Conscientiousness as a Moderator of the Relationship Between Work Autonomy and Job Satisfaction

Autonomy is one of the most commonly studied job characteristics in the work design literature and is commonly associated with large and positive effects on job satisfaction. There is reason to believe that autonomy may interact with personality characteristics to affect attitudinal outcomes, but prior research has tended to focus on the original growth-need-strength construct as a potential moderator with mixed results. One glaring gap in the literature is the lack of research that examines the Big Five constructs of personality as a potential class of moderators. Grant, Fried, and Juillerat (2010) have suggested additional research into the Big Five as moderators of individuals’ attitudinal reactions to job characteristics. Moreover, several researchers (e.g., Dudley, Orvis, Lebiecki, & Cortina, 2006; Judge, Heller, & Mount, 2002; Major, Turner, & Fletcher, 2006) have called for increased attention to the facets of the Big Five in conducting such research. This dissertation addressed these two gaps in the research literature. First, the study examined conscientiousness as a potential moderator of the relationship between the job design characteristic of autonomy and the outcomes of job satisfaction and person-job fit. Second, the study tested specific hypotheses regarding these interactions using both the global construct of conscientiousness and the narrower subtraits—or facets—that exist underneath the broader trait. This dissertation also contributes to the research literature by creating a new measure of person autonomy fit adapted from an existing person job fit measure (Cable & DeRue, 2002) and by showing that person autonomy fit mediates the effect of autonomy and job satisfaction Conscientiousness as a Moderator ii and person job fit. Data were collected at two time points from 181 employees at a national wholesale distribution cooperative. Participants came from the corporate office and 10 independently owned locations across the United States, and held a wide variety of jobs. The results indicated strong main effects for autonomy and conscientiousness and its facets on job satisfaction, and a strong effect of autonomy on person-job fit, but did not find evidence of interactions between autonomy and conscientiousness or any of its facets. Moreover, the results indicate that person autonomy fit mediates the effect of autonomy on these two attitudinal outcomes. Based on these results, I suggest that organizations interested in creating work environments that foster high levels of job satisfaction can do so using at least two mechanisms: 1) by selecting individuals with higher levels of conscientiousness and 2) by providing high levels of autonomy in the workplace. I also argue that the potential payoff of providing autonomous work environments is far higher than for selecting workers predisposed to be more satisfied with their jobs. Finally, I suggest that more research is needed to understand the complex interaction between individual differences and workplace environments. Conscientiousness as a Moderator iii Acknowledgements I would first like to thank my dissertation chair and academic advisor, Donald Truxillo, for his mentorship and support over the last five years. He is both an exceptional scholar and a great human being. Donald was always there at virtually any time—day or night—to answer emails, take phone calls, and talk me through thorny academic issues. When the going got tough, a kind word of encouragement, a loud cackle, and a brief whiteboard session was all that was needed to set me right. He gives all he has all the time, and I can’t thank him enough for his tireless attention, his humor, and his drive to get the very best out of me and the rest of his students. I did it, DT. I would also like to thank Todd Bodner, thesis and dissertation committee member, teacher, quantitative mentor and statistical guru. I had the pleasure of taking Todd’s year-long graduate statistics program twice: once as a student and once as a teaching assistant. Todd has an exceptional ability to explain difficult statistical methods on an engaging, conceptual, almost philosophical level. I always enjoyed seeing him step inside my lab door for a quick chat, a smile, and a few positive words. I would next like to thank: Talya Bauer for her service on both my thesis and dissertation committees, her high standards, her helpful suggestions throughout the process, and her strong impact on the quality of this work; Liu-Qin Yang for her help with the theoretical development of this dissertation and for exposing me to IRT; and Wayne Wakeland for his positive, helpful, and friendly presence on the committee. I could not have completed this study without the help and support of Johanna Conscientiousness as a Moderator iv Glode and Kevin Dier at Johnstone Supply, and the individual owners and participants at the Johnstone Supply member stores who graciously gave their time. In addition to helping with the study, Kevin has been a coach, mentor, and facilitator of my early I-O career. Johanna provided a great environment for my work at Johnstone and she did more legwork than she should have to make this study possible. In addition, she has been a continued source of inspiration and delight to me, and it has been a pleasure to get to know her both personally and professionally. The next one is on me, Johanna. I would also like to thank the graduate students across the various disciplines of psychology at Portland State University. There are too many to name. Elizabeth McCune and David Cadiz helped me find my way when I first started the program. Jenn Rineer brought some sunshine and a fresh coat of blue paint to the lab, and helped serve as courier for some of my printed drafts. Bing Lin was one of my two comprehensive exam study-buddies and I am not sure I could have gotten through the process without him. Ana Costa was my other comps study-buddy and also provided a huge amount of laughter, listening, friendship and support in many matters academic and personal. I owe a huge debt of gratitude to my parents, Richard and Linda Mack, for their incredible love, patience and support throughout my life, and especially in the last five years. Even when times got really hard, there wasn’t much that a quick (or lengthy) call with mom and dad couldn’t fix. The older I get, the more I appreciate them as parents and as people and I feel lucky to call myself their son. I would also like to thank Susan Captein for lending a hand when I needed it most, and for helping Conscientiousness as a Moderator v me find the courage to live out loud, move on and finish up. Finally, I’d like to thank Serena Batten, in whom I found a kindred spirit and with whom everything is richer, fresher and more vibrant. Conscientiousness as a Moderator vi Table of