an empirical assessment of kanungo's (1982) concept and measure of job involvement

APPLIED PSYCHOLOGY: AN INERNATIONAL REVIEW, 1990,39 (3) 293-306

An Empirical Assessment of Kanungo’s (1982) Concept and Measure of Job Involvement

Janice M. Paterson and Michael P. O’Driscoll University of Waikato, New Zealand

L’utilite de la conceptualisation cognitive de Kanungo (1982) et de sa mesure ii dix-items de I’implication dans le travail fut etudiee, avec un echantillon stratifie de 157 travailleurs neo-zelandais. Des coefficients alpha de 0.81 et 0.83 et une correlation test-retest de 0.86 montrtrent que I’echelle avait une fidelite raisonnable, bien que la faible performance de I’item isole suggtre qu’il pourrait f t re ray6 de I’tchelle. Les correlations positives entre I’implication dans le travail e t le nombre d’heures regulitrement travailltes, la somme des heures supplementaires impayees et I’effort investi dans la profession, demontrtrent la valeur du crittre de la mesure et avancent le fait que le concept d’implication dans le travail pourrait i t r e utilise comme prevision possible des conduites likes A la performance. Les resultats montrant que la satisfaction au travail est like positivement A l’tquilibre personnel et associee negativement aux intentions de mobilite, indiquent qu’elle pourrait f t re facteur de prediction de dtveloppements positifs pour I’organisation comme pour I’individu, tandis que le modele distinct des covariations entre I’implication dans le travail e t la satisfaction au travail, met en vedette le besoin de faire la difference entre ces concepts e t mesures.

The usefulness of Kanungo’s (1982) cognitive conceptualisation and 10-item measure of job involvement was investigated using a stratified sample of 157 New Zealand workers. Alpha coefficients of 0.81 and 0.83 and a test-retest correlation of 0.86 showed the scale to have reasonable reliability, although the poor performance of the detachment item suggests it should be deleted from the scale. Positive relationships between job involvement and the number of regular hours worked, amount of unpaid overtime and effort put into the job demonstrated the criterion validity of the measure and suggest that the concept of job involvement may be a potential predictor of performance-related behaviours. The finding that job satisfaction was positively related to well-being and negatively associated with turnover intentions indicates that it may predict positive outcomes for both the organisation and the individual, whereas the distinct pattern of covariates exhibited by job involvement and job satisfaction highlights the need to differentiate between these concepts and measures.

Requests for reprints should be sent to Janice M. Paterson, Department of Psychology. University of Waikato. Hamilton, New Zealand.

0 1990 International Association of Applied Psychology

294 PATERSON A N D O’DRISCOLL

I NTRODUCTIO N

Work motivation has long been regarded as a vital contributor to work behaviour and organisational functioning, as shown by numerous studies which have explored the relationship between individual levels of motivation and such variables as job performance, absenteeism, and job satisfaction (Muchinsky, 1987; Staw, 1986). One dimension which has received increasing attention in recent years is job involvement, which Kanungo (1981) defined as psychological identification with or beliefs about the importance of the job to the individual. Although this concept would appear to be potentially significant in the prediction of performance, satisfaction, and perhaps even the quality of work life and psychological well-being (Innes & Clarke, 1985; O’Driscoll, 1987), the literature reveals considerable disagreement over the nature of job involvement, a prolifer- ation of terms, definitions, and measuring instruments (Morrow, 1983; Rabinowitz & Hall, 1977; Saleh & Hosek, 1976), and a lack of a coherent theoretical framework for linking job involvement with other work-related variables (Saleh, 1981). This confusion has impeded efforts to demonstrate the usefulness of the concept for organisational behaviour and managerial practice. Consequently, the present study was designed to assess the practical and theoretical significance of a recent conceptualisation and measure of job involvement proposed by Kanungo (1979, 1981, 1982), who has made a major contribution to the area.

Kanungo (1979) clarified the conceptual confusion by restricting job involvement to the cognitive dimension of attitudes towards a specific job, and outlining a framework which specifies some of the antecedents and outcomes of this construct. According to this approach, job involvement is a situationally determined descriptive belief arising from the perceived potential of a specific job to satisfy an individual’s salient needs (see also Lefkowitz, Somers, & Weinberg, 1984). Cast in this light, job involvement can be differentiated from the affective dimension of job satisfaction, and from attitudes to work in general, including the “Protestant work ethic”, even though these domains may be related in practice.

Although an empirical measure of job involvement (Lodahl & Kejner, 1965) has been available for some time, concern over the inclusion of items reflecting the affective and behavioural dimensions of attitudes led to the construction of a new scale (Kanungo, 1982) comprising 10 items which tap identification with and beliefs about the importance of the job to the individual’s self-concept. Using a Canadian sample of full-time employees, Kanungo (1982) obtained an alpha coefficient of 0.87 and a test-retest correlation of 0.85, and more recently Blau (1985) reported alphas ranging from 0.83 to 0.87 in four samples of university employees. These findings suggest the Kanungo scale exhibits acceptable internal and temporal reliability. In addition, factor analyses showing job involvement items and

EMPIRICAL ASSESSMENT OF JOB INVOLVEMENT 295

generalised work attitudes loaded on separate factors (Kanungo, 1982) and empirical distinctions between job involvement and intrinsic motivation, skill utilisation and decision influence (Blau, 1985) confirmed the theoretical distinctions between these concepts. Criterion validity was illustrated by significant correlations with job satisfaction (Kanungo, 1982).

Though these results provide some support for Kanungo’s conceptualisation and measure of job involvement, some limitations need to be noted. First, Kanungo’s sample consisted of highly educated, university extension course enrollees who may have had fewer problems under- standing the content of the items than less educated people. Research using a broader cross-section of educational levels is necessary to ensure that issues such as item ambiguity do not influence reliability coefficients for the instrument (Nunnally, 1978). Similarly, the possibility that internal consistency coefficients were inflated is raised by Blau’s (1985) finding that the item concerning detachment from the job did not achieve salient loadings on any of the dimensions identified in his factor analyses. Further empirical analysis is required to substantiate Blau’s conclusion that this item be deleted from the scale.

Another problem with Kanungo’s job involvement measure arises from the relatively poor evidence of criterion validity, which is a prerequisite for construct validity (Nunnally, 1978). The existing evidence rests on the link Kanungo (1982) demonstrated between job involvement and its assumed cause (job satisfaction) rather than to any job-related behaviours which may be outcomes. However, Rabinowitz and Hall (1977) found that job involvement and job satisfaction show similar patterns of relationships to behaviours like absenteeism, turnover, and performance, which suggests that the positive relationship Kanungo (1982) found between job involvement and job satisfaction may indicate redundancy between the concepts rather than the criterion validity of the job involvement measure. Estab- lishing a link between job involvement and potential outcome variables would provide a more convincing test of Kanungo’s claim that job involvement will influence job behaviours, and help demonstrate both the practical significance of the concept and the criterion validity of the measure.

An outcome-oriented approach to criterion validity can also address a major limitation of Kanungo’s (1979) theoretical framework which fails to specify any consequences of job involvement for individual workers. This omission appears to be particularly important in view of Rabinowitz and Hall’s (1977) warning that over-involvement may be associated with negative personal outcomes, such as coronary heart disease and family-work role conflict. An exploration of potential outcomes for individuals could extend the theoretical framework underlying job involvement and determine whether possible organisational benefits of high levels of job involvement are achieved at the expense of individual well-being.

296 PATERSON AND O’DRISCOLL

In view of the limitations noted above, the purpose of the present study was to examine the reliability and criterion validity of Kanungo’s (1982) job involvement scale and to assess the utility of the concept of involvement. The first aim was to investigate the internal consistency and temporal stability of the measure using a more representative sample of workers. Although we were interested in exploring properties of the total scale, particular attention was focused on the detachment item, which Blau (1985) identified as problematical for the overall reliability of the instrument.

Given the lack of data on criterion validity, the second aim of this study was to examine links of job involvement to other attitudes and behaviours, and to establish some potential outcomes of beliefs about the importance of a job. Positive relationships between job involvement and attitudes such as job satisfaction and job preference offer some evidence of criterion validity because people who believe a job is important to them should be more satisfied with i t and more likely to choose the same job again than people to whom the job is not important. As Kanungo (1979) claimed that job involvement will influence job-related behaviours, significant relationships to the number of hours worked regularly per week, the amount of unpaid overtime worked, self-rated effort on the job and turnover intentions would provide further evidence of criterion validity, and establish the concept of job involvement as a potential predictor of some organis- ationally relevant behaviours. Following Rabinowitz and Hall (1977), the relationship between involvement and psychological well-being was investigated to assess potential outcomes of job involvement for individuals. A negative relationship between these variables would suggest that any organisational benefits arising from job involvement may be incompatible with individual well-being.

The third aim of this research was to examine possible redundancy between measures of job involvement and job satisfaction (Morrow, 1983) and to assess the usefulness of Kanungo’s distinction between the cognitive and affective dimensions of job attitudes. In their review of the literature in this field, Rabinowitz and Hall (1977) noted that satisfaction and earlier measures of involvement (for example, Lodahl & Kejner, 1965) exhibit similar patterns of relationships with performance, absenteeism, and turnover. Therefore i t is important to determine the degree to which these concepts overlap. Involvement and satisfaction should be related to each other (Kanungo, 1982). job preference, and turnover intentions (Porter & Steers, 1978) because these variables represent the cognitive, affective, and conative dimensions of the same attitude. However, involvement rather than satisfaction should be related to hours worked, unpaid overtime. and effort, as a person may be highly satisfied with a job simply because it is undemanding. Finally, the spillover model of work-nonwork


relations (Champow, 1981) predicts that satisfaction and well-being will be positively related whereas Rabinowitz and Hall’s (1977) warning suggests involvement and well-being will be negatively related. This pattern of findings would show job involvement and job satisfaction to be associated with different potential outcomes and suggest that both are useful concepts and measures.

METHOD

Sample

The sample consisted of 157 full-time workers selected from 32 organisations in a medium-sized New Zealand city. Census data (New Zealand Department of Statistics, 1981) were used to stratify the sample to make it representative of the gender, employment sector (public, private, and self-employed), and the 10 major industrialloccupational categories of New Zealand workers. Organisations were selected through personal contacts or the business section of the telephone directory to include a range of different-sized enterprises, and participants were chosen by managers or personnel officers to reflect cross-sections of different work sites, or skill and qualification groups. Of the organisations approached, 80% agreed to take part and the response rate for individuals was 85.3%.

Participants, 63.7% of whom were males, had an average age of 33.9 years (S.D. = 11.6). Most of the sample (71%) identified themselves as Caucasian New Zealanders, 12% were indigenous Europeans and the remainder were predominant Maoris and Pacific Islanders. Job tenure ranged from one month to 39 years (M = 56 months); the number of hours worked weekly ranged from 24 to 80 (M = 44, S.D. = 9.7). Although the sample was representative in most respects, people with no formal educational qualifications were somewhat underrepresented whereas those with trade diplomas or university degrees were slightly overrepresented.

Measures

Two self-report questionnaire schedules were developed for this study. Both schedules included Kanungo’s (1982) 10-item job involvement (JI) scale using a 7-point agree/disagree response format. Attitude and job behaviour measures used to establish the criterion validity of the JI scale were divided between the two questionnaires to reduce time required for administration and meet limitations placed on employees’ time. Distribut- ing the criterion variables between the two time periods was also intended to help reduce any tendency to generalise responses from one measure (for example, job satisfaction) to others tapping similar dimensions, such as preference or well-being.


Attitude Criteria. Job satisfaction and job preference measures were used to assess the relationship between JI and job attitudes. and well-being was included to tap evaluations which extend beyond the job setting.

Job satisfaction (JS), measured at Time 1, was assessed using an l l- i tem scale tapping satisfaction with the work itself, autonomy, task feedback. agent feedback, chance to work closely with others, chance for friendships, amount of respect, pay, physical environment, security, and promotion. Respondents indicated their extent of satisfaction with each aspect on a 6-point Likert response format. This measure was based on a version of the job satisfaction section of the Job Diagnostic Survey (Hackman & Old- ham. 1980) used by O’Driscoll and Thomas (1987). The alpha of 0.85 found here was similar to those of 0.81 and 0.83 found by O’Driscoll and Thomas (1987).

Job preference, measured at Time 2, consisted of a single question asking respondents how certain they were that they would choose the same job again if they had the choice between that and another. A 6-point response format offered options ranging from “definitely choose this job“ to “definitely choose other job”.

Well-being (WB) was measured at Time 2 using the 20-item questionnaire section of Kammann and Flett’s (1983) “Affectometer 2“ which was developed using New Zealand samples. A 6-point response format with options ranging from “never” to “always” allowed participants to indicate how often the statements described their feelings. Typical examples of items include “My life is on the right track”, “ I feel close to people around me”, and “My thoughts go around in useless circles”. This scale’s validity was demonstrated by negative correlations to neuroticism, anxiety, depression, and somatic complaints (Kammann & Flett, 1983) while the alpha of 0.84 found here supports Diener’s (1984) recommendation that the scale deserves wider use as a measure of positive and negative affect.

Job Behaviour Criteria. Three self-reported job behaviours were used to assess potential work-related outcomes of J I while the number of strategies used to search for another job was included to tap a potential outcome which extends beyond the setting of the current job. The number of regular hours worked weekly was assessed by a single question included in the Time 1 questionnaire.

Unpaid overtime. measured at Time 2, consisted of two questions tapping time worked over the previous two weeks during lunch or tea- breaks, and before or after work. Responses to these items were summed to provide a relatively objective overall measure of time worked for which no pay or other compensation was received.

Effort was measured at Time 2 using Lawler and Hall’s (1970) single question asking how much effort respondents put into their jobs. The


7-point response format options ranged from “a great deal more” to “a great deal less than most people”.

Search strategies information, collected at Time 1, was a self-reported behavioural measure representing turnover intentions. This measure was based on the assumption that stronger intentions of leaving the current job would be reflected in using more strategies to search for another position. Five questions asked respondents how often they had used various strategies to find another job over the last four weeks. Strategies included the number of friends asked to help find a job, vacancy noticeboards checked, jobs applied for, interviews completed and personnel agencies they were registered with. A modest alpha coefficient of 0.65 was found for the sample of 27 people who were looking for another job.

Procedure

The purpose and importance of instrument validation and problems arising from sampling bias were explained to managers to ensure they would not systematically select participants on the basis of their work performance. Similarly, social desirability biases were minimised by explaining to participants that the study was concerned with the psychometric properties of the instrument, not individuals’ attitudes and response levels. Respondents completed questionnaires at their work sites on two occasions, separated by an interval of approximately three weeks. A relatively short test-retest period was necessary to ensure that any differences in responses were due to poor reliability of the measure rather than changes in levels of job involvement. Confidentiality and anonymity were assured and. on comple- tion of the research, summaries of the study were made available to all participants.

RESULTS

The JI scale alpha coefficients of 0.81 and 0.85 found at the two test periods were similar to that of 0.87 reported by Kanungo (1982). As shown in Table 1, corrected item-total correlations ranged from 0.16 to 0.65 at the first test period and from 0.18 to 0.67 at the second, while the mean inter-item correlations were 0.31 and 0.36 respectively. Individual item test-retest correlations varying from 0.51 to 0.77 were all significant ( P < 0.001), while the scale tcst-retest coefficient of 0.87 was similar to Kanungo’s 0.85. Item 7, which deals with detachment from the job, had the lowest corrected item-total correlations at both times and the poorest test-retest reliability. Removal of this item increased the alphas to 0.83 and 0.86, and the test-retest coefficient to 0.88.

As the present sample was known to contain some bias in educational

300 PATERSON AND O'DRISCOLL

TABLE 1 Internal Cons is tency a n d Test-Retest Reliability for t h e K a n u n g o Job

Involvement Scale

Correcred lrem Toral Correlarionr

lrems Tesr- Reresi

Time1 Tune2 Correiahons

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9.

10

The most important things that happen to me incol\c my present job To me. my job is only a small p a n of who I am I am very much personally involved in my job I live. eat. and breathe my job Most of my interests are centred around my job I have very strong ties with my present job which it would be very difficult to break Usually. I feel detached from my job Most of my personal Iife- goals are job-oriented I consider my job to be very central to my existence I like to be absorbed in my job most of the time

Scalr Coeffincnts Mean s D.

0.53

0 38

0.55

0.61

0.53

0.60

0.16

0.65

0.57

0.36

0.66 0.67

0.46 0 . 2

0.52 0.64

0.63 0.77

0.67 0.71

0.63 0.72

0 18 0.51

0.65 0.75

0.57 0 61

0 48 0.60 - _ _ _ _ -

0 81 0 85 0 86 37 97 36 99 10 26 10 16

level, the reliability coefficients of the 33 people who had not completed high school were compared with the 75 who had a tertiary qualification. The low educational group had slightly higher alpha coefficients (Time 1 = 0.83; Time 2 = 0.86) than the more educated group (Time 1 = 0.78; Time 2 = 0.82) and were somewhat more consistent in their responses over time ( r = 0.88 versus r = 0.83). The detachment item had negative corrected item- total correlations among the low educational group (-0.11 and -0.27) and low positive values among the more highly educated (0.28 and 0 .24) . Removal of this item increased the alphas of t h e former group to 0.56 and 0.89 at the two test periods respectively, but made little difference


TABLE 2 Relationship of Job Involvement and Job Satisfaction to Crite-

rion Variables ~ ~~~~

Job Involvement Job

Crirenon Variables Time I Time 2 Satufacrron

Job Attitudes Job satisfaction 0.32’ 0.39’ Job preference 0.38’ 0.43’ 0.41’

Job Behaviours Hours 0.34’ 0.35’ 0.12 Unpaid overtime 0.20“ 0.27’ 0.11 Effort 0.346 0 . M b 0.15

Well-being 0.01 0.03 0.30’ Search strategies -0.04 -0.16 -0.38’

Other Criteria

‘ P < 0.05; b P < 0 01

to the high educational group. The test-retest reliability of this item was also poorer for the low educational group ( r = 0.41 versus r = 0.47).

As shown in Table 2, both the Time 1 and Time 2 measures of J I were significantly related to JS, job preference, the number of hours worked weekly, the amount of unpaid overtime worked, and effort put into the job. However, the Time 1 correlation between JI and unpaid overtime was significant at the 0.05 level only, and neither measure of JI was significantly related to well-being or to the number of strategies used to find another job. Scatterplots used to assess a possible curvilinear relationship also indicated that JI scores were unrelated to well-being. Removal of the JI detachment item produced some small inconsistent decreases in the relationships between JI and the criterion variables, but made no difference to the significance of the correlations. The greatest decreases were in the Time 2 correlations with JS, preference, effort, well-being, and search strategies which were all reduced by 0.02.

In contrast with these results, JS showed a different pattern of relationships. Like J I , J S was significantly related to job preference. However, JS was also related to well-being and search strategies, but not to any on-the-job behaviours. In view of the pattern of relationships between J I , JS and WB, the possibility that J S was masking a negative relationship between well-being and J I was examined. Partial correlations showed that the relationship between these variables was negative (Time 1 = -0.05, Time 2 = -0.04) when levels of JS were controlled. However, these correlations were not significant.

302 PATERSON AND O‘DRISCOLL

DISCUSSION

Overall, the present findings provide some important evidence confirming the usefulness of Kanungo’s (1982) cognitive conceptualisation and 10-item measure of job involvement. Although some problems were found with the measure, the reliability coefficients were all reasonably high and scores on the JI scale were related to criterion variables in a predictable way. The criterion validity analyses also showed that job involvement was associated with factors which may have important implications for the employer, while the distinct pattern of covariates displayed by job involvement and job satisfaction suggests that the concepts are not redundant.

The alpha coefficients, which estimate the lower limit of the coefficient of precision, all exceeded the 0.80 level recommended by Nunnally (1978) as necessary for applied use. and were similar to those found by Kanungo (1982) and Blau (1985). Similarly, the test-retest coefficient was acceptable and provides a reasonably accurate estimate of the measure’s temporal stability because the test-retest interval was kept short to minimise the chance of fluctuations in respondents’ levels of job involvement. However, the negatively worded detachment item reduced the internal consistency and temporal stability of the measure, particularly for the group with no formal qualifications. The negative corrected item-total correlations obtained for this group suggest that some of these individuals may not have understood the item and answered in a way which was consistent with their responses to the preceding, positively worded statements. As there is no reason to expect much change in “detachment from a job” over a three-week period, the poor test-retest correlations also point to lack of clarity in item content as the cause of the poor performance of this item. This item made no useful contribution to the relationship between J I and the criterion variables, so these findings support Blau’s (1985) recommendation that it be deleted from the scale.

As well as having reasonable reliability, the J I scale demonstrated acceptable criterion validity as i t was related to other job attitudes (satisfaction and preference) as well as to the number of hours worked weekly, amount of unpaid overtime worked, and the effort put into the job. The relatively low correlation between the Time 1 JI scores and unpaid overtime (measured at Time 3) was expected because respondents were asked about hours worked over the last two weeks whereas the interval between test periods was three weeks. The association of JI with job attitudes and behaviours was anticipated, but this study failed to replicate previous research reporting a negative relationship between job involvement and turnover intentions, and found no direct support for Rabinowitz and Hall’s (1977) warning that high job involvement may be associated with negative personal outcomes. Instead, the affective variable, job


satisfaction, was negatively related to the number of strategies used to find another job and positively associated with the general sense of psychological well-being. As most previous research showing a negative relationship between turnover and job involvement used the Lodahl and Kejner scale (Rabinowitz & Hall, 1977), the discrepancy between these and previous findings may be due to the measures used. If so, then the inclusion of affective items in earlier job involvement instruments may explain the significant association between job involvement and turnover intentions found previously.

The different pattern of covariates for job involvement and job satisfaction found here is predictable from theory. Beliefs about the importance of a specific job were related to on-the-job behaviours, as predicted by Kanungo’s theoretical framework, whereas job satisfaction was related to variables which extend beyond the setting of the immediate job, as predicted by the spillover model (Champoux, 1981). The non-significant relationship between JI and search strategies is consistent with Kanungo’s focus on involvement in a specific job because quitting decisions will be influenced by a variety of factors, including generalised work attitudes, career opportunities, and family obligations. Such factors are more likely to be reflected in global job satisfaction than in specific job involvement. Therefore, by showing both measures to be related to other variables in a way which is consistent with theory, these criterion validity results contribute to the body of evidence supporting the construct validity of the job involvement measure (Nunnally, 1978).

In addition to demonstrating the usefulness of the measure, the present criterion validity analyses suggest that the concept of job involvement has considerable potential practical significance. If being highly involved in a job causes people to work longer and harder, then having highly job- involved employees should provide a major benefit for the organisation. Similarly, if high levels of job satisfaction cause a better sense of well- being, whereas low levels lead people to search for another job, then high levels of job satisfaction can have positive consequences for both the organisation and the individual. Furthermore, by showing job involvement and job satisfaction to be associated with different potential outcomes, these results confirm the theoretical value of Kanungo’s distinction between the affective and cognitive dimensions of job attitudes and suggest that the distinction between the concepts and measures should be main- tained.

The results of this study generally confirm the usefulness of Kanungo’s contribution to the area of job involvement, but some issues still need to be resolved. In particular, the causal sequence proposed by the theoretical framework needs to be confirmed by properly designed longitudinal research. Similarly, further evidence is required to confirm that the self-


reported behaviours investigated here reflect productivity and performance benefits for employers.

Further work clarifying the antecedents of job involvement and the nature of the job involvement-well-being link could be useful in extending the theoretical framework to predict individual outcomes. The present framework’s emphasis on salient need satisfaction predicts that high levels of job involvement will result from a challenging job for intrinsically oriented employees and from good pay and promotion prospects among the extrinsically oriented. Thus, a good match between the worker’s salient needs and job characteristics should predict high levels of job satisfaction, job involvement (Kanungo, 1982), and, by extension, well-being and job performance. However, the present pattern of relationships between job involvement, job satisfaction, and well-being suggests that other variables also contribute to the causal sequence. One possibility is the type of salient need (intrinsic or extrinsic) which people attempt to satisfy on the job. With the type of need excluded, Kanungo’s (1979) framework assumes that extrinsically oriented people will be unaffected by the level of job challenge. However, such people may suffer from stress arising from an excessively challenging job, though still being highly involved in that job because their salient needs are met. In these cases, a negative relationship between job involvement and well-being could be expected. Therefore, including the type of salient need as a predictor variable could help clarify the antecedents of job involvement, and extend the theoretical framework to predict personal outcomes for individuals.

In view of the issues discussed earlier, further longitudinal research using the 9-item version of Kanungo’s (1982) J 1 measure and a variety of self-report and direct behavioural outcome measures is needed to confirm that job involvement causes the levels of performance required to benefit the employer. I n addition, future research should assess the relative contribution of intrinsic and extrinsic job characteristics, and clarify the way these situational factors interact with individual variables, such as need salience, to produce given levels of job attitudes, behaviours, and well-being.

Research on job involvement has widespread practical applications within organisarions. The present study of Kanungo’s measure of this construct suggests that it may be useful in predicting gieater productivity and other organisational benefits. I f this is confirmed by longitudinal research, the JI measure could be used to identify highly job-involved personnel for promotion to positions requiring commitment and willing- ness to assume responsibility. Another application of job involvement lies in the area of training evaluation. Kanungo’s scale has potential for use in the assessment of staff training programmes and to monitor changes in motivation and job-related attitudes, as well as the links between these


changes and skill development. To date, there has been little systematic attention to the role of training in fostering increased levels of involvement; Kanungo’s methodology provides a simple and psychometrically acceptable procedure for investigating the attitudinal outcomes of training programmes.

Finally, major practical benefits can also be derived from developing intervention programmes designed to increase job involvement. If further research confirms the importance of both job characteristics and type of need salience in determining job attitudes, behaviours, and well-being, interventions should combine appropriate personnel selection procedures with job redesign strategies. Jobs could be redesigned to allow greater autonomy, responsibility, and opportunity for skill development to increase challenge, and enhance the job involvement and productivity of individuals whose salient needs are identified as intrinsic. For those whose salient needs are extrinsic, job redesign should focus on clarifying the methods and procedures by which tasks are accomplished to make the job more structured, and less demanding and stressful. In short, job involvement interventions should aim at establishing a good match between the worker’s salient needs and job characteristics to achieve positive outcomes for the organisation, while ensuring that the interests of the individual worker are protected. The results of this study suggest that the Kanungo job involvement scale provides a reliable and valid way to assess individual work orientations systematically, as well as an empirical framework to determine the desirability of promoting increased involvement among personnel.

Manuscript received February 1989 Revised manuscript received August 1989

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an empirical assessment of kanungo's (1982) concept and measure of job involvement

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