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Access Type
WSU Access
Date of Award
January 2024
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Department
Psychology
First Advisor
Shanique G. Brown
Abstract
Many researchers agree that understanding individual differences in employee decision making could yield critical insights relevant to selection, training, leadership, and employee development (Blacksmith et al., 2020; Dalal & Brooks, 2013). This study sought to make theoretical and practical contributions to the literature by a) using a person-centered analytical approach to categorize decision makers into unique profiles, and b) exploring how job characteristics and decision profiles interact to predict job satisfaction and job performance.
A latent profile analysis conducted with 335 full-time employees revealed that participants could be sorted into two unique decision-making profiles based on their use of the 5 decision styles outlined in Scott and Bruce’s (1995) General Decision Style Measure. These profiles were: a) an ‘automatic’ profile, in which higher levels of spontaneous and avoidant styles were used, and b) a ‘deliberate’ profile in which high levels of the rational style were used. Profile membership did significantly interact with job characteristics to influence job satisfaction and job performance. Specifically, increasing perceived autonomy improved job satisfaction for both profiles but it had a more extreme impact on those in the deliberate profile. The interaction between autonomy and profile membership was also significant for job performance, but while perceptions of performance improved as autonomy increased for those in the automatic profile, they decreased for those in the deliberate profile. Social support also significantly interacted with profile membership to influence perceptions of job performance, such that those in the automatic profile perceived better performance in roles with high social support.
These findings support a) the more theoretically grounded perspective that individuals use a variety of decision-making styles instead of just one dominant style, and b) that the use and efficacy of certain styles likely depends on a combination of individual preferences and environmental factors.
Recommended Citation
Lamarre, Georgia, "Decision-Making Profiles And Job Characteristics: A Latent Profile Analysis Of Decision-Making Styles And Organizational Outcomes" (2024). Wayne State University Dissertations. 4022.
https://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/oa_dissertations/4022
