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THE INTERACTION OF AUTONOMY, VARIETY, AND FEEDBACK TO PREDICT SATISFACTION AND PERFORMANCE: A LABORATORY EXPERIMENT
Abstract
One purpose of the study was to objectively manipulate task dimensions of autonomy, variety, and feedback, and to evaluate the effect of these manipulations on perceptions of task characteristics and on satisfaction and performance. Another purpose was to test whether task characteristics interacted with one another to predict satisfaction and performance. Summary path models were used to evaluate direct and indirect effects of objective tasks on performance and satisfaction. A laboratory experiment was conducted using 197 volunteer undergraduates. Each took clerical ability tests, followed by performance of one of eight variations of a word processing task designed for this study. The variations corresponded with the manipulation of objective levels (high or low) of autonomy, variety, and feedback. Subjects completed the Job Characteristics Inventory and the Job Descriptive Index. Performance was percent of text errors corrected. Perceptions were positively associated with satisfaction, above objective effects of manipulations. There were no significant interactions among either objective or perceived task characteristics predicting satisfaction. Performance hypotheses were tested by dividing the subjects into low and high variety versions. There were significant interaction effects among both objective and perceived task characteristics predicting performance. Subjects given a low autonomy task performed no better as they received increased feedback. Subjects in a high autonomy task performed much better as they received increased feedback. Summary path models showed that feedback level had a negative direct effect on satisfaction; autonomy and variety levels had positive indirect effects on satisfaction. Regarding performance, autonomy level had a positive indirect effect. Feedback level had an indirect positive effect in a low variety task and a direct effect in a high variety task. Abilities had direct and indirect effects. Conclusions were that perceptions about individual task characteristics are not as distinct as the JCM would propose; they seem to influence one another as well as outcomes. In addition, task characteristics combine in one way to predict satisfaction and in another way to predict performance.
Subject Area
Management
Recommended Citation
DODD, NANCY G, "THE INTERACTION OF AUTONOMY, VARIETY, AND FEEDBACK TO PREDICT SATISFACTION AND PERFORMANCE: A LABORATORY EXPERIMENT" (1987). ETD collection for University of Nebraska-Lincoln. AAI8719776.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissertations/AAI8719776