Research Articles (Industrial Psychology)

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Factors influencing the career choice of undergraduate students at a historically disadvantaged South African university
(IP Publishing, 2015) Abrahams, Fatima; Jano, Rukhsana; van Lill, Burger
During the apartheid years in South Africa, career guidance amongst disadvantaged learners was largely absent and, for many, career choices were limited and governed by politics. Despite South Africa having celebrated 20 years of democracy, this situation has improved only slightly. Therefore, the aims of the study were to determine the factors that influenced students' career choice and to ascertain the possible barriers that impacted their decision. An adapted version of Myburgh's Career Choices Questionnaire (2005) was administered to 721 undergraduate students. The results showed that parents and loans or bursaries were the largest sources of financial support and that anticipated benefits influenced the students' career choice, with the potential for personal growth and development, for future high earnings and for promotion to the top of the organization the most important among these. Furthermore, participants rated visits from lecturers and brochures as the most prominent sources of influence.
The relationship among change implementation, job satisfaction and organizational citizenship behavior in the Business Process Outsourcing industry in South Africa
(Business Perspectives, 2016) Muzanenhamo, George N.; Allen-Ile, Charles O.K.; Adams, Anthea
The unique and dynamic Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry in South Africa strives to thrive in a challenging business environment with the attendant need for stability, loyal and satisfied workforce. An empirical investigation was, therefore, conducted utilizing managerial and non-managerial employees in a stratified sampling technique. Questionnaires were administered to 250 employees from four selected organizations. The essence was to examine the nature of the relationship among change implementation, job satisfaction and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). Four significant results emerged. Firstly, there is a positive but moderate relationship between change implementation and OCB; there is a high or strong positive relationship between change implementation and job satisfaction; there is a positive, but moderate relationship between OCB and job satisfaction; and lastly the results confirm the assumption that job satisfaction moderates the relationship between change implementation and OCB. BPO firms need to understand the effects of change implementation on OCB and job satisfaction. This is because change management is inevitable in the BPO industry; therefore, organizations have to be constantly alert to tackle its demands.
Influence of personality and fatalistic belief on taxi driver behaviour
(SAGE Publications, 2016) Mahembe, Bright; Samuel, Olorunjuwon Michael
The religious perception among individuals in sub-Saharan Africa that the ‘Big Five’ personality dimensions and fatalism are predictors of drivers’ behaviours and road accidents has received little scientific investigations. This paucity of research in the roles of psychological factors such as personality and fatalistic beliefs in shaping positive driver behaviour and attitudes has thus provided motivation for the conduct of this quantitative study. We collected data from 203 conveniently sampled taxi drivers in Gauteng province of South Africa by means of a structured questionnaire. Our analysis, using Structural Equation Modelling, found significant positive relationships between agreeableness and positive driver behaviour, conscientiousness and positive driver behaviour, fatalism and extraversion, as well as fatalism and positive driver behaviour. The results highlighted the dimensions of being methodical, organised, and risk aversive on the road, on the one hand, and being social, cooperative, and good-natured, on the other hand. Findings of the study further indicated that fatalistic beliefs are prevalent and indeed characteristic of individuals who are sociable, gregarious, and assertive. These individuals tend to uphold their religious and spiritual beliefs in the linkages between road accidents and destiny. Insights provided by this study could assist the Department of Transport and related Road Safety Authorities in designing road safety campaigns that addresses the erroneous beliefs by drivers that road accidents are pre-destined, and not as a result of individual’s driving behaviour.
Extending the nomological network of wellness at work
(Southern African Institute for Management Scientists (SAIMS), 2016) Becker, Jurgen R.; de Bruin, Gideon P.; Gyorkos, Christina; Rossier, Jerome; Massoudi, Koorosh
Modern-day organisations face rapid and continuous change. In order to deal with this rapidly changing and current hostile economic environment, most organisations have become increasingly dependent on a healthy and engaged workforce. As a result of the direct and indirect organisational costs associated with work wellness, the total well-being of the individual worker has become the focal point of many organisational interventions. Although work wellness is a multifaceted and continuously evolving concept, most studies have adopted either a pathological or a salutogenic (positive) perspective when examining the construct. Congruent with current thinking in vocational psychology, a balanced model of work wellness was conceptualised in this study, containing both salutogenic (work engagement) and pathological (burnout) constructs. Strong empirical support was found for the proposed balanced model of work wellness based on data collected from a sample of 854 employees working across various sectors of the South African economy.
Evaluating the factor structure of the General Self-Efficacy Scale
(SAGE Publications, 2016) Nel, Petrus; Boshoff, Adre B.
Although the Sherer General Self-Efficacy Scale has often been used in clinical, personality, and organisational research, one of the major issues surrounding this instrument is that of an appropriate factor structure. In an endeavour to address the criticism levelled against this scale, this article draws on a study aimed at investigating the psychometric properties of the Sherer General Self-Efficacy Scale with respect to both its factor structure and estimates of reliability. A quantitative, cross-sectional research design with convenience sampling was used. A total of 295 aspiring chartered accountants who had sat one of their compulsory examinations completed the Sherer General Self-Efficacy Scale. Both the minimum average partial test and parallel analysis suggested that a unidimensional structure be investigated. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to compare two competing measurement models representing a three-dimensional factor structure and a unidimensional factor structure. Both models exhibited fairly similar levels of fit. To break this impasse, the Schmid–Leiman solution provided evidence that the Sherer General Self-Efficacy Scale consisted of a strong general factor which explained 76% of the variance. This study therefore concluded that general self-efficacy, as measured by the Sherer General Self-Efficacy Scale, may be treated as a unidimensional construct.
Factors influencing student usage of an online learning community: the case of a rural South African university
(Inderscience, 2017) Chinyamurindi, Willie Tafadzwa; Mahembe, Bright; Chimucheka, Tendai; Rungani, Ellen
Technology adoption within higher education is becoming popular. This has often resulted in hubs of learning referred to as an online learning community. The success of such platforms is dependent on full system utilisation. The study draws on a quantitative empirical investigation into the factors that influence the adoption of an online learning community amongst 252 first year students at a rural university in South Africa. The results of the study show that a positive relationship exists between online course design and student ratings of perceived usefulness and perceived interaction (PI) concerning the utilisation and usage of an online learning community. Furthermore, the online learning community’s interface design was found to be positively related to ratings of perceived ease of use but not with PI. Based on these findings, interventions are proposed, which have ramifications in working within online learning communities to benefit both the student and the lecturer.
Effect of ethical leadership and climate on effectiveness
(AOSIS, 2017) Engelbrecht, Amos S.; Wolmarans, Janneke; Mahembe, Bright
ORIENTATION: The increasing prevalence of theft, sabotage and other deviant behaviours in the workplace has disastrous effects for organisations, such as lowered effectiveness, escalated costs and the organisation’s declining reputation. RESEARCH PURPOSE: The purpose of the research was to design and investigate the relationships among perceived leader effectiveness, ethical climate and ethical leadership. A further objective of the investigation was to validate a conceptual model clarifying the structural associations among the latent constructs in the South African corporate domain. MOTIVATION FOR THE STUDY: A successful leader is both an ethical and an effective leader. An organisation’s leadership is seen as the most critical element in establishing and maintaining an ethical climate in organisations. RESEARCH DESIGN, APPROACH AND METHOD: A convenient and multi-cultural sample comprised of 224 employees from various organisations in South Africa. The structure and content of the variables were analysed through confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), beside item analysis. MAIN FINDINGS: Satisfactory reliability was found for all the measurement scales. The results of CFA demonstrated acceptable fit with the data for the refined measurement and structural models. The results of structural equation modelling (SEM) indicated positive relationships among ethical leadership, ethical climate and leader effectiveness. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: Organisational leaders should take full responsibility for cultivating ethics through ethical leader behaviour and an ethical climate. By reinforcing these aspects, perceived leader effectiveness can be advanced, which will ultimately decrease corruption and other forms of counterproductive behaviour in South African organisations. CONTRIBUTION: The study provides further theoretical and empirical evidence that leadership effectiveness can be realised through instilling an ethical organisational climate in which ethical leadership is exhibited and encouraged.
Integrity, ethical leadership, trust and work engagement
(Emerald, 2017) Engelbrecht, Amos S.; Heine, Gardielle; Mahembe, Bright
PURPOSE– The purpose of this paper is to investigate how leader integrity and ethical leadership can influence trust in the leader and employee work engagement. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH– Data were collected using an electronic web-based questionnaire completed by 204 employees from various business organisations. Data were analysed by means of item analysis and confirmatory factor analysis conducted via structural equation modelling. FINDINGS – High levels of reliability were found for the measurement scales. Good model fit was demonstrated for the measurement and structural models. Empirical support was found for all the postulated relationships in the structural model. ORIGINALITY/VALUE – This study is the first to analyse the joint relationships between leader integrity and work engagement through the mediating role of ethical leadership (i.e. moral management) and trust in the sise the key role played by ethical leaders in creating an ethical and trusting work climate conducive for employee engagement.
A study to assess the reliability and construct validity of the Abbreviated Self-leadership Questionnaire: a South African study
(SAGE Publications, 2017) Mahembe, Bright; Engelbrecht, Amos; Wakelin, Zani
Self-leadership has been recognised as a fundamental competency for effective learning and job performance. The primary goal of this study was to validate the Abbreviated Self-leadership Questionnaire on a South African sample. Numerous questionnaires have been developed to measure self-leadership, with the Revised Self-leadership Questionnaire being the most widely used questionnaire. However, the Revised Self-leadership Questionnaire has been deemed too long; hence, the authors abbreviated the measure. Therefore, there is a need to assess the reliability and construct validity of the abbreviated Self-leadership Questionnaire on a South African sample. A non-probability sample consisting of 400 students drawn from a university in the Western Cape was used. The reliability of the Abbreviated Self-leadership Questionnaire was evaluated using SPSS, while construct validity was assessed via confirmatory factory analyses in the LISREL program. Moderate levels of reliability were found for the subscales of the Abbreviated Self-leadership Questionnaire. Reasonable model fit with the data was found for the first-order measurement model. The study contributes to the requirements of the Amended Employment Equity Act of South Africa (Republic of South Africa, 1998) which promotes the use of reliable and valid instruments in South Africa by confirming the psychometric properties of the Abbreviated Self-leadership Questionnaire.
General performance factors and group differences in assessment center ratings
(Emerald, 2017) Buckett, Anne; Becker, Jurgen R.; Roodt, Gert
PURPOSE – The purpose of this paper is to establish the extent of general performance factors (GPF) in assessment center (AC) exercises and dimensions. The study further aims to determine if larger GPF contributes to larger ethnic group differences across exercises and dimensions that are more cognitively loaded in an emerging market context. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH – The authors analyzed data across three independent AC samples (Sample 1: N = 172; Sample 2: N = 281; Sample 3: N = 428). The Schmid-Leiman solution was used to determine the extent of GPF in AC exercises and dimensions. An independent samples t-test and Cohen’s d was used to determine the size of ethnic group differences across exercises and dimensions. FINDINGS – The results indicate that GPF is consistently large for the in-basket exercise. Furthermore, dimensions that are more cognitively loaded, such as problem solving, strategic thinking, and business acumen, seem to produce the largest ethnic group differences. Overall, the research indicates that larger GPF is associated with larger ethnic group differences in relation to specific AC dimensions and exercises. ORIGINALITY/VALUE – The authors add to the literature by investigating the prevalence of a GPF in AC ratings across AC exercises and dimensions. A novel contribution of the research attempts to link the prevalence of a GPF in AC ratings to group membership in South Africa. The study offers an alternative statistical analysis procedure to examine GPF in AC ratings.
The measurement of values: A psychometric evaluation of the Schwartz Value Survey in the South African context
(Southern African Institute for Management Scientists (SAIMS), 2017) Becker, Jurgen; Engelbrecht, Amos; Boonzaaier, Michele; Finch, Jenna D.; Meiring, Deon; Louw, Gert
Over the years a great deal of research has been devoted to the study of values in relation to work, since values are strongly associated with behaviour. Values are deeply held views that act as guiding principles for individual and organisational decision-making. Cultural values are the broad goals that members of a social institution pursue, since they justify individual actions in pursuit of valued goals. Cultural values thus play an important role in the way that social institutions function by sanctioning which attitudes and behaviour are normative. In the organisational context, the broad goals that members are expected and encouraged to pursue make up the cultural values of that organisation. Values may prove to be an important unifying force for organisational leaders, especially in the multicultural work context in South Africa. In the literature, however, the linkages between individual values and attitudes, behaviour, and social experiences are fragmented. In part, the inconsistency in results can be explained by measurement and methodological problems associated with the measurement of personal values. The purpose of this study is to re-visit the issue of personal values by investigating the psychometric properties of the Schwartz Value Survey (SVS). Although the SVS is one of the most widely used values measures, only limited research has been conducted on the instrument in the South African context. The SVS may be of value in this context in part because it has proven to be particularly adept at measuring value priorities in cross-cultural environments. Aconvenience sample of 537 students from four prominent universities in South Africa participated in the research study. A confirmatory factor analytic (CFA) approach was used to investigate the internal structure of the SVS. The findings of the study suggest that the SVS holds promise as a measure to study value priorities, but that it may suffer from a lack of discriminant validity.
The role of psychological capital in the relationship between authentic leadership and work engagement
(AOSIS, 2018) du Plessis, Marieta; Boshoff, Adre B.
ORIENTATION: The focus on positive psychology in the workplace includes interest in engagement of employees and the conditions and/or characteristics that explain variance in engagement levels. RESEARCH PURPOSE: Psychological capital (PsyCap) can be used as a substitute or enhancer for leadership in the development of work engagement in cases where the individual has a high level of PsyCap. MOTIVATION FOR THE STUDY: With work engagement becoming increasingly critical to the competitiveness of today’s organisations, there is a need to better understand the role of leadership and psychological strengths that support work engagement among employees. Research approach/design and method: In the quantitative study (on the responses of 647 managers from a national private healthcare organisation), the mediating and moderating role of psychological capital (PsyCap) on the relationship between authentic leadership and work engagement was tested. MAIN FINDINGS: Psychological capital partially mediated the relationship between authentic leadership and work engagement. Similarly, PsyCap was also a moderator of the relationship, although the main effects remained significant. PRACTICAL/MANAGERIAL IMPLICATIONS: Organisations and leaders should focus on developing a high level of PsyCap within their followers in order to retain high levels of work engagement. CONTRIBUTION/VALUE-ADD: The role of PsyCap in the leadership–engagement relationship indicates that individuals can draw from their PsyCap to improve work engagement.
A review of the impact of the national micro small and medium enterprise policy on youth employment and enterprise development: a case of the small medium enterprises development agency of Nigeria
(Lifescience Global, 2018) Ilori, Emmanuel; Ile, Isioma Uregu; Allen-Ile, Charles O.K.
This research-based paper examines the impact that the national small enterprise development agency, established in line with policy, has had on employment creation and on the uptake of entrepreneurial pursuits amongst the youth in Nigeria. The potential extensive impact of the small, micro, medium enterprises (SMMEs sometimes also referred to as SME or MSME) sector in nation building cannot be over emphasized. SMMEs’ contributions include job creation, expanding the means of sustainable livelihoods and ensuring impartial distribution of wealth amongst citizens. The implementation of impactful SMME policies also allow increased savings for future investments and for the effective utilization of the nation’s raw materials. Furthermore, proper implementation of SMME policy also boosts the sources of income to government through tax income and contributes significantly to nations Gross Domestic Products (GDP). The locus of the present research is the Small Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) which has been mandated and empowered by legislation as a principal agency to stimulate the development and transformation of the small enterprise and informal sector of the economy. The specific site studied was that of its operations in Akure and environs, Ondo State, Nigeria. The research relied extensively on the meta-analytic technique in examining the official and unofficial reported impact of the policy as overseen by the agency towards achieving the stated aims for its establishment. The core dimensions of the investigation included (a) the extent to which the guiding policy is implemented as intended from a monitoring and evaluation point of view, (b) the impact of the policy on employment creation that benefits the teeming youth of the country and (c) ultimately, the extent to which the policy and the agency have been effective in overall enterprise development. By adopting a monitoring and evaluation approach, the preliminary findings appear to be pointing to a number of unforeseen, and in some instances, self-inflicted negating factors that appear to be inimical to the achievement of the desired objectives. Since the goal(s) of enterprise development are always on-going, this paper proposes the adoption of a longitudinal monitoring and evaluation (M &E) framework in order to ensure that what is planned for or intended is actually what is achieved as far as the impact of SMME on youth employment and enterprise development in Nigeria is concerned. In order to accomplish its core objectives, this research, collected limited primary data while relying extensively on available secondary data and records. In addition, a structured, personal in-depth interview guide was drafted to collect additional, corroborating data from officials of the small business development agency.
Authentic leadership, followership, and psychological capital as antecedents of work engagement
(Routledge, 2018) du Plessis, Marieta; Boshoff, Adré B
The present study investigated authentic leadership, psychological capital, and followership behaviour influences on work engagement of employees . Respondents were 901 South African employees within the healthcare industry organisation (n = 647) and mining industry (n = 254) . The employees completed questionnaires on authentic leadership, psychological capital, and followership behaviour, and work engagement . Results following structural equation modelling and mediation analysis suggest work engagement to be explained by the psychological capital of the employee rather than by authentic leadership qualities . Improving employee psychological capital has the potential to enhance the levels of work engagement of employees.
Authentic leadership, organisational citizenship behaviours, and intention to quit: the indirect effect of psychological ownership
(South African journal of Psychology, 2020) du Plessis, Marieta
The aim of this study was to explore the influence of perceived authentic leadership on followers’ citizenship behaviour and their intention to quit their jobs, and to examine the indirect effect of psychological ownership in the relevant relationships. The study used a cross-sectional survey design to gather data from a sample of South African service industry employees (N = 384). It employed structural equation modelling to test the hypotheses formulated. The study found that psychological ownership indirectly affected the relationship between authentic leadership and employees’ organisational citizenship behaviour and intention to quit. This study enables organisations to gain a better understanding of how a contextual resource such as authentic leadership behaviours can influence followers’ organisational citizenship and intention to quit through increasing feelings of ownership of the organisation.
Subgroup differences in situational judgment test scores: Evidence from large applicant samples
(Wiley-Blackwell, 2020) Herde, Christoph Nils; Lievens, Filip; Shalfrooshan, Ali
To promote diversity in organizations it is important to have accurate knowledge about subgroup differences associated with selection procedures. However, current estimates of subgroup differences in situational judgment tests (SJTs) are overwhelmingly based on range‐restricted incumbent samples that are downwardly biased. This study provides much‐needed applicant level estimates of SJT subgroup differences (N = 37,530). As a key finding, Black‐White differences (d = 0.66) were higher than in incumbent samples (d = 0.38).
The role of emotional intelligence and autonomy in transformational leadership: A leader member exchange perspective
(AOSIS, 2020) Waglay, Maryam; Becker, Jurgen R.; du Plessis, Marieta
The role of emotional intelligence, autonomy and leader member exchange (LMX) is examined in the relationship between transformational leadership and unit-level performance.The goal of the present study was to investigate the role of emotional intelligence and autonomy in the effectiveness of leadership in organisations through high LMX relationships.The relationship between transformational leadership and unitlevel performance is well documented. However, the specific role of emotional intelligence, job autonomy and high-quality LMX relationships as transmission mechanisms is not well understood.
An evaluation of job crafting as an intervention aimed at improving work engagement
(AOSIS, 2020) Thomas, Emmarentia C.; Plessis, Marieta du; Thomas, Kevin G.F.
In the construction industry, a lack of engagement by employees can have serious and costly health and safety consequences. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether a job-crafting intervention could improve the work engagement of individuals employed in the construction industry. Because of tight deadlines and stringent requirements, managers in the construction industry are often unable to reduce the demands on, or increase the resources available to, their employees. Hence, if employees are to increase their work engagement, they need to exert personal agency by recrafting their own jobs.
A confirmatory factor analytic study of an authentic leadership measure in Nigeria
(OpenJournals Publishing AOSIS (Pty) Ltd, 2020) Balogun, Tolulope V.; Mahembe, Bright; Allen-Ile, Charles O.K.
Authentic leadership has been identified as one of the competencies for effective leaders. Research purpose: The primary goal of the present study was to test, on a Nigerian sample, the psychometric properties of the Authentic Leadership Inventory (ALI) developed by Neider and Schriesheim. Motivation for the study: Various instruments have been developed to measure authentic leadership, with the ALI being one of the widely used questionnaires. There is a need to assess the reliability and construct validity of the ALI on a Nigerian sample owing to paucity of studies on its psychometric properties in this setting. Research approach/design and method: A non-probability sample consisting of 213 bank employees working in Nigeria was studied. The ALI was used to measure authentic leadership, and its reliability was evaluated using SPSS, while construct validity was assessed through confirmatory factory analyses in the Linear Structural Relations (LISREL) programme. Main findings: Moderate levels of reliability were found for the subscales of the ALI.
Perceived career management challenges of academics at a South African university
(AOSIS, 2021) Barnes, Nina; du Plessis, Marieta; Frantz, Jose M.
Understanding academic career challenges is important at a national and global level, to support academic career progression. Whilst challenges are identified in academic career literature, higher education institutions are identified as complex interdependent structures and, therefore, encouraged to be studied from a perspective of interdependency and complexity.ore and describe the perceived career management challenges of academics at a South African university. To address the need for an integrated approach, from an individual and organisational perspective, through a systems-thinking framework (STF), which acknowledges academic career progression as an interdependent and complex system.

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