Scott W. Lester

The Impact of Psychological Contract Fulfillment on the Performance of In-Role and Organizational Citizenship Behaviors:

This research examines the relationships between psychological contract fulfillment and three types of employee behavior: in-role performance, organizational citizenship behavior directed at the organization, and organizational citizenship behavior directed at individuals within the organization. Using a sample of 134 supervisor-subordinate dyads, this study suggests that the extent of psychological contract fulfillment is positively related to the performance of all three types of employee behavior. In addition, the results indicate that psychological contract fulfillment is more strongly related to citizenship behavior directed at the organization than to citizenship behavior directed at one’s colleagues. Finally, this research investigates if employees’ attributions regarding the reasons that psychological contract breach occurred also impact their work performance. However, the data provide only limited support for the idea that employees are most likely to reduce their work effort when they perceive that the organization has intentionally failed to live up to its commitments.

The Antecedents and Consequences of Group Potency: A Longitudinal Investigation of Newly Formed Work Groups

We examined the effect of work group processes (charismatic leadership and communication-cooperation) on the evolution of group potency among newly formed work groups. Results showed that these pro...

A Closer Look at Trust Between Managers and Subordinates: Understanding the Effects of Both Trusting and Being Trusted on Subordinate Outcomes

Despite previous calls to examine trust from the perspectives of both the manager and subordinate, most studies have exclusively focused on trust in the manager. The authors propose that trust in the subordinate has unique consequences beyond trust in the manager. Furthermore, they propose joint effects of trust such that subordinate behavior and intentions are most favorable when there is high mutual trust. Findings reveal unique relationships of trust in manager and trust in subordinate on performance, organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), and intentions to quit. Furthermore, the interaction of trust in manager and trust in subordinate predicts individual-directed OCB in the hypothesized direction.

Attitudinal and Behavioral Outcomes of Psychological Contract Breach A Cross Cultural Comparison of the United States and Hong Kong Chinese

This study responds to the call for more cross cultural examinations of the psychological contract by investigating differences in: (1) the perceived importance of various psychological contract obligations, (2) the frequency of perceived psychological contract breach, and (3) employee attitudes and behaviors following psychological contract breach. A sample of 60 American and 76 Hong Kong Chinese employees completed measures related to the psychological contract, job satisfaction, intention to turnover, organizational commitment, job performance, and organizational citizenship behaviors. Results showed that the employees from both cultures differed in terms of perceived psychological contract importance and breach. Specifically, the American workers placed higher importance and perceived less breach of both intrinsic and extrinsic psychological contract outcomes than the Hong Kong employees. Additionally, American employees responded more negatively to perceived breaches of intrinsic outcomes, while their Hong Kong counterparts responded more negatively to perceived breaches of extrinsic outcomes. Limitations of the current study and suggestions for future cross cultural research are discussed.

Actual Versus Perceived Generational Differences at Work: An Empirical Examination

As the amount of generational diversity increases among today’s workforce, a common topic of conversation is how to handle differences between generational cohorts. But to what extent do generations believe they are different and to what extent are generations actually different? This study examines this question. Using generational cohort theory as a theoretical underpinning, this study considers 15 work-related concepts and the degree to which workers personally value them. Subjects also provide their perceptions of how much they believe Boomers, Generation X, and Generation Y value these items. Results reveal the differences subjects perceive among the generations significantly outnumber the actual value differences individuals reported. The authors discuss both actual and perceptual differences in detail and theorize why the nature of these actual differences may lead to generational misconceptions. By doing so, this study provides a meaningful contribution to the discussion of generational diversity and its impact on the workplace.

It Isn’t Always Mutual A Critical Review of Dyadic Trust

Scholars have called for examinations of trust at the dyadic level, but only recently have we begun to see trust examined as a dyadic phenomenon from multiple perspectives. This review examines three approaches to understanding dyadic trust: reciprocal trust, wherein one party’s trust influences the other party’s trust; mutual trust, wherein both parties share a given level of trust that has important consequences for the dyad; and asymmetric trust, wherein each party has a different level of trust, and this disparity has consequences for the dyad. We provide a critical analysis of the empirical research addressing these three approaches and suggest future research directions to provide a more comprehensive view of dyadic trust.

The effects of psychological contract breach on union commitment

This research investigates the relationship between psychological contract breach and union commitment among 109 union employees. As expected, psychological contract breach is positively related to commitment to the union. The results also suggest that union instrumentality moderates the relationship between psychological contract breach and union commitment. Specifically, the findings indicate that the relationship between psychological contract breach and union commitment is stronger when individuals perceive that their union is highly instrumental in protecting their rights and benefits. Implications of this study are discussed and recommendations for future research are offered.

More Alike Than Different What Generations Value and How the Values Affect Employee Workplace Perceptions

The purpose of this study was to extend generations research by investigating similarities and differences regarding the importance generations place on the presence of various workplace characteristics. We hypothesized (1) that similarities in the importance of workplace factors between generations would be more prevalent than differences and (2) that the importance of the workplace factors would have consistently similar or different moderating effects among generations on the relationships between employee perceptions of the factors at their organizations and employee attitudes. As expected, results showed the generations were similar on 7 of the 10 work values examined. Findings also revealed similarities and differences between the generations for the factors as moderators, although more differences than similarities were present from these analyses. Implications of these findings as well as directions for future research are discussed.

Matching Facilitator Style and Agenda Structure in Group Support Systems: Effects on Participant Satisfaction and Group Output Quality

A 2x2 factorial controlled experiment was conducted to examine the effects of agenda structure and facilitator style on participant satisfaction and output quality in meetings employing group support systems GSS. Participants were assigned to one of four conditions: 1 relationship style/relationship agenda; 2 task style/task agenda; 3 task style/relationship agenda; and 4 relationship style/task agenda. As expected, satisfaction with the agenda, process, and outcomes was higher in the matched style/agenda conditions 1 and 2. Surprisingly, satisfaction with facilitation and task was higher in the relationship style conditions 1 and 4. Two expert raters were used to judge the quality of group outputs. As predicted, groups in the matched conditions produced higher quality outputs than groups in the mismatched conditions. Implications of the study for practice and future research are provided. This study is part of an ongoing program of research into the effectiveness of GSS as a tool for conducting meetings and other forms of group activity.

Temporary Worker Alienation and Job Performance: The Impact of Rating Source

This study extends previous research on alienation of temporary workers, by developing a measure of temporary worker alienation and examining differences in the perceptions of alienation between temporary workers, coworkers, and supervisors. This study found that supervisors’ ratings of temporary worker alienation were significantly lower than the temporary workers’ self-ratings. Moreover, the authors found that alienation was negatively associated with self-ratings of job performance but unrelated to supervisors’ ratings of job performance. This supports the contention, based on literature concerning the treatment of temporary workers, that a gap exists between supervisors and temporary workers with regard to perceived alienation.