Testing the Measurement Invariance of Data from the Utrecht Work
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University of Texas at Tyler Scholar Works at UT Tyler Human Resource Development Theses and Human Resource Development Dissertations Fall 12-11-2017 TESTING THE MEASUREMENT INVARIANCE OF DATA FROM THE UTRECHT WORK ENGAGEMENT SCALE BY GENERATIONAL COHORT FOR EMPLOYEES IN THE LEISURE AND HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY Greggory Keiffer University of Texas at Tyler Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.uttyler.edu/hrd_grad Part of the Hospitality Administration and Management Commons, Human Resources Management Commons, and the Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods Commons Recommended Citation Keiffer, Greggory, "TESTING THE MEASUREMENT INVARIANCE OF DATA FROM THE UTRECHT WORK ENGAGEMENT SCALE BY GENERATIONAL COHORT FOR EMPLOYEES IN THE LEISURE AND HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY" (2017). Human Resource Development Theses and Dissertations. Paper 24. http://hdl.handle.net/10950/624 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Human Resource Development at Scholar Works at UT Tyler. It has been accepted for inclusion in Human Resource Development Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Scholar Works at UT Tyler. For more information, please contact [email protected]. TESTING THE MEASUREMENT INVARIANCE OF DATA FROM THE UTRECHT WORK ENGAGEMENT SCALE BY GENERATIONAL COHORT FOR EMPLOYEES IN THE LEISURE AND HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY by GREGGORY LEE KEIFFER A dissertation proposal submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Human Resource Development Kim Nimon, Ph.D., Committee Chair College of Business and Technology The University of Texas at Tyler November 2017 The University of Texas at Tyler Tyler, Texas This is to certify that the Doctoral Dissertation of GREGGORY LEE KEIFFER has been approved for the dissertation requirement on November 16, 2017 for the Doctor of Philosophy degree © Copyright 2017 by Greggory Lee Keiffer All rights reserved. Acknowledgements A warm and heartfelt thank you to my dissertation committee members: Drs. Kim Nimon, Jerry Gilley, Paul Roberts, and Greg Wang. Your collaboration and positive approach made the project achievable. I would be remised if I did not specifically recognize Dr. Kim Nimon for her exceptional commitment, coaching, counsel, and patience she demonstrated throughout the process. Thank you for continuously pushing me to elevate my thinking and work product to a high level. The full faculty and staff of the Human Resource Development program at The University of Texas at Tyler should be commended on creating and maintaining a phenomenal doctoral program. I am grateful to all of those I had the privilege of meeting and learning from throughout the recent years. To my cohort peers and peers from neighboring cohorts – you all made the program enjoyable in how we could all share ideas, create knowledge, and learn together. I look forward the continuing friendships and academic relationships. Special recognition goes to the Magnificent 7 – thank you for the hours of collaboration and discussion. I could not have completed this program without tremendous support from my family. To my parents, Lee and Carol Keiffer, thank you for instilling a desire for life- long learning and always supporting my ambitions. To my wonderful children, Grant and Claire, thank you for being positive and patient. I pray that you both will answer your callings in life with a Christ-centered heart and with strong courage. To my wife and my rock, Stacie, a simple thank you cannot begin to express my gratitude to you. Your selfless generosity over these years of devotion to this project has been nothing short of amazing. Thank you for the countless hours of listening to me drone on about the research and for the encouragement to keep pursuing the calling! Table of Contents List of Tables ..................................................................................................................... iv List of Figures.................................................................................................................. viii Abstract.............................................................................................................................. ix Chapter 1 - Introduction...................................................................................................... 1 Background to the Problem ............................................................................................ 1 Statement of the Problem................................................................................................ 9 Purpose of the Study ..................................................................................................... 11 Theoretical and Conceptual Underpinnings of the Study............................................. 11 Research Hypotheses .................................................................................................... 14 Overview of the Design of the Study............................................................................ 17 Significance of the Study.............................................................................................. 18 Assumptions.................................................................................................................. 20 Delimitations................................................................................................................. 20 Definitions of Terms..................................................................................................... 21 Chapter Summary and Organization of the Dissertation .............................................. 23 Chapter 2 - Literature Review........................................................................................... 24 Introduction................................................................................................................... 24 The Leisure and Hospitality Supersector...................................................................... 25 Supersector Description............................................................................................ 25 Workforce Dynamics................................................................................................ 26 Generational Cohort...................................................................................................... 27 History of Generations.............................................................................................. 28 Generational Cohorts – An American Concept? ...................................................... 29 Generations in the Workforce................................................................................... 30 The Generations Described....................................................................................... 32 Importance of Generational Cohort Research in Leisure and Hospitality................ 34 Generational Cohort and Engagement Research Outside of Leisure and Hospitality ................................................................................................................................... 44 Engagement Articles with Measurement Invariance Assessment between Generational Cohorts ................................................................................................ 50 Employee Engagement ................................................................................................. 53 Domains of Employee Engagement.......................................................................... 54 Measurement of Employee Engagement .................................................................. 58 Engagement Summary.............................................................................................. 60 Psychometrics of the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale ............................................... 61 Development of UWES ............................................................................................ 61 Post-Development of the UWES .............................................................................. 62 UWES Considerations .............................................................................................. 64 i Measurement Invariance of Engagement Related Constructs .................................. 67 Hypotheses Support ...................................................................................................... 73 Measurement Invariance Hypotheses ....................................................................... 73 Latent Mean Difference Hypothesis ......................................................................... 75 Summary of the Chapter ............................................................................................... 76 Chapter 3 - Methodology.................................................................................................. 77 Introduction................................................................................................................... 77 Purpose of the Study ..................................................................................................... 77 Measurement Invariance Overview .............................................................................. 77 Configural Invariance ............................................................................................... 80 Metric (Weak) Invariance......................................................................................... 80 Scalar (Strong)