Manager personality, manager service quality orientation, and service climate: Test of a model.

This article conceptually and empirically explores the relationships among manager personality, manager service quality orientation, and climate for customer service. Data were collected from 1,486 employees and 145 managers in grocery store departments (N = 145) to test the authors' theoretical model. Largely consistent with hypotheses, results revealed that core self-evaluations were positively related to managers' service quality orientation, even after dimensions of the Big Five model of personality were controlled, and that service quality orientation fully mediated the relationship between personality and global service climate. Implications for personality and organizational climate research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Servant leadership, procedural justice climate, service climate, employee attitudes, and organizational citizenship behavior: A cross-level investigation.

This study tests the influence of servant leadership on 2 group climates, employee attitudes, and organizational citizenship behavior. Results from a sample of 815 employees and 123 immediate supervisors revealed that commitment to the supervisor, self-efficacy, procedural justice climate, and service climate partially mediated the relationship between servant leadership and organizational citizenship behavior. Cross-level interaction results revealed that procedural justice climate and positive service climate amplified the influence of commitment to the supervisor on organizational citizenship behavior. Implications of these results for theory and practice and directions for future research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A new look at psychological climate and its relationship to job involvement, effort, and performance

This study investigated the process by which employee perceptions of the organizational environment are related to job involvement, effort, and performance. The researchers developed an operational definition of psychological climate that was based on how employees perceive aspects of the organizational environment and interpret them in relation to their own well-being. Perceived psychological climate was then related to job involvement, effort, and performance in a path-analytic framework. Results showed that perceptions of a motivating and involving psychological climate were related to job involvement, which in turn was related to effort. Effort was also related to work performance. Results revealed that a modest but statistically significant effect of job involvement on performance became nonsignificant when effort was inserted into the model, indicating the mediating effect of effort on the relationship. The results cross-validated well across 2 samples of outside salespeople, indicating that relationships are generalizable across these different sales contexts.     

Climate strength: a new direction for climate research.

Climate strength was conceptualized within D. Chan's (1998) discussion of compositional models and the concept of culture strength from the organizational culture literature. Climate strength was operationalized in terms of within-group variability in climate perceptions--the less within-group variability, the stronger the climate. The authors studied climate strength in the context of research linking employee service climate perceptions to customer satisfaction. The hypothesis was tested that climate strength moderates the relationship between employee perceptions of service climate and customer satisfaction experiences. Partial support for the hypothesis was reported in both a concurrent and predictive (3-year) test across 118 branches of a bank. In the predictive study only the interaction of climate and climate strength predicted customer satisfaction. Implications for future research on climate and climate strength are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

In-group bias in response to an organizational merger.

The present research examined the extent of in-group bias in response to a planned organizational merger. Data were collected from 1,104 employees of 2 hospitals intending to merge—a high-status metropolitan teaching hospital and a relatively low-status local area hospital. As predicted from social identity theory, there was clear evidence of in-group bias, particularly among the employees of the lower status hospital on the dimensions irrelevant to the status differentiation between hospitals. On the status-relevant dimensions, in-group bias was significantly more marked among the employees of the high-status hospital. Also, as predicted, perceived threat was related to in-group bias on the status-irrelevant dimensions among the low-status employees. The present results indicate that managers need to be cognizant of the intergroup rivalry that is likely to be engendered in the context of an organizational merger, particularly among the employees of the lower status organization. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Organizational climate: Individual preferences and organizational realities.

Hypothesizes that organizational climate may extend beyond formal organizational boundaries and have influence on potential organizational employees. The climate of life insurance agencies was assessed with an 80-item, 6-factor questionnaire. Agency managers, assistant managers, and agents from 228 agencies responded. Utilizing the same measure, climate preferences and expectations of 1,125 newly contracted agents from 168 agencies were obtained. Correlations across agencies indicate that (a) new agent expectations have low significant correlations with the climate of the particular life insurance agency they join, and (b) new agent preferences are not significantly related to this climate. Average climate expectations are consistently less positive than average climate preferences. Some implications of these data for personnel selection practices are presented. (19 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role of different levels of leadership in predicting self- and collective efficacy: Evidence for discontinuity.

This study identified potential discontinuities in the antecedents of efficacy beliefs across levels of analysis, with a particular focus on the role of leadership climate at different organizational levels. Random coefficient modeling analyses conducted on data collected from 2,585 soldiers in 86 combat units confirmed that soldiers' experience, role clarity, and psychological strain predicted self-efficacy to a greater extent than did leadership climate. Also, leadership climate at a higher organizational level related to self-efficacy through role clarity, whereas leadership climate at a lower organizational level related to self-efficacy through psychological strain. Group-level analyses identified leadership climate at a higher organizational level as the strongest predictor of collective efficacy. Theoretical and practical implications and directions for future research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role of proactive personality in job satisfaction and organizational citizenship behavior: A relational perspective.

Drawing from a relational approach, the authors conceptualize the quality of leader–member exchange as a mediator and procedural justice climate as a contextual moderator for understanding the role of proactive personality in job satisfaction and organizational citizenship behavior. Data from a sample of 200 Chinese employees within 54 work groups were used to examine the hypothesized models. Results show that having a proactive personality was associated with employees establishing a high-quality exchange relationship with their supervisors; in turn, the quality of leader–member exchange was associated with greater job satisfaction and more organizational citizenship behaviors. Additionally, the relationship between proactive personality and organizational citizenship behavior was positively moderated by procedural justice climate within the group. Implications for management theory and practice are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Safety climate and injuries: An examination of theoretical and empirical relationships.

Our purpose in this study was to meta-analytically address several theoretical and empirical issues regarding the relationships between safety climate and injuries. First, we distinguished between extant safety climate→injury and injury→safety climate relationships for both organizational and psychological safety climates. Second, we examined several potential moderators of these relationships. Meta-analyses revealed that injuries were more predictive of organizational safety climate than safety climate was predictive of injuries. Additionally, the injury→safety climate relationship was stronger for organizational climate than for psychological climate. Moderator analyses revealed that the degree of content contamination in safety climate measures inflated effects, whereas measurement deficiency attenuated effects. Additionally, moderator analyses showed that as the time period over which injuries were assessed lengthened, the safety climate→injury relationship was attenuated. Supplemental meta-analyses of specific safety climate dimensions also revealed that perceived management commitment to safety is the most robust predictor of occupational injuries. Contrary to expectations, the operationalization of injuries did not meaningfully moderate safety climate–injury relationships. Implications and recommendations for future research and practice are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

High-Performance Work Systems and Occupational Safety.

Two studies were conducted investigating the relationship between high-performance work systems (HPWS) and occupational safety. In Study 1, data were obtained from company human resource and safety directors across 138 organizations. LISREL VIII results showed that an HPWS was positively related to occupational safety at the organizational level. Study 2 used data from 189 front-line employees in 2 organizations. Trust in management and perceived safety climate were found to mediate the relationship between an HPWS and safety performance measured in terms of personal-safety orientation (i.e., safety knowledge, safety motivation, safety compliance, and safety initiative) and safety incidents (i.e., injuries requiring first aid and near misses). These 2 studies provide confirmation of the important role organizational factors play in ensuring worker safety. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relations among occupational hazards, attitudes, and safety performance.

This study examined psychological empowerment and organizational identification as outcomes of occupational context and predictors of occupational safety performance. In this study, 171 hospital employees from 17 units and 21 occupations completed surveys measuring psychological empowerment, organizational identification, and supervisor safety practices. They also completed measures of 2 dimensions of safety performance: use of personal protective equipment and safety participation. These data were merged with Occupational Information Network (O*NET) context ratings of occupational hazards and physical demands. Results indicated that occupational hazards were negatively related to individual-level psychological empowerment and organizational identification, which were in turn positively related to safety participation. Psychological empowerment and organizational identification also interacted with perceptions of supervisor safety actions in the prediction of personal protective equipment use. Results have implications for organizational safety performance and point to the role of occupational context in psychological empowerment and the extent to which employees participate in the safety of their worksite. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Climate perceptions matter: A meta-analytic path analysis relating molar climate, cognitive and affective states, and individual level work outcomes.

Although workplace climate has been extensively studied, the research has not led to firm conclusions as to its relationship with individual level work outcomes. The authors used C. Ostroffs (1993) taxonomy to organize dimensions labeled as workplace climate and then used meta-analytic techniques to test a path analytic model. The model posited that climate affects individual level outcomes through its impact on underlying cognitive and affective states. An extensive literature search yielded 51 empirical studies with 70 samples. The results suggest that the 3 higher order facets of climate (affective, cognitive, and instrumental) affected individual level outcomes of job performance, psychological well-being, and withdrawal through their impact on organizational commitment and job satisfaction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Safety and Insecurity: Exploring the Moderating Effect of Organizational Safety Climate.

This research reconciled disparate findings regarding the relationship between job insecurity and safety by examining organizational safety climate as a potential moderator. It was predicted that a strong organizational safety climate would attenuate the negative effects of job insecurity on self-reported safety outcomes such as safety knowledge, safety compliance, accidents, and injuries. Data collected from 136 manufacturing employees were consistent with these predictions. Results are discussed in light of escalating interest in how organizational factors can affect employee safety. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Organizational commitment and psychological attachment: The effects of compliance, identification, and internalization on prosocial behavior.

Conducted 2 studies with 82 nonfaculty university employees (mean age 31–40 yrs) and 162 graduating business students at the undergraduate and MBA level to investigate relations among the dimensions of commitment and prescribed and extrarole activities. Survey findings suggest that psychological attachment may be predicated on compliance (instrumental involvement for specific extrinsic rewards), identification (involvement based on a desire for affiliation), and internalization (involvement resulting from congruence between individual and organizational values). Identification and internalization were positively related to prosocial behaviors and negatively related to turnover. Internalization was predictive of financial donations to a fund-raising campaign. Overall, the results indicate the importance of clearly specifying the underlying dimensions of commitment using notions of psychological attachment and the various forms such attachment can take. (48 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

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. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relative usefulness of elevation, variability, and shape information from WISC—R, K-ABC, and Fourth Edition Stanford-Binet profiles in predicting achievement.

Scatter analysis of IQ profiles has a long and controversial history. The study was conducted to determine whether the validity of scatter information is any greater for 2 new IQ batteries, the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC) and the Fourth Edition Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale (SB4), than for the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children—Revised (WISC—R). Within a sample of referred children, numerical indexes were computed of profile elevation, shape, and variability for all IQ tests. Using hierarchical multiple regression with achievement scores as dependent variables, shape information was found that had marginal incremental validity over elevation as a predictor for the WISC—R, even less for the SB4, and virtually none for the K-ABC. Implications of these results are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Factorial invariance of a campus climate measure across race, gender, and student classification.

Invariance analyses using multigroup confirmatory factor analysis were conducted to test a model of campus climate perceptions for its equivalence in a combined sample of 2,634 undergraduate and graduate university students across race, gender, and student status. Results suggested that a multidimensional model of campus climate comprised of psychological and behavioral climate dimensions appears to be supported for both undergraduate and graduate students across race/ethnicity and gender. Nonequivalence of factor loadings seen in all three invariance comparisons indicated that relationships between items and the underlying factors differed in magnitude on some climate dimensions between males and females, White and ethnic minority students, and graduate versus undergraduate students. Implications for future climate measurement and higher education policy and practice are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Contextualizing emotional exhaustion and positive emotional display: The signaling effects of supervisors’ emotional exhaustion and service climate.

In this study, we investigated how supervisors’ emotional exhaustion and service climate jointly influence the relationship between subordinates’ emotional exhaustion and their display of positive emotions at work. Using data from frontline sales employees and their immediate supervisors in a fashion retailer, we hypothesized and found that under the condition of a less positive service climate, subordinates’ emotional exhaustion was more negatively related to their positive emotional display when supervisors’ emotional exhaustion was higher rather than lower; this interaction effect of subordinates’ and supervisors’ emotional exhaustion was not significant in a more positive service climate. These results suggest that service climate and supervisors’ emotional exhaustion provide emotionally exhausted employees with important information cues about the possible availability of compensatory resources they need to uphold their efforts to display service-focused emotions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationships Between Organizational Justice and Burnout at the Work-Unit Level.

Relationships between organizational justice and well-being are traditionally investigated at the individual level. This article extends previous efforts by testing such relationships at the work-unit level. Three corridors of influence were examined. First, the level (work units' average scores) of justice is related to the level of burnout. Second, justice climate strength (level of agreement among work-unit members) moderates the predictability of the level of burnout. Third, justice strength is related to burnout strength. The authors interviewed 324 contact employees from 108 work units in 59 service organizations. Findings showed the predominance of interactional justice over distributive and procedural justice in all 3 corridors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)