Which comes first: employee attitudes or organizational financial and market performance?

J Appl Psychol. 2003 Oct;88(5):836-51. doi: 10.1037/0021-9010.88.5.836.

Abstract

Employee attitude data from 35 companies over 8 years were analyzed at the organizational level of analysis against financial (return on assets; ROA) and market performance (earnings per share: EPS) data using lagged analyses permitting exploration of priority in likely causal ordering. Analyses revealed statistically significant and stable relationships across various time lags for 3 of 7 scales. Overall Job Satisfaction and Satisfaction With Security were predicted by ROA and EPS more strongly than the reverse (although some of the reverse relationships were also significant); Satisfaction With Pay suggested a more reciprocal relationship with ROA and EPS. The discussion of results provides a preliminary framework for understanding issues surrounding employee attitudes, high-performance work practices, and organizational financial and market performance.

Publication types

  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Attitude*
  • Commerce*
  • Data Collection
  • Financial Management
  • Humans
  • Job Satisfaction*
  • Marketing
  • Organizational Case Studies
  • Organizational Culture*