On the Importance of Conducting Construct-Level Analysis for Multidimensional Constructs in Theory Development and Testing

On top of not defining explicitly the relationship between multidimensional constructs and their dimensions, many management researchers have conducted their analyses of multidimensional constructs at the dimension level only and assumed that these analyses would be valid at the construct level. This article discusses the potential problems of these practices. Data from two reported management studies are reanalyzed to show that different conclusions might be arrived when analyses are conducted at the construct rather than the dimension level. This finding is especially true when the multidimensional construct is defined under the latent model. Implications are discussed.

[1]  John E. Delery,et al.  Alternative Conceptualizations of the Relationship Between Voluntary Turnover and Organizational Performance , 2005 .

[2]  Robert H. Moorman,et al.  Does Perceived Organizational Support Mediate the Relationship between Procedural Justice and Organizational Citizenship Behavior , 1998 .

[3]  C. G. Jung.  Psychological Types , 2000 .

[4]  Todd Dane Bozeman.  Job satisfaction. , 2007, Nursing management.

[5]  W. Mackenzie,et al.  The Management and the Worker , 2008 .

[6]  Paul V. Martorana,et al.  The impact of chief executive officer personality on top management team dynamics:one mechanism by which leadership affects organizational performance. , 2003, The Journal of applied psychology.

[7]  A. Erez,et al.  The nature and dimensionality of organizational citizenship behavior: a critical review and meta-analysis. , 2002, The Journal of applied psychology.

[8]  Kenneth S. Law,et al.  Toward A Taxonomy of Multidimensional Constructs , 1998 .

[9]  L. J. Williams,et al.  Recent Advances in Causal Modeling Methods for Organizational and Management Research , 2003 .

[10]  N. Vanyperen,et al.  Towards a better understanding of the link between participation in decision-making and organizational citizenship behaviour : A multilevel analysis , 1999 .

[11]  F. Glen.  The social psychology of organizations , 1976 .

[12]  Kan Shi,et al.  The impact of participative leadership behavior on psychological empowerment and organizational commitment in Chinese state-owned enterprises: the moderating role of organizational tenure , 2006 .

[13]  G. Freytag.  [CORRELATION AND CAUSALITY]. , 1964, Psychiatrie, Neurologie, und medizinische Psychologie.

[14]  Daniel M. Eveleth,et al.  FOCI AND BASES OF EMPLOYEE COMMITMENT: IMPLICATIONS FOR JOB PERFORMANCE. , 1995 .

[15]  Howard B. Lee,et al.  Foundations of Behavioral Research , 1973 .

[16]  F. J. Roethlisberger,et al.  Management and the Worker , 1941 .

[17]  D. Rousseau,et al.  Mutuality and reciprocity in the psychological contracts of employees and employers. , 2004, The Journal of applied psychology.

[18]  T. Judge,et al.  Organizational justice and stress: the mediating role of work-family conflict. , 2004, The Journal of applied psychology.

[19]  G. Hofstede,et al.  Culture′s Consequences: International Differences in Work-Related Values , 1980 .

[20]  R. Liden,et al.  Multidimensionafity of Leader-Member Exchange: An Empirical Assessment through Scale Development , 1998 .

[21]  J. Edwards.  Multidimensional Constructs in Organizational Behavior Research: An Integrative Analytical Framework , 2001 .

[22]  R. MacCallum,et al.  The use of causal indicators in covariance structure models: some practical issues. , 1993, Psychological bulletin.

[23]  W. Bennis,et al.  The Social Psychology of Organizations , 1966 .

[24]  D. Harrison,et al.  Time, Teams, and Task Performance: Changing Effects of Surface- and Deep-Level Diversity on Group Functioning , 2002 .

[25]  D Saldanha,et al.  Organizational citizenship behavior , 2008 .

[26]  Daniel M. Eveleth,et al.  Foci And Bases Of Employee Commitment: Implications For Job Performance , 1996 .

[27]  C. Barnard.  The Functions of the Executive , 1939 .

[28]  Dawn S. Carlson,et al.  Interactive effects of personality and organizational politics on contextual performance , 2002 .

[29]  Garry A. Gelade,et al.  The Impact of Human Resource Management and Work Climate on Organizational Performance , 2003 .

[30]  Anne S. Tsui,et al.  Loyalty to supervisor vs. organizational commitment: Relationships to employee performance in China. , 2002 .

[31]  J. Colquitt.  On the dimensionality of organizational justice: a construct validation of a measure. , 2001, The Journal of applied psychology.

[32]  G. Graen,et al.  The effects of leader–member exchange and job design on productivity and satisfaction: Testing a dual attachment model. , 1982 .

[33]  John E. Mathieu,et al.  Technical‐administrative task performance, leadership task performance, and contextual performance: considering the influence of team‐ and task‐related composition variables , 2002 .

[34]  Eugene F. Stone.  The moderating effect of work-related values on the job scope-job satisfaction relationship☆☆☆ , 1976 .

[35]  R. Bagozzi,et al.  Culture moderates the self-regulation of shame and its effects on performance: the case of salespersons in The Netherlands and the Philippines. , 2003, The Journal of applied psychology.

[36]  C. Schriesheim.  Causal Analysis: Assumptions, Models, and Data , 1982 .

[37]  Yuanqiong He,et al.  Performance implications of nonmarket strategy in China , 2007 .

[38]  John M. Maslyn,et al.  Multidimensionafity of Leader-Member Exchange: An Empirical Assessment through Scale Development , 1998 .

[39]  James R. Van Scotter,et al.  Interpersonal facilitation and job dedication as separate facets of contextual performance. , 1996 .

[40]  K. Law,et al.  Multidimensional constructs in structural equation analysis: An illustration using the job perception and job satisfaction constructs , 1999 .

[41]  J. Greenberg,et al.  The social side of fairness: Interpersonal and informational classes of organizational justice. , 1993 .

[42]  Chun Hui,et al.  Psychological contract and organizational citizenship behavior in China: investigating generalizability and instrumentality. , 2004, The Journal of applied psychology.

[43]  Thomas E. Becker,et al.  Profiles of commitment: An empirical test , 1993 .