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A General Structure of Job Performance: Evidence from Two Studies

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to test alternative models of job performance based on competing categorization criteria.

Design/methodological/approach

Survey-based data were collected from individuals in two separate studies. In Study 1, proficiency ratings of job performance were collected from individuals (N = 553) across multiple jobs in four organizations in three Latin America countries. Similar data (N = 489) were collected as part of a second study in order to provide additional support for the results observed in the first study.

Findings

Modest support was obtained for performance models based on prior literature and a modified ten-factor solution. Follow-up analyses, on the basis of multidimensional scaling, suggested an alternative categorization that unveiled three underlying proficiency-dimensions. Emerging dimensions suggest that proficiency can be classified according to (a) the target of work behaviors (i.e., data, persons, and things), (b) the degree of influence behaviors convey (controlling others versus do-it-yourself), and (c) the degree of interaction involved (integration vs. working in isolation).

Implications

The modest fit of the data with performance models derived from the extant literature calls for further investigations of the structure emerging from the current studies.

Originality

These studies contrasted existing methods to categorize employee proficiency and provided empirical evidence of the shortcomings of these methods. Results also provided alternative criteria to discriminate performance behaviors.

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Notes

  1. We thank an anonymous reviewer for this suggestion.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Management, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, 2801 S. University Avenue, Little Rock, AR, 72204, USA

    Otmar E. Varela

  2. Department of Psychology, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, USA

    Ronald S. Landis

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  1. Otmar E. Varela
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  2. Ronald S. Landis
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Correspondence to Otmar E. Varela.

Appendix

Appendix

See Table 5.

Table 5 Distribution of items throughout models tested
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Varela, O.E., Landis, R.S. A General Structure of Job Performance: Evidence from Two Studies. J Bus Psychol 25, 625–638 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869-010-9155-8

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