Description
An organisation is a social entity that has a collective goal and is linked to an external environment.
EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT: MANAGING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EMPLOYEES AND THE ORGANISATION. A VALIDATED MEASURE AND MODEL.
Genevieve O’Reilly
Ph.D. THESIS
FACULTY OF HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES BOND UNIVERSITY
SUBMITTED DECEMBER 2007
ii
Signed Certification of Sources
This thesis is submitted to Bond University in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
This thesis represents my own work and contains no material which has been previously submitted for a degree or diploma at this University or any other institution.
Signature………………………………….
Date…………………..
iii
Acknowledgements This thesis is the result of many years’ work, which would have been infinitely more difficult to complete if it wasn’t for the support and assistance of those that helped me. I am truly grateful to the many that showed their patience, shared their wisdom, and gave me encouragement to complete this project. However, there are a few who I would like to thank specifically: My husband Shane, thank you for the countless discussions we had on engagement, and for believing in me. My supervisor Professor Richard Hicks, thank you for generously sharing your guidance and wisdom on organisational psychology and the PhD process. Your patience and enthusiasm were invaluable. Assistant Professor Mark Bahr, thank you for your knowledge and expertise you shared with me during the more challenging statistical analysis phase of my research. I greatly appreciate the time and effort you gave to my work. Krista Mathis, thank you for the countless hours you willingly gave to reading my thesis. Your proficiency of the English language provided the polish the final version needed. The 13 members of the expert panel, thank you for sharing your time, experience and insights. Your professional perspective was very helpful in creating a survey that was practical and easily understood by others. John Llyons, thank you for assisting in the negotiation process of reinstating the Walkabout project. Your ability to facilitate a successful outcome was much appreciated. The Walkabout employees, who participated in the project, thank you for giving your precious time and sharing your knowledge on engagement. In addition, I would
iv
particularly like to thank the four company liaisons who worked with me to get the data collection process “across the line”. Without it, this body of work would not exist.
v
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements …………………………………………………………………….iii List of Tables ...………………………………………………………………………….ix List of Figures …………………………………………………………………………...x List of appendices……………………………………………………………………….xi Abstract ………………………………………………………………………………….xii
Chapter 1: Engagement: A construct worthy of investigation ……………………..1 Timeliness of engagement research………………………………………….2 Project relevance ………………………………………………………………2 Study overview …………………………………………………………………4 Research program and outline………………………………………………..6 Engagement defined ……………………………………………………….…..7 Engagement and related constructs ……………………………………….. 13 Positive psychology and the value of engagement research …………….16 The cost of disengagement …………………………………………………..18 A global perspective on engagement ……………………………………….19 Chapter 2: A review of the main engagement models and related theory……….21 Academic based models……………………………………………………...21 The burnout / engagement model…………………………………..22 The demands and resources engagement model…………………28 Consultancy based models…………………………………………………..34 The Gallup engagement model……………………………………...34 The Hewitt engagement model………………………………………41 Engagement model summary………………………………………..49
vi
Engagement and relevant demographics……..………………...………….51 Project purposes………………………………………………………………53 Project aims: Summary of research questions and hypotheses...……….56 Chapter 3: The case in context: Walkabout and the Australian travel industry….59 Benefits and limitations of applied research……………………………...…59 The Australian travel industry………………………………………………...60 Walkabout Limited……………………………………………………………..62 Chapter 4: Research design…………………………………………………………..73 Study description………………………………………………………………73 Formulating the study’s main purposes……………………………………..73 Mixed methods framework……………………………………………………74 Data collection methods…………………………………………...…76 Study feasibility and limitations………………………………………83 Administration procedures: Internal and external………………….85 Ethics clearance……………………………………………………….86 Chapter 5: Project one. A qualitative assessment of engagement and its drivers..87 Qualitative data collection…………………………………………………….88 Company documents and reports…………………………………...88 Participant observation……………………………………………….89 Employee interviews………………………………………………….90 Qualitative analysis findings: Main themes identified……………………...94 Themes relating to engagement and its definition………………...95 Ten main driver themes at Walkabout………………….…………..98 What did Walkabout do differently?.............................................137 Applying the twelve engagement themes………………………...137
vii
Engagement theory development..……………………………...…………139 Chapter summary: Main findings……………………………...……………141 Chapter 6: Project two. Survey development and engagement construct clarification……………………………………………………………………………..142 Developing the engagement survey……………………………………..…143 Step one: Item generation…………………………………………..144 Step two: Questionnaire Administration…………………………..146 Step three: initial item reduction: Exploratory factor analysis…..150 Part one: The engagement scale……………………….…151 Part two: The drivers scale…………………………….…..158 Chapter summary: Main findings…………………………………………...165 Chapter 7: Project three. Engagement survey and model confirmation………...167 Assumptions……………………………………………………….…168 Engagement scale confirmation………………………………………….…171 Engagement model confirmation…………………………………………...173 Direct effects…………………………………………………………175 Indirect effects……………………………………………………….176 Subgroup analysis……………………………………………..……177 Chapter summary: Main findings…………………………………………..181 Chapter 8: Project findings: Applications, limitations, and further research……183 Main project outcomes………………………………………………………183 Main findings………………………………………………………………….184 1. Engagement as a construct……………………………………..184 2. Engagement and its drivers……………………………………..188
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3. The engagement survey…………………………………………192 4. The relationship between engagement and specific engagement outcomes……………………………………………………….….193 5. The engagement model………………………………………….195 6. Engagement at Walkabout…………………………………...….197 7. Engagement and its nomological network……………….........198 Study limitations, improvement and possibilities for further research…..200 References ……………………………………………………………………………204 Appendices…………………………………………………………………………….224
ix
List of Tables Table 5.1 Table 5.2 Table 6.1 The 10 main driver themes summarised from the qualitative data. Changes made to the proposed drivers Correlations between test battery scales and two versions of the engagement scale Table 6.2 Mean and standard deviation scores for engagement across company divisions Table 6.3 Table 6.4 Table 6.5 Table 6.6 Driver definitions Correlations between engagement and drivers Correlations between test battery surveys Correlations between engagement and the 3 components of commitment Table 6.7 Correlations between the eight drivers of engagement and continuance commitment Table 7.1 Table 7.2 Table 7.3 Comparison of the eight driver coefficient values in each subgroup Structural model coefficient values for all three divisions Chi squared comparison and fit Indices for the divisional models
x
List of figures Figure 1.1 Project framework illustrating the sequential nature of the study, the methodology used, and outcomes achieved. Figure 2.1 Figure 2.2 Figure 2.3 Figure 2.4 Figure 2.5 Figure 2.6 Figure 2.7 Figure 3.1 Figure 4.1 Figure 4.2 Figure 5.1 Figure 6.1 Figure 6.2 Figure 6.3 Figure 7.1 Figure 7.2 Figure 7.3 Figure 7.4 Figure 8.1 Leiter and Maslach’s burnout / engagement continuum Schaufeli and Bakker’s research model Gallup’s Business Performance Pathway Service Profit Chain – case study example Hewitt Associates employee engagement drivers The basic structure of the proposed engagement model The proposed engagement model Walkabout’s share price over the last five years Instrument building model The sequential nature of data collection and analyses The proposed and revised engagement themes / drivers Mean engagement scores across generational groups Mean engagement scores across tenure categories Mean engagement scores across position levels. The measurement model of engagement The revised structural model The confirmed engagement Model The structural model and coefficient values for all three divisions Engagement driver development: The sequential process of driver confirmation
xi
List of Appendices Appendix A: Interview schedules, explanatory statements and consent forms Appendix B: Original coding trees Appendix C: Final coding tree Appendix D: Survey Invitation Appendix E: Appendix F: Appendix G: Appendix H: Appendix I: Appendix J: Appendix K: Appendix L: Survey Explanatory Statement Demographic Statistics Means and Standard Deviations for Demographics Demographic Interaction Effects Determinants for the Number of Factors Extracted Pattern and Structural Matrix for Exploratory Factor Analysis Engagement Survey (drivers and engagement) Driver Scores across Divisions
Appendix M: Internal Reliability Statistics for Driver Variables Appendix N: EQS Statistics for the Measurement Model Including the EQS Diagram, the Goodness of Fit Summary, and the Covariance Matrix Appendix O: EQS Statistics for the confirmed engagement theory model including the EQS diagram, the goodness of fit summary, and the covariance matrix. Appendix P: EQS Statistics for Sub Group Analysis including EQS diagrams, the goodness of fit summaries, and the covariance matrixes.
xii
Abstract
This thesis contributes to engagement literature by clarifying what engagement is for employees in a large Australian travel retail organisation, how it can be measured, and the expected benefits for both employees and the organisation. With claims that disengagement costs the Australian economy over $30 billion annually (Hooper, 2006), the focus on engagement, particularity within the practitioner community, has grown exponentially. However, there is a lack of empirical research providing construct definition and measurement, ensuring credibility of this construct (Saks, 2006). The two main purposes of this study aimed to address this research gap by firstly producing a valid engagement survey which measured engagement and its predictors, and secondly producing a statistically tested engagement model which explained engagement, its antecedents, and consequences. The study was conducted using a mixed methods sequential design involving three projects. Project one involved the collection and analysis of 3 forms of qualitative data from which 12 main engagement themes were established and survey items generated. Document analysis, participant observation, and interviews (26) of current and former employees all served to identify themes and contextualize engagement within the organisation under study. Project two involved the development and testing of the initial engagement survey. Survey items were refined through a pilot study. The remaining items were reviewed by an expert panel, before being administered company wide returning 419 completed surveys. Exploratory factor analysis was used to refine the survey items and identify the engagement construct structure. Project three involved the validation of the engagement survey and confirmation of the engagement model. Structural equation modelling was used
xiii
for this purpose. The engagement survey, which included eight driver subscales and an engagement subscale, was validated. Factors measured within the survey were similar to others cited in the literature signalling potential survey generalizability. The engagement model which included causal links between engagement, its drivers (antecedents), and outcomes (consequences) was confirmed. As anticipated, all eight engagement drivers (senior leadership, team leadership, work demands, work support, employee empowerment, continuation, customer focus and financial rewards) functioned as positive predictors of engagement. However, mixed results were found concerning engagement outcome variables. Engagement showed a positive causal relationship with personal outcomes (continuance commitment), but a negative casual relationship with organisational outcomes (customer satisfaction, and company financials). Such results question an overwhelming theme within the literature which claims a positive casual effect of engagement for both personal and organisational outcomes. Further investigation is recommended to clarify these results and explore the possibility of other variable influences. The research of this thesis incorporated both consultancy and academic literature, marrying both perspectives to produce a measure and model relevant to each orientation.
doc_995253285.pdf
An organisation is a social entity that has a collective goal and is linked to an external environment.
EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT: MANAGING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EMPLOYEES AND THE ORGANISATION. A VALIDATED MEASURE AND MODEL.
Genevieve O’Reilly
Ph.D. THESIS
FACULTY OF HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES BOND UNIVERSITY
SUBMITTED DECEMBER 2007
ii
Signed Certification of Sources
This thesis is submitted to Bond University in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
This thesis represents my own work and contains no material which has been previously submitted for a degree or diploma at this University or any other institution.
Signature………………………………….
Date…………………..
iii
Acknowledgements This thesis is the result of many years’ work, which would have been infinitely more difficult to complete if it wasn’t for the support and assistance of those that helped me. I am truly grateful to the many that showed their patience, shared their wisdom, and gave me encouragement to complete this project. However, there are a few who I would like to thank specifically: My husband Shane, thank you for the countless discussions we had on engagement, and for believing in me. My supervisor Professor Richard Hicks, thank you for generously sharing your guidance and wisdom on organisational psychology and the PhD process. Your patience and enthusiasm were invaluable. Assistant Professor Mark Bahr, thank you for your knowledge and expertise you shared with me during the more challenging statistical analysis phase of my research. I greatly appreciate the time and effort you gave to my work. Krista Mathis, thank you for the countless hours you willingly gave to reading my thesis. Your proficiency of the English language provided the polish the final version needed. The 13 members of the expert panel, thank you for sharing your time, experience and insights. Your professional perspective was very helpful in creating a survey that was practical and easily understood by others. John Llyons, thank you for assisting in the negotiation process of reinstating the Walkabout project. Your ability to facilitate a successful outcome was much appreciated. The Walkabout employees, who participated in the project, thank you for giving your precious time and sharing your knowledge on engagement. In addition, I would
iv
particularly like to thank the four company liaisons who worked with me to get the data collection process “across the line”. Without it, this body of work would not exist.
v
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements …………………………………………………………………….iii List of Tables ...………………………………………………………………………….ix List of Figures …………………………………………………………………………...x List of appendices……………………………………………………………………….xi Abstract ………………………………………………………………………………….xii
Chapter 1: Engagement: A construct worthy of investigation ……………………..1 Timeliness of engagement research………………………………………….2 Project relevance ………………………………………………………………2 Study overview …………………………………………………………………4 Research program and outline………………………………………………..6 Engagement defined ……………………………………………………….…..7 Engagement and related constructs ……………………………………….. 13 Positive psychology and the value of engagement research …………….16 The cost of disengagement …………………………………………………..18 A global perspective on engagement ……………………………………….19 Chapter 2: A review of the main engagement models and related theory……….21 Academic based models……………………………………………………...21 The burnout / engagement model…………………………………..22 The demands and resources engagement model…………………28 Consultancy based models…………………………………………………..34 The Gallup engagement model……………………………………...34 The Hewitt engagement model………………………………………41 Engagement model summary………………………………………..49
vi
Engagement and relevant demographics……..………………...………….51 Project purposes………………………………………………………………53 Project aims: Summary of research questions and hypotheses...……….56 Chapter 3: The case in context: Walkabout and the Australian travel industry….59 Benefits and limitations of applied research……………………………...…59 The Australian travel industry………………………………………………...60 Walkabout Limited……………………………………………………………..62 Chapter 4: Research design…………………………………………………………..73 Study description………………………………………………………………73 Formulating the study’s main purposes……………………………………..73 Mixed methods framework……………………………………………………74 Data collection methods…………………………………………...…76 Study feasibility and limitations………………………………………83 Administration procedures: Internal and external………………….85 Ethics clearance……………………………………………………….86 Chapter 5: Project one. A qualitative assessment of engagement and its drivers..87 Qualitative data collection…………………………………………………….88 Company documents and reports…………………………………...88 Participant observation……………………………………………….89 Employee interviews………………………………………………….90 Qualitative analysis findings: Main themes identified……………………...94 Themes relating to engagement and its definition………………...95 Ten main driver themes at Walkabout………………….…………..98 What did Walkabout do differently?.............................................137 Applying the twelve engagement themes………………………...137
vii
Engagement theory development..……………………………...…………139 Chapter summary: Main findings……………………………...……………141 Chapter 6: Project two. Survey development and engagement construct clarification……………………………………………………………………………..142 Developing the engagement survey……………………………………..…143 Step one: Item generation…………………………………………..144 Step two: Questionnaire Administration…………………………..146 Step three: initial item reduction: Exploratory factor analysis…..150 Part one: The engagement scale……………………….…151 Part two: The drivers scale…………………………….…..158 Chapter summary: Main findings…………………………………………...165 Chapter 7: Project three. Engagement survey and model confirmation………...167 Assumptions……………………………………………………….…168 Engagement scale confirmation………………………………………….…171 Engagement model confirmation…………………………………………...173 Direct effects…………………………………………………………175 Indirect effects……………………………………………………….176 Subgroup analysis……………………………………………..……177 Chapter summary: Main findings…………………………………………..181 Chapter 8: Project findings: Applications, limitations, and further research……183 Main project outcomes………………………………………………………183 Main findings………………………………………………………………….184 1. Engagement as a construct……………………………………..184 2. Engagement and its drivers……………………………………..188
viii
3. The engagement survey…………………………………………192 4. The relationship between engagement and specific engagement outcomes……………………………………………………….….193 5. The engagement model………………………………………….195 6. Engagement at Walkabout…………………………………...….197 7. Engagement and its nomological network……………….........198 Study limitations, improvement and possibilities for further research…..200 References ……………………………………………………………………………204 Appendices…………………………………………………………………………….224
ix
List of Tables Table 5.1 Table 5.2 Table 6.1 The 10 main driver themes summarised from the qualitative data. Changes made to the proposed drivers Correlations between test battery scales and two versions of the engagement scale Table 6.2 Mean and standard deviation scores for engagement across company divisions Table 6.3 Table 6.4 Table 6.5 Table 6.6 Driver definitions Correlations between engagement and drivers Correlations between test battery surveys Correlations between engagement and the 3 components of commitment Table 6.7 Correlations between the eight drivers of engagement and continuance commitment Table 7.1 Table 7.2 Table 7.3 Comparison of the eight driver coefficient values in each subgroup Structural model coefficient values for all three divisions Chi squared comparison and fit Indices for the divisional models
x
List of figures Figure 1.1 Project framework illustrating the sequential nature of the study, the methodology used, and outcomes achieved. Figure 2.1 Figure 2.2 Figure 2.3 Figure 2.4 Figure 2.5 Figure 2.6 Figure 2.7 Figure 3.1 Figure 4.1 Figure 4.2 Figure 5.1 Figure 6.1 Figure 6.2 Figure 6.3 Figure 7.1 Figure 7.2 Figure 7.3 Figure 7.4 Figure 8.1 Leiter and Maslach’s burnout / engagement continuum Schaufeli and Bakker’s research model Gallup’s Business Performance Pathway Service Profit Chain – case study example Hewitt Associates employee engagement drivers The basic structure of the proposed engagement model The proposed engagement model Walkabout’s share price over the last five years Instrument building model The sequential nature of data collection and analyses The proposed and revised engagement themes / drivers Mean engagement scores across generational groups Mean engagement scores across tenure categories Mean engagement scores across position levels. The measurement model of engagement The revised structural model The confirmed engagement Model The structural model and coefficient values for all three divisions Engagement driver development: The sequential process of driver confirmation
xi
List of Appendices Appendix A: Interview schedules, explanatory statements and consent forms Appendix B: Original coding trees Appendix C: Final coding tree Appendix D: Survey Invitation Appendix E: Appendix F: Appendix G: Appendix H: Appendix I: Appendix J: Appendix K: Appendix L: Survey Explanatory Statement Demographic Statistics Means and Standard Deviations for Demographics Demographic Interaction Effects Determinants for the Number of Factors Extracted Pattern and Structural Matrix for Exploratory Factor Analysis Engagement Survey (drivers and engagement) Driver Scores across Divisions
Appendix M: Internal Reliability Statistics for Driver Variables Appendix N: EQS Statistics for the Measurement Model Including the EQS Diagram, the Goodness of Fit Summary, and the Covariance Matrix Appendix O: EQS Statistics for the confirmed engagement theory model including the EQS diagram, the goodness of fit summary, and the covariance matrix. Appendix P: EQS Statistics for Sub Group Analysis including EQS diagrams, the goodness of fit summaries, and the covariance matrixes.
xii
Abstract
This thesis contributes to engagement literature by clarifying what engagement is for employees in a large Australian travel retail organisation, how it can be measured, and the expected benefits for both employees and the organisation. With claims that disengagement costs the Australian economy over $30 billion annually (Hooper, 2006), the focus on engagement, particularity within the practitioner community, has grown exponentially. However, there is a lack of empirical research providing construct definition and measurement, ensuring credibility of this construct (Saks, 2006). The two main purposes of this study aimed to address this research gap by firstly producing a valid engagement survey which measured engagement and its predictors, and secondly producing a statistically tested engagement model which explained engagement, its antecedents, and consequences. The study was conducted using a mixed methods sequential design involving three projects. Project one involved the collection and analysis of 3 forms of qualitative data from which 12 main engagement themes were established and survey items generated. Document analysis, participant observation, and interviews (26) of current and former employees all served to identify themes and contextualize engagement within the organisation under study. Project two involved the development and testing of the initial engagement survey. Survey items were refined through a pilot study. The remaining items were reviewed by an expert panel, before being administered company wide returning 419 completed surveys. Exploratory factor analysis was used to refine the survey items and identify the engagement construct structure. Project three involved the validation of the engagement survey and confirmation of the engagement model. Structural equation modelling was used
xiii
for this purpose. The engagement survey, which included eight driver subscales and an engagement subscale, was validated. Factors measured within the survey were similar to others cited in the literature signalling potential survey generalizability. The engagement model which included causal links between engagement, its drivers (antecedents), and outcomes (consequences) was confirmed. As anticipated, all eight engagement drivers (senior leadership, team leadership, work demands, work support, employee empowerment, continuation, customer focus and financial rewards) functioned as positive predictors of engagement. However, mixed results were found concerning engagement outcome variables. Engagement showed a positive causal relationship with personal outcomes (continuance commitment), but a negative casual relationship with organisational outcomes (customer satisfaction, and company financials). Such results question an overwhelming theme within the literature which claims a positive casual effect of engagement for both personal and organisational outcomes. Further investigation is recommended to clarify these results and explore the possibility of other variable influences. The research of this thesis incorporated both consultancy and academic literature, marrying both perspectives to produce a measure and model relevant to each orientation.
doc_995253285.pdf