The Influence of Job Insecurity on Performance Outcomes Among Chinese, German and U.S
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Lingnan University Digital Commons @ Lingnan University Theses & Dissertations Department of Applied Psychology 8-7-2015 The influence of job insecurity on performance outcomes among Chinese, German and U.S. employees : evidence from self- reported and observational studies Lara Christina ROLL Follow this and additional works at: https://commons.ln.edu.hk/psy_etd Part of the Psychology Commons Recommended Citation Roll, L. C. (2015). The influence of job insecurity on performance outcomes among Chinese, German and U.S. employees: Evidence from self-reported and observational studies (Doctor's thesis, Lingnan University, Hong Kong). Retrieved from http://commons.ln.edu.hk/psy_etd/4/ This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of Applied Psychology at Digital Commons @ Lingnan University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses & Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Lingnan University. Terms of Use The copyright of this thesis is owned by its author. Any reproduction, adaptation, distribution or dissemination of this thesis without express authorization is strictly prohibited. All rights reserved. THE INFLUENCE OF JOB INSECURITY ON PERFORMANCE OUTCOMES AMONG CHINESE, GERMAN AND U.S. EMPLOYEES: EVIDENCE FROM SELF-REPORTED AND OBSERVATIONAL STUDIES ROLL LARA CHRISTINA PHD LINGNAN UNIVERSITY 2015 THE INFLUENCE OF JOB INSECURITY ON PERFORMANCE OUTCOMES AMONG CHINESE, GERMAN AND U.S. EMPLOYEES: EVIDENCE FROM SELF-REPORTED AND OBSERVATIONAL STUDIES by ROLL Lara Christina A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology Lingnan University 2015 ABSTRACT THE INFLUENCE OF JOB INSECURITY ON PERFORMANCE OUTCOMES AMONG CHINESE, GERMAN AND U.S. EMPLOYEES: EVIDENCE FROM SELF-REPORTED AND OBSERVATIONAL STUDIES by ROLL Lara Christina Doctor of Philosophy Since the 1980s our economy has been quickly evolving. Mergers, downsizing, privatizations and the recent economic crisis have exposed employees to a growing sense of uncertainty about their job future. Both quantitative and qualitative job insecurity has been linked to numerous negative performance and health outcomes for employees, negatively impacting organizations. Negative effects include burnout, reduced work engagement and decreased safety motivation and compliance. Most studies on job insecurity only look at one country, usually a Western country, and rely exclusively on self-reports. Therefore, the aims of the present research (including two studies) are to a) examine both qualitative and quantitative job insecurity in different cultural contexts, including an Eastern country and b) include behavioural measures to investigate the influence of both qualitative and quantitative job insecurity on performance outcomes. Studies carried out before the economic crisis found more negative performance outcomes associated with job insecurity in collectivistic compared with individualistic cultures. The question arises whether the change in the economic environment since the economic crisis caused a change in the influence of job insecurity in Western as compared to Eastern countries. Thus, in the first study, the consequences of job insecurity for employees in the contexts of the U.S. were examined (N=969), where the crisis began, Germany (N=374), which is still affected by the subsequent Euro debt crisis, and China (N=205), which was initially mostly unaffected by the crisis but whose economy is currently experiencing a slowdown. Understanding the influence of job insecurity on employees’ performance in different national contexts is necessary for organizations to be successful and thrive. Two important performance outcomes are creativity and cognitive errors. Employees’ creativity can generate new ideas for products and procedures, which is a competitive advantage for organizations. In contrast, making and not detecting cognitive errors before they cause harm can reduce employees’ own and other people’s safety. Results of making and not detecting cognitive errors may include workplace injuries not only posing a threat to employees, but also to people around them, which can lead to significant costs for organizations. A theoretical model was developed and examined in which it was hypothesized that job insecurity influences those performance outcomes through burnout and work engagement. In the second study conducted in China (N=148), the first study was taken a step further and included observational data to investigate the relationship between performance outcomes and job insecurity. An error detection task was developed by adapting an established creativity test to examine whether the same results from the first study can be obtained using behavioural measures. In the first study, results supported the existence of cross-cultural differences in the relationship between performance outcomes and job insecurity. The second study showed similar results for self-report and observational data. To conclude, for organizations to be successful, it is highly important to understand performance outcomes of job insecurity in different national contexts and to implement measures to help employees cope with job insecurity in order to prevent negative consequences. CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES …………………………………………………………………… iii LIST OF FIGURES ………………………………………………………………….. iv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ………………………………………………………... v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ………………………………………………...……….… vii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................... 1 1.1 Background of the Research .................................................................................... 3 1.2 Rationale and Significance ...................................................................................... 8 1.3 Statement of Purpose and Research Question ......................................................... 9 1.4 Research Approach ................................................................................................ 10 1.5 Methods of Investigation ....................................................................................... 11 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ......................................................................... 13 2.1 Economic Background .......................................................................................... 13 2.2 Employment Policies and Work Values in Germany, the U.S. and China ........... 15 2.3 Quantitative and Qualitative Job Insecurity: Definition and Research Findings .. 19 2.4 Attention-Related Cognitive Errors and Error Detection ...................................... 27 2.5 Creativity and Creative Capital ............................................................................. 33 2.6 Burnout and Work Engagement ............................................................................ 37 2.7 Job Insecurity, Creativity and Cognitive Errors: The Mediating Roles of Burnout and Work Engagement ................................................................................................. 39 2.8 The Present Research ............................................................................................ 46 CHAPTER 3: THE FIRST STUDY ................................................................................ 53 3.1 Participants and Procedures ................................................................................... 54 3.2 Measures ................................................................................................................ 56 3.3 Analytical Strategy ................................................................................................ 59 3.4 Findings of the First Study .................................................................................... 60 3.4.1 Within-Cultural Analysis ................................................................................ 61 3.4.2 Cross-Cultural Analysis .................................................................................. 68 3.4.3 Supplementary Analysis ................................................................................. 74 3.5 Discussion ............................................................................................................. 78 CHAPTER 4: THE SECOND STUDY ........................................................................... 88 4.1 Procedures and Participants ................................................................................... 93 4.2 Measures ................................................................................................................ 95 i 4.3 Analytical Strategy .............................................................................................. 109 4.4 Findings of the Second Study .............................................................................. 112 4.4.1 Findings Related to the Error Detection Task .............................................. 113 4.4.2 Findings Related to the New Test of Creative Thinking .............................. 115 4.3 Discussion .......................................................................................................... 117 CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION .................................................... 124 5.1 Thesis Summary and Discussion ......................................................................... 124 5.2 Theoretical Contributions and Practical Implications ......................................... 126 5.3 Limitations and Future Research