threats to validity in quasi-experimental research on test mode effects and by evaluating a more comprehensive measurement model for job attitudes. Results of both studies demonstrated substantial equivalence of the computerized measure with the paper-and-pencil version. Implications for the practical use of computerized organizational attitude surveys are discussed.

On the relationship between job satisfaction and non‐response in employee attitude surveys: A longitudinal field study

A longitudinal modelling approach is used to examine the effect of job satisfaction on survey non-response in an applied employee attitude survey. Members of a large electronics company were invited to participate in the survey in each of four consecutive years. Logistic autoregressive modelling revealed a significant effect of prior non-response on subsequent non-response. The odds of responding to the survey in any given year were more than twice as high for individuals who had responded to the same survey 1 year before, as compared with those who did not. Prior job satisfaction was also significantly related to subsequent survey non-response. Participants who were more satisfied on a given occasion were more likely to respond 1 year later than those who were less satisfied. At the facet level, satisfaction with supervisors contributed incrementally to the prediction of survey non-response in subsequent years. Implications for the theoretical and methodological development of non-response research and for the practical implementation of employee attitude surveys are discussed.

Globally surveying in English: Investigation of the measurement equivalence of a job satisfaction measure across bilingual and native English speakers

The present research investigated measurement equivalence of organizational attitude surveys across bilingual and native English respondents. Results largely supported the equivalence of the measure of job satisfaction when administered in English to bilingual and native English-speaking respondents.