A Cross-National Analysis of Job Quality Characteristics and Perceived Job Satisfaction in a Changing World Economy: Implications for Public Administrators Managing a Multicultural Workforce

Journal of Management & Organization

2012

In this research, I apply and extend Kohli's (2004) state-directed development framework to better understand countrylevel factors influencing cross-national differences in job characteristics and job satisfaction. Prior research has indicated that the nature of work has changed dramatically in recent years in response to economic shifts and an increasingly global economy. However, there is little agreement on whether the overall quality of work has improved or declined over that period and little is known about the overall comparative quality of work and job satisfaction across the global economy. In this study I use non-panel longitudinal data from the International Social Survey Program (ISSP 1989(ISSP , 1997(ISSP , 2005survey questions on job characteristics and job quality) and various country-contextual variables. This article explores the impact of state-directed development on job satisfaction, first identifying and explaining the foundations of the statist literature, and then using various statistical methods to test for statistically significant impact and variation across countries.

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See 3 more Smart Citations

The impact of comparative state-directed development on working conditions and employee satisfaction

Journal of Management & Organization

2012

The impact of comparative state-directed development on working conditions and employee satisfaction

Journal of Management & Organization

2013

In this research, I apply and extend Kohli's state-directed development framework to better understand country-level factors influencing cross-national differences in job characteristics and job satisfaction. Prior research has indicated that the nature of work has changed dramatically in recent years in response to economic shifts and an increasingly global economy. However, there is little agreement on whether the overall quality of work has improved or declined over that period and little is known about the overall comparative quality of work and job satisfaction across the global economy. In this study I use non-panel longitudinal data from the International Social Survey Program (survey questions on job characteristics and job quality) and various countrycontextual variables. This article explores the impact of state-directed development on job satisfaction, first identifying and explaining the foundations of the statist literature, and then using various statistical methods to test for statistically significant impact and variation across countries.

Comparative welfare state impacts on work quality and job satisfaction

International Journal of Social Economics

2012

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PurposeThe vast cross‐disciplinary literature exploring work quality and job satisfaction has linked worker experiences to many individual, organizational, and social outcomes, yet this research has largely failed to shed much light on why cross‐national differences in worker satisfaction and its determinants persist over time. The purpose of this paper to: empirically test (using various bivariate descriptive procedures and comparative OLS regression) significant, cross‐national differences in job satisfaction and its determinants; and explore the reasons for these cross‐national differences, moving beyond the research of social psychologists and organizational behavior researchers, to also include import macro cross‐national factors that directly influence these differences.Design/methodology/approachIn this research, the author applies and extends Handel's Post and Neo‐Fordist framework for understanding job characteristics and job satisfaction, using non‐panel longitudinal data from the International Social Survey Program (Work Orientations I, II, and III:, 1989, 1997, 2005 – survey questions on job characteristics and job quality) and various welfare state country‐contextual variables.FindingsOLS regression results of job satisfaction by country show that for countries with relative higher levels of welfare state safety net provisions, intrinsic work characteristics provide greater overall predictability in overall perceived job satisfaction. Once more, extrinsic work characteristics generally have greater salience and predictability in overall perceived job satisfaction in countries relatively lower levels of welfare state safety net provisions. Furthermore, the results clearly show that regardless of country level of welfare state safety net provisions, intrinsic work characteristics add the most overall predictability to perceived job satisfaction of workers within the study countries. Finally, an often accepted job satisfaction model, commonly considered to be widely generalizable across a wide variety of cross‐cultural and cross‐national contexts, actually appears to have a lack of applicability across countries.Originality/valueWhat are the key country‐level contextual and global‐macro variables driving these country differences in job characteristics and perceived worker satisfaction? Prior research could not answer this question. However, this research is the first and only empirical inquiry to look at the relationship between macro welfare state country‐contextual factors and job satisfaction. Like many work attitudes, job satisfaction is a dynamic construct that changes in response to personal and environmental conditions. Finally, monitoring job satisfaction over time and in different contexts allows one to better examine and understand the salient factors that affect job satisfaction.