Do other-reports of counterproductive work behavior provide an incremental contribution over self-reports? A meta-analytic comparison.

Abstract

Much of the recent research on counterproductive work behaviors (CWBs) has used multi-item self-report measures of CWB. Because of concerns over self-report measurement, there have been recent calls to collect ratings of employees' CWB from their supervisors or coworkers (i.e., other-raters) as alternatives or supplements to self-ratings. However, little is still known about the degree to which other-ratings of CWB capture unique and valid incremental variance beyond self-report CWB. The present meta-analysis investigates a number of key issues regarding the incremental contribution of other-reports of CWB. First, self- and other-ratings of CWB were moderately to strongly correlated with each other. Second, with some notable exceptions, self- and other-report CWB exhibited very similar patterns and magnitudes of relationships with a set of common correlates. Third, self-raters reported engaging in more CWB than other-raters reported them engaging in, suggesting other-ratings capture a narrower subset of CWBs. Fourth, other-report CWB generally accounted for little incremental variance in the common correlates beyond self-report CWB. Although many have viewed self-reports of CWB with skepticism, the results of this meta-analysis support their use in most CWB research as a viable alternative to other-reports.

Agreement and similarity in self-other perceptions of moral character

“…We speculate that undesirable private behaviors, such as CWB, delinquency, and unethical decisions, might be better predicted by self-reports than by observer reports because people are motivated to keep these actions, and proclivities toward these actions, hidden (Berry, Carpenter, & Barratt, 2012). Behaviors that are more public and less undesirable might be more amenable to prediction by observer reports (John & Robins, 1993;Vazire, 2010).…”

Does Darker Hide More Knowledge? The Relationship between Machiavellianism and Knowledge Hiding

“…However, supervisor or co-worker reported knowledge hiding might not reflect knowledge hiding accurately because the definition of knowledge hiding involves concealment of information [18]. What is more, a recent meta-analysis conducted by Berry et al (2012) reveals that other-reported assessments of counterproductive work behaviour, such as knowledge hiding, do not capture unique and valid incremental variance beyond what self -reports capture and may even assess such behaviour more narrowly [33]. Future research could utilize experimental study to measure knowledge hiding more accurately.…”

In the Aftermath of Unfair Events: Understanding the Differential Effects of Anxiety and Anger

“…Anchors ranged from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree). We examined negative affectivity as a control variable given its potential influence on conceptually relevant endogenous variables (i.e., anxiety, anger, and CWBs; e.g., Berry, Carpenter, & Barratt, 2012;Burke, Brief, & George, 1993).…”