A Review of Measurement Equivalence in Organizational Research: What's Old, What's New, What's Next?

The study of measurement equivalence has important implications for organizational research. Nonequivalence across groups or over time can affect the results of a study and the conclusions that are drawn from it. As a result, the review paper by Vandenberg & Lance (2000) has been highly cited and has played an important role in understanding the measurement of organizational constructs. However, that paper is now 20 years old, and a number of advances have been made in the application and interpretation of measurement equivalence (ME) since its publication. Therefore, the goal of the present paper is to provide an updated review of ME techniques that describes recent advances in testing for ME and proposes a taxonomy of potential sources of nonequivalence. Finally, we articulate recommendations for applying these newer methods and consider future directions for measurement equivalence research in the organizational literature.

Assessing Causal Pathways and Targets of Implementation Variability for EBP use (Project ACTIVE): a study protocol

Background Advancing causal implementation theory is critical for designing tailored implementation strategies that target specific mechanisms associated with evidence-based practice (EBP) use. This study will test the generalizability of a conceptual model that integrates organizational constructs and behavioral theory to predict clinician use of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) techniques in community mental health centers. CBT is a leading psychosocial EBP for psychiatric disorders that remains underused despite substantial efforts to increase its implementation. Methods We will leverage ongoing CBT implementation efforts in two large public health systems (Philadelphia and Texas) to recruit 300 mental health clinicians and 600 of their clients across 40 organizations. Our primary implementation outcomes of interest are clinician intentions to use CBT and direct observation of clinician use of CBT. As CBT comprises discrete components that vary in complexity and acceptability, we will measure clinician use of six discrete components of CBT. After finishing their CBT training, participating clinicians will complete measures of organizational and behavior change constructs delineated in the model. Clinicians also will be observed twice via audio recording delivering CBT with a client. Within 48 h of each observation, theorized moderators of the intention-behavior gap will be collected via survey. A subset of clinicians who report high intentions to use CBT but demonstrate low use will be purposively recruited to complete semi-structured interviews assessing reasons for the intention-behavior gap. Multilevel path analysis will test the extent to which intentions and determinants of intention predict the use of each discrete CBT component. We also will test the extent to which theorized determinants of intention that include psychological, organizational, and contextual factors explain variation in intention and moderate the association between intentions and CBT use. Discussion Project ACTIVE will advance implementation theory, currently in its infancy, by testing the generalizability of a promising causal model of implementation. These results will inform the development of implementation strategies targeting modifiable factors that explain substantial variance in intention and implementation that can be applied broadly across EBPs.

Impact of interactional context on relationship between ethical leadership and unethical behaviors: a serial mediation model

Purpose Behavioral effects of contextual factors that organizations subject to daily life and social dynamics of ongoing organizational life are conveyed to interactional context. It is considered as a form of coorientation blending organizational and individual ethics in relational form. This study aims to examine well-known effects of ethical leadership on unethical behaviors in interactional context. Sequentially related mediator effects of leader member exchange and symmetrical communication in this relationship are empirically explored. Design/methodology/approach Survey is applied to 494 personnel from 29 large companies. Obtained survey data is analyzed by confirmatory factory analysis, and hypotheses are tested for serial mediation by structural equation modelling with bootstrapping procedure. Findings Study proves the impact of interactional context on organizational constructs. It is demonstrated that individual behaviors are influenced by interactional, dynamical, contextual and social factors. Study finds that leadership effect can be empowered by socialization processes. Quality of social relationships and social interactions; socializing impact of symmetrical communication can foster ethical management. Interactional context can facilitate organizations’ adaptation to changing conditions. Originality/value A human is a relational being. They cannot act in vacuum, rather, act in ongoing context of relationships. Taking account of relational aspect of individual–organizational interaction, this study contributes to literature by proposing a definition of interactional context and by exploring the impact of interactional context on organizational behaviors. Also, the impact of ethical leadership on unethical behaviors is empirically explored in relational dimension which seems to be neglected by ethics literature.

Pragmatic applications of implementation science frameworks to regulatory science: an assessment of FDA Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies (REMS) (2014–2018)

Background A Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) is a drug safety program for certain medications with serious safety concerns required by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of manufacturers to implement to help ensure the benefits of the medication outweigh its risks. FDA is encouraging “the research community to develop novel methods for assessing REMS,” conveying the unmet need for a standardized evaluation method of these regulatory-mandated healthcare programs. The objective of this research is to evaluate FDA REMS assessment plans using established implementation science frameworks and identify opportunities for strengthening REMS evaluation. Methods A content analysis was conducted of publicly available assessment plans for all REMS programs (N = 23) approved 1/1/2014–12/31/2018 for new drug applications (NDAs) and biologics license applications (BLAs) requiring FDA-mandated Elements to Assure Safe Use (ETASU). Blinded reviewers critically appraised REMS assessment measures (n = 674) using three established implementation science frameworks: RE-AIM (Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, Maintenance); PRECEDE-PROCEED (Predisposing, Reinforcing, and Enabling Constructs in Educational/Environmental Diagnosis and Evaluation – Policy, Regulatory, and Organizational Constructs in Educational and Environmental Development); and CFIR (Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research). Framework constructs were mapped to REMS Assessment categories as defined by FDA Guidance for Industry to evaluate congruence. Results REMS assessment measures demonstrated strong congruence (> 90% mapping rate) with the evaluative constructs of RE-AIM, PRECEDE-PROCEED, and CFIR. Application of the frameworks revealed that REMS assessment measures heavily emphasize implementation and operations, focus less on health outcomes, and do not evaluate program context and design assumptions. Conclusions Implementation science frameworks have utility for evaluating FDA-mandated drug safety programs including the selection of primary measures to determine whether REMS goals are being met and of secondary measures to evaluate contextual factors affecting REMS effectiveness in varying organizational settings.

Employee Experience: Construct Clarification, Conceptualization and Validation of a New Scale

The COVID-19 crisis has drawn broader public interest in how companies treat their workers, so going forward, people management would be of an increasing concern. As we make a transition from a service-based economy to experience economy, where time well saved takes a back seat to time well spent, the notion of employee experience (EX) is set to become a fundamental workplace design principle. EX is about the work, not the office. EX aims for a complete redesign of the workplace practices and environment to fit the employees and not the other way around. This article examines and verifies EX scale as one-dimensional as well as multidimensional constructs with six dimensions, namely cohesiveness, vigour, well-being, achievement, inclusiveness and physical environment. Six dimensions were explored with focus group and open-ended survey and validated with closed-ended survey of 299 employees working in multinational corporations across India. Structural equation modelling is used to validate the proposed latest construct. Establishing the EX scale would help researchers as well practitioners in empirically measuring EX and its relationship with various individuals as well organizational constructs.

Multilevel Theory, Methods, and Analyses in Management

Multilevel theory (MLT) details how organizational constructs and processes operate and interact within and across levels. MLT focuses on two different inter-level relationships: bottom-up emergence and top-down effects. Emergence is when individuals’ thoughts, feelings, and/or behaviors are shaped by interactions and come to manifest themselves as collective, higher-level phenomena. The resulting higher-level phenomena can be either common, shared states across all individuals (i.e., compositional emergence) or stable, unique, patterned individual-level states (i.e., compilational emergence). Top-down effects are those representing influences from higher levels on the thoughts, feelings, and/or behaviors of individuals or other lower-level units. To date, most theoretical and empirical research has studied the top-down effects of either contextual variables or compositional emerged states. Using predominantly self-report survey methodologies collected at a single time point, this research commonly aggregates lower-level responses to form higher-level representations of variables. Then, a regression-based technique (e.g., random coefficient modeling, structural equation modeling) is used to statistically evaluate the direction and magnitude of the hypothesized effects. The current state of the literature as well as the traditional statistical and methodological approaches used to study MLT create three important knowledge gaps: a lack of understanding of the process of emergence; how top-down and bottom-up relationships change over time; and how inter-individual relationships within collectives form, dissolve, and change. These gaps make designing interventions to fix or improve the functioning of organizational systems incredibly difficult. As such, it is necessary to broaden the theoretical, methodological, and statistical approaches used to study multilevel phenomena in organizations. For example, computational modeling can be used to generate precise, dynamic theory to better understand the short- and long-term implications of multilevel relationships. Behavioral trace data, wearable sensor data, and other novel data collection techniques can be leveraged to capture constructs and processes over time without the drawbacks of survey fatigue or researcher interference. These data can then be analyzed using cutting-edge social network and longitudinal analyses to capture phenomena not readily apparent in hierarchically nested cross-sectional research.

Humanization and Macroergonomics: An Analysis in the Billing Sector of a University Hospital in Paraná

The humanization of organizations is a trend in companies that have a vision of the future aligned with the needs of the market. In the health area, this humanization should not be limited to its users, but include the employees involved in the work system. The human aspect and its relations with the work system is a focus of studying ergonomics, which in its macroergomic approach aims at integrating organization-man-machine systems into a sociotechnical and participatory context. This study aims to apply the macroergonomic approach with health workers in order to propose and implement improvements; evidencing the importance of their involvement in better acceptance of the proposed improvements generating greater satisfaction. To this end, a study was conducted in the Billing sector of a Brazilian Hospital. Ergonomic demands were identified in a participatory way through the Macroergonomic Analysis of Work (MAW) method, proposed in [1]. The results were tabulated and divided into constructs: Environment, Biomechanical, Cognitive, Work Organization, Risk, Company and Discomfort/Pain. After one year, a new macroergonomic evaluation was carried out and the improvements implemented included the concept of the sociotechnical system, which were: i) acquisition of new computers; ii) implementation of a new computational system and; iii) implementation of changes in the form of sector management. The results showed an increase of up to 40% in satisfaction with the improvements implemented in the Biomechanical and Organizational constructs, indicating that the application of participatory ergonomics and macroergonomics was fundamental for the changes made to increase satisfaction in aspects of the work performed by them. Finally, this research highlights the importance of employee involvement in sociotechnical analysis for the humanization of organizations and it is suggested for future studies the proposition of improvements related to the Environment and Cognitive constructs and pain/discomforts.

The Oxford Handbook of Meaningful Work

The Oxford Handbook of Meaningful Work examines the concept, practices, and effects of meaningful work in organizations and beyond. Taking an interdisciplinary approach, this volume reflects diverse scholarly contributions to understanding meaningful work from philosophy, political theory, psychology, sociology, organizational studies, and economics. In philosophy and political theory, treatments of meaningful work have been influenced by debates concerning the tensions between work as unavoidable and necessary, and work as a source of self-realization and human flourishing. This tension has come into renewed focus as work is reshaped by technology, globalization, and new forms of organization. In management studies, much empirical work has focused on meaningful work from the perspective of positive psychology, but more recent research has considered meaningful work as a complex phenomenon, socially constructed from interactive processes between individuals, and between individuals, organizations, and society. This Handbook examines meaningful work in the context of moral and pragmatic concerns such as dignity, alienation, freedom, organizational ethics, and corporate social responsibility. Representing some of the most up-to-date academic research, the collection illuminates the relationship of meaningful work to organizational constructs of identity, belonging, callings, self-transcendence, culture, and occupations. Researchers and practitioners will be inspired and equipped to identify new directions and methods with which to deepen scholarly inquiry into a topic of growing importance.