This paper explores mechanisms that help account for the relationship between individual involvement in employee participation programs and variations in affective responses to such programs. Proximity to and duration of members' involvement in participation programs are investigated, as are two potential moderating factors: organizational citizenship propensity, and individual discontent with the extent of worker participation in decision making. Proximity and duration both are associated with increased liking of employee participation programs in this study. The positive association is enhanced for those low in organizational citizenship or high in discontent. Implications of these findings for the creation and management of employee participation programs are discussed. Directions for future research are also suggested.
COHEN, J. & COHEN, P.Applied multiple regression/correlation analysis for the behavioral sciences. Hillsdale, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1975.
2.
COLE, R. E.Diffusion of participatory work structures in Japan, Sweden, and the United States. In P. S. Goodman and Associates (Eds.). Change in organizations. San Francisco: Jossey Bass, 1982, pp. 166-225.
3.
COTTON, J. L., VOLLRATH, D. A., FROGGATI, K. L., LENGNICK-HALL, M. L., & JENNINGS, K. R.Employee participation: Diverse forms and different outcomes. Academy of Management Review, 1988, 13(1), 8-22.
4.
CUTCHER-GERSHENFELD, J.A Workforce Divided: Theoretical and Practical Implications of In-Groups and Out-Groups in QWL Initiatives. Working paper, MIT Sloan School of Management, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1986.
5.
CUTCHER-GERSHENFELD, J., KOCHAN, T. A., & VERMA, A.Recent developments in U.S. employee involvement initiatives: Erosion or transformation. In Sockell, D., Lewin, D., and Lipsky, D. P. (Eds.), Advances in industrial and labor relations (Vol. 5). JAI Press, 1991, pp. 1-32.
6.
ELDEN, M. J.Political efficacy at work: The connection between more autonomous forms of workplace organization and a more participatory politics. American Political Science Review, 1981, 75(1), 43-58.
7.
GRAHAM, J. W.Organizational Citizenship Informed by Political Theory. Paper presented at theAnnual Meeting of the Academy of Management, Chicago, Illinois, 1986.
8.
GRIFFIN, R. W.Consequences of quality circles in an industrial setting: A longitudinal assessment. Academy of Management Journal, 1988, 31(2), 338-358.
9.
KOCHAN, T. A., KATZ, H. C., & MOWER, N. R.Worker participation and American unions: Threat or opportunity?Kalamazoo, Michigan: Upjohn Institute, 1984.
10.
LEWIN, D.The future of employee involvement in the United States. Labor Law Journal, 40(8), August, 1989, pp. 470-475.
11.
LOCKE, E. A., & SCHWEIGER, D. M.Participation in decision-making: One more look. In B. M. Staw (Ed.), Research in organizational behavior (Vol. 1), Greenwich, Connecticut: JAI Press, 1979, pp. 265-339.
12.
LOOMER, B. M.Two kinds of power. Criterion, Winter 1976, 11-29.
13.
MARKS, M. L., MIRVIS, P. H., HACKETT, E. J., & GRADY, J. F., Jr.Employee participation in a quality circle program: Impact on quality of work life, productivity, and absenteeism. Journal of Applied Psychology, 1986, 71(1), 61-69.
14.
MILLER, K. I., & MONGE, P. R.Participation, satisfaction, and productivity: A meta-analytic review. Academy of Management Journal, 1986, 29(4), 727-753.
15.
ORGAN, D. W.Organizational citizenship behavior: The good soldier syndrome. Lexington, Massachusetts: Lexington Books, 1988.
16.
PATEMAN, C.Participation and democratic theory. London, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 1970.
SMITH, C. A., ORGAN, D. W., & NEAR, J. P.Organizational citizenship behavior: Its nature and antecedents. Journal of Applied Psychology, 1983, 68(4), 653-663.
19.
STAW, B. M., BELL, N. E., & CLAUSEN, J. A.The dispositional approach to job attitudes: A lifetime longitudinal test. Administrative Science Quarterly, 1986, 31(1), 56-77.
20.
STAW, B. M., & ROSS, J.Behavior in escalation situations: Antecedents, prototypes and solutions. In L. L. Cummings and B. M. Staw (Eds.), Research in organizational behavior (Vol. 9). Greenwich, Connecticut: JAI Press, 1987.
21.
VERMA A.Joint participation programs: Self-help or suicide for labor?Industrial Relations, Fall 1989, 23(3), 401-410.
22.
VERMA, A. & McKERSIE, R. B.Employee involvement programs: The implications of non-involvement by unions. Industrial and Labor Relations Review, July 1987, 40(4), 556-568.
