Saarbrücken, Univ., Diplomarb., 1999.

Thesis--Freie Universität Berlin. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 275-292).

This study investigates the transfer of coaching compared to the transfer of training in order to clarify how the transfer of coaching can be described and what factors influence the transfer of coaching. 158 participating in coaching and 200 in training filled out the German Learning Transfer System Inventory and a questionnaire on transfer. Results of Confirmative Factor Analyses show that the learning transfer system is valid for the training as well as the coaching sample. Five of the sixteen factors of the learning transfer system (motivation to transfer, performance self-efficacy, personal capacity, transfer effort – performance expectations, opportunity to use) are able to explain about 64% of the variance of the transfer of coaching. In comparison, only 59% of the variance of the transfer of training can be explained by six transfer factors (performance self-efficacy, motivation to transfer, content validity, supervisor opposition, personal capacity, supervisor support). The mean ratings of transfer of training are significantly lower. The results support the hypothesis, that coaching is more effective and that the transfer factors are similar. The inventory can be used in both fields as a starting point for the analysis and improvement of transfer.

Die Dissertation beschäftigt sich mit der Frage, wann Mitarbeiter positive Einstellungen gegenüber Veränderungsprozessen in ihrem Unternehmen entwickeln und wie stark sie diese Prozesse unterstützen oder behindern. Nach einem einleitenden Theorieteil werden drei Feldstudien vorgestellt, in denen Instrumente zur multidimensionalen Erfassung der Einstellungen und Verhaltensweisen konstruiert und psychometrisch überprüft werden. Darüber hinaus wird untersucht, wie Einstellungen und Verhalten zusammenwirken und welche Korrelate beide aufweisen.

In the context of organizational development, surveys are important tools for learning about employees’ experiences in the organization. Organizational practice is faced with two main challenges to the successful implementation of surveys. First, the increasing use of surveys may lead to survey fatigue potentially negatively impacting employees’ motivation to engage in surveys. Second, survey results serve as a basis for strategic decision-making in organizations and thus need to be adequate for linkage research or benchmarking practices. The presented research aims to address these two challenges by taking a respondent-centered approach focusing on motivational and cognitive aspects of employees’ experiences while taking surveys. First, it introduces the new construct of survey experience as a respondent- centered criterion of successful survey design (Paper 1). A short-scale is theoretically developed based on user experience theory (Hassenzahl, Platz, Burmester, & Lehner, 2000) and empirically tested and validated in two studies. It, therefore, contributes to the understanding of survey design influences on participant’s motivational processes of survey response. Additionally, the short-scale equips practitioners with a reliable and economic lever to counter possible effects of survey fatigue by creating enjoyable and usable surveys tailored to specific target groups. Second, the presented research addresses cognitive and motivational aspects of survey processing and potential implications for the comparability of results. It, specifically, examines item-wording effects on response behavior on the example of intensifiers in Likert-type item stems of employee attitude surveys (Papers 2 and 3). It, further, considers the role of the organizational setting in determining employees’ response behavior (Krosnick, 1991) in the response process (Tourangeau & Rasinski, 1988) of employee attitude surveys (Paper 3). It, thereby, contributes to the understanding of employees’ response processes in this particular setting and provides practical advice for item-wording practices in organizations. Overall, the three papers bridge the previous literature by considering the survey itself, participants’ motivational and cognitive processes of survey response, and the survey setting in the context of employee attitude surveys together. The results of the presented research highlight the need for a contextual approach to researching and designing surveys that considers interactions between the survey, the participants, and the setting. It, thereby, contributes starting points to enable a more sophisticated approach to understanding survey response in employee attitude surveys.

The present research investigates three current debates in commitment research. In order to contribute to these debates and to provide novel insights, the present research consistently applies a differentiated multi-target approach by distinguishing between employees’ commitments to the organization and their commitments to its constituents top management, supervisors, and workgroups. In addition, it considers recent developments in the conceptual refinement of commitment and consistently aims to strongly build on established basic theoretical foundations of social psychology as well as on incorporating methodological advancements. The first study investigated the debated relationship between values and commitment. Specifically, it compared the relevance of employee values, commitment target values, and of their congruence for employee’s multiple commitments. Results indicate that targets’ values are most important for commitment, especially the targets’ people-centered values. In contrast, value congruence between targets and employees appears to play a less important role than implied in much previous research. The second study investigated the debated relationship between commitments and employees’ readiness for change. Again applying a multi-target perspective, results showed that the association was only positive when the different commitment targets were perceived to advocate changes. If the target’s change advocacy was low, the association between commitment and change readiness disappeared or even turned negative. Finally, the third study investigated the debated relationship between global commitment to the organization and specific commitments to its constituents. This research question again implied the use of a multitarget perspective and was investigated in a multi-cohort cross-lagged panel design to understand the influences between commitments. Results indicate that global commitment influences the specific commitments of low-tenured employees; however, in medium- and high-tenured employees the different commitments grow independent of each other. Taken together, the studies demonstrate that reassessing the debated associations with higher differentiation and a multi-target perspective can contribute to explaining the mixed findings in previous research. Moreover, moderations and conditions identified in the present research shed more light onto the processes that underlie commitment development and effects. Most importantly, the present research strongly encourages researchers and practitioners to consider the multiple targets of commitment and their values and goals in order to better understand and manage employee commitment.

In der vorliegenden Arbeit wird ein Fragebogen zur Evaluation der Gebrauchstauglichkeit von Online-Shops entwickelt und Hinweise auf seine Reliabilität und Validität erbracht. Damit leistet die Arbeit einen Beitrag zur Verbesserung der Gebrauchstauglichkeit von Online-Shops zum Vorteil von Kunden und Anbietern. Gebrauchstauglichkeit ist ein komplexes Konstrukt, das sich vor allem durch seine Abhängigkeit von Produkt- und Benutzereigenschaften sowie von Eigenschaften des Nutzungskontexts und den Nutzungszielen der Benutzer auszeichnet. Eine Evaluation der Gebrauchstauglichkeit eines Online-Shops kann somit grundsätzlich nicht sinnvoll erfolgen. Vielmehr müssen bei der Evaluation die genannten Randbedingungen der Benutzung berücksichtigt werden. Zur Evaluation der Gebrauchstauglichkeit stehen verschiedene Methoden zur Verfügung. Sie lassen sich danach unterscheiden, ob sie prädiktiv oder deskriptiv, verhaltensbasiert oder meinungsbasiert sind und ob ihnen objektive oder subjektive Kriterien zugrunde liegen. Daraus ergeben sich für die verschiedenen Methoden unterschiedliche Anwendungsszenarien. Die Fragebogenmethode wird als geeignete Evaluationsmethode identifiziert, weil sie eine subjektive, benutzerbasierte Messung der Gebrauchstauglichkeit erlaubt, was bei der Evaluation speziell von Online-Shops, deren Benutzung in der Regel freiwillig erfolgt, zu aussagekräftigen Ergebnissen führt. Nach der aufwendigen und sorgfältigen Entwicklung des Fragebogens wird dieser auf seine Validität hin überprüft. Dabei wird eine weitgehende Gültigkeit des Fragebogens festgestellt. So stimmt die durch eine benutzerzentrierte Evaluation dreier Online-Shops mit dem Fragebogen erzeugte Rangreihe weitgehend mit der überein, die sich aus einem Expertenrating ergibt. Außerdem ist der Fragebogen sensitiv für Unterschiede zwischen Online-Shops, die sich hinsichtlich ihrer ergonomischen Gestaltung bezüglich einer spezifischen Kaufphase (Produktsuche) unterscheiden.

Recent research into job insecurity (JI) features a greater tendency to undertake target group-specific investigations into the construct, in view of the growing diversity in the world of work. The present doctoral thesis focuses on a group that previous research into JI has so far failed to investigate fully, namely apprentices. The past disregard of this group is surprising, considering that young adults are at greater risk of unemployment than the average gainfully employed person (cf. de Witte, 2007). To meet the research objective of the present study, a JI tool validated by Staufenbiel et al. (2009), used to distinguish between four JI components within a 2*2 design, was modified for the target group of apprentices. In line with Borg and Elizur (1992), a differentiation was made between a cognitive and an affective JI component; furthermore, in line with Hellgren et al. (1999), quantitative JI involving the complete loss of employment was separated from qualitative JI, involving the aversive change of valued job features. In the first study, a survey was conducted amongst apprentices (a total of n = 392, from vocations requiring training in the areas of trade, crafts, industry and health care) at various vocational schools in the City of Osnabrück. Within the longitudinal design, potential antecedents and consequences of JI were gathered from these apprentices on two survey dates (T1: one year before completing the apprenticeship; T2: three to four months before completing the apprenticeship). Confirmatory analysis revealed the best fit for a two-factor model that differentiated between a cognitive and an affective JI component. Since qualitative items failed to be established on separate subcomponents within the structural analyses, as conceptually planned, these items were neglected, and further work was conducted using quantitative items only. The two-factorial structure of JI (cognitive versus affective) determined in the first study was replicated in the other two studies undertaken within the doctoral thesis. The longitudinal analyses conducted by structural equation modelling demonstrated that occupational self-efficacy and employability are the best predictors of cognitive and affective JI components, respectively. In the second study, an exhaustive survey was conducted amongst the apprentices of a large industrial group operating in the metal-working industry. These apprentices were practising various craft occupations that require training. In contrast to the preliminary study, the apprentices were at different stages of their apprenticeship at the time of the survey, enabling potential differences in levels of JI in the course of training to be determined. Furthermore, the second study focused solely on JI consequences. In addition to data provided by the apprentices, behavioural data such as absence data and the apprentices’ performance appraisals by their respective company trainer were also drawn on. The trajectory of JI in the course of the apprenticeship showed that JI was felt the least in the first year of training and the most in the penultimate year. In the third study, the focus on JI amongst apprentices was extended to the international context. To this end, around 100 wholesale trade apprentices were surveyed in each of three European countries that feature very different training systems, namely, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain. While vocational training in Germany is traditionally offered as a dual system in which apprentices attend vocational school and work at the company in roughly equal parts, practical elements are less predominant in the Netherlands and are substituted fully by full-time school education in Spain. In addition to demonstrating the psychometric adequacy of the JI tool, its metric measurement invariance for samples taken amongst apprentices from the three countries was also shown in the international comparative analyses. Furthermore, employability was established as the most significant predictor of both JI components in all three countries. All in all, the results of the doctoral thesis confirm that JI is a considerable stressor for apprentices in the national and international context. The doctoral thesis concludes with a summary of the topic’s relevance in international education policy in view of the prevailing sustained high youth unemployment. With regard to methodology, diary studies are recommended for future study designs to enable the better estimation of JI covariations over time.

Today’s business world is highly dynamic, increasingly international, and marked by powerful corporations. Nonetheless, individual human beings shape the environment in which business takes place. In light of such surroundings, one increasingly important challenge for organizations is successful change management, which can only succeed with employees’ support. When facing a well-informed, interconnected array of stakeholders, companies must also tackle demands to take social responsibility. By combining various theoretical and methodological approaches, the present dissertation addressed these trends in four empirical papers. Study 1 and Study 2 considered the reactions of employees during organizational change. The first study investigated the connection between dispositional resistance to change and emotional exhaustion. In a multilevel model, work-unit level informational team climate and perceived organizational support were relevant moderators. Using fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA), the second paper turned to factors associated with employees’ intended support for change. Drawing from the theory of planned behavior (Ajzen, 1991), it revealed relevant configurations of attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control. Study 3 focused on corporate social responsibility (CSR) and investigated which combinations of responsible and irresponsible activities, both recent and more historical, shape corporate reputation among the general public. Lastly, Study 4 expressly brought change management and CSR research together by showing that employees reacted more favorably to organizational change when their supervisors effectively communicated responsibility. Taken together, the present dissertation demonstrated that corporations can make a change through responsibility in order to favorably influence both stakeholder and business outcomes, thereby providing relevant implications for both research and practice.

Die vorliegende Arbeit greift ein im bibliotheks- und IuK-wissenschaftlichen sowie im fachprofessionellen Diskurs bisher weitgehend vernachlässigtes, aber immer bedeutsameres Thema auf: das vertikale soziale Geschehen in der Arbeitsorganisation ?wissenschaftliche Bibliothek". Die Absicht der Untersuchung lag darin, einen Zusammenhang zwischen dem Interaktionsverhalten der Leitungspersonen einerseits und der Mobilisierung von Leistungs- und Innovationspotentialen bei den Mitarbeiterinnen und Mitarbeitern andererseits auszumachen. Es geht damit genaugenommen um die Funktionsfähigkeit dieses Typs von Informationseinrichtung vor dem Hintergrund eines zunehmenden Wandlungs- und Innovationsdrucks, der gespeist wird durch Reduzierung bei den Zuwendungen und Ressourcen, durch wachsende Kundenansprüche an Leistungsfähigkeit und Dienstleistungsqualität und nicht zuletzt durch den rasanten technologischen Wandel (Stichworte: Digitalisierung und Vernetzung). Wandlung und Innovation werden hier nicht nur als technologische Modernisierung verstanden und auf technische oder lediglich formal-organisatorische Maßnahmen reduziert. In den Blick genommen werden vielmehr die Akteure, deren Umgang und Einstellungen, Verhalten und Wahrnehmungen. Die Nutzung von Forschungsergebnissen aus verschiedenen Fachdisziplinen (voran Betriebs- und Organisationssoziologie, Managementlehre, Arbeitspsychologie und Kommunikationswissenschaften) lieferte den theoretisch-systematischen Zugang zur Deskription und Analyse des innerorganisatorischen Sozialgeschehens. Als dessen Basiskonstituenten konnten für die wissenschaftlichen Bibliotheken Kommunikation, Partizipation, Autonomie, Konflikt sowie Motivation und Kooperation identifiziert werden. Das Betriebsklima bildete - theoretisch wie empirisch hergeleitet - den geeigneten Indikator für die sozio-emotionale Qualität der Interaktionen und den Zusammenhang zwischen Leitungsverhalten, sozialem Geschehen und Erreichen des Organisationszwecks. Eine historische Betrachtung der Fachwissenschaft und -kommunikation ergab: Lediglich einige weitsichtige Vertreter der Profession wie Joachim Stoltzenburg hatten wesentliche Komponenten und Konsequenzen der Entwicklung für das Bibliothekswesen frühzeitig erkannt und aufgegriffen und deren soziale und soziologische Dimension gegen den vorherrschenden Konsens und Zeitgeist in der Fachprofession artikuliert. Ansonsten blendet(e) die - ohnehin spärliche - "Reform"-Diskussion die Interaktionsebene in der Arbeitsorganisation Bibliothek bis heute weitgehend aus. In der empirischen Untersuchung selbst kam ein Methodenmix zum Einsatz, der mehrere Qualitätskriterien sicherstellen sollte: Das gemischt qualitativ-quantitative Erhebungsinstrument diente der breiten Absicherung der Ergebnisse und deren fundierter Interpretation. Das Prinzip von Wahrnehmung und Gegenwahrnehmung in Form der Selbsteinschätzung der Leitungspersonen und deren Fremdeinschätzung seitens der Mitarbeiterschaft zielte auf größtmögliche Wirklichkeitsnähe und Konkretion. Mit dem regionalen Bezugsfeld und dem genau definierten Gegenstandsbereich der Untersuchung wurde nahezu eine repräsentative Vollerhebung für diesen Typus von Bibliotheken im Raum Berlin möglich. Die Einteilung in verschiedene Betriebsklima-Klassen erlaubte schließlich weitreichende komparative Schlüsse. Auf höchstaggregierter Ebene der Datenanalyse zeigte sich eine deutliche Trennlinie zwischen zwei (Arbeits-)Welten: der in den Bibliotheken mit gutem und jener in den Einrichtungen mit durchschnittlichem oder schlechtem Betriebsklima. Für die zentrale Frage, welches Leitungsprofil die Leistungs- und Innovationspotentiale der Beteiligten bestmöglich zu mobilisieren imstande ist, ergab sich: Transparentes, kommunikativ-partizipatives Verhalten der Leitungspersonen,deren fachliche Egalisierungs- und Kooperationsfähigkeit,deren Einhalten der formalen Positionsmacht,deren explizit leistungs- und innovationsorientiertes Verhalten mit entsprechenden Zielvorgaben sowiederen Konfliktsensibilität und -fähigkeit bedingen in hohem Maße das Engagement der Mitarbeiterinnen und Mitarbeiter, ebenso deren Identifikation mit und innovationsorientierte Einstellung gegenüber ?ihrer" Einrichtung. Allgemein - und unabhängig von diesen Befunden mit Bezug zum Betriebsklima - gilt für die Mehrheit aller Mitarbeiterinnen und Mitarbeiter: Ihr Tätigkeitsprofil ist strukturell durch hochgradig segmentierte Werkstückbearbeitung und Innendienstorientierung geprägt. Sie verfügen über ausgesprochen liberale Arbeitsbedingungen, hohe Gestaltungsautonomie innerhalb ihres (eingegrenzten) Arbeitsbereichs und geringe Aufstiegs- oder materielle Gratifikationsmöglichkeiten als Leistungsanreize. Entsprechend hoch ist ihre intrinsische Motivation zu bewerten. Für die Leiter und Leiterinnen gilt unabhängig vom Betriebsklima, daß ihren Handlungsspielräumen strukturell (Stichworte: starre Arbeitsorganisation, öffentlicher Dienst) und budgetär (Stichwort: geringe Investitionsmittel) enge Grenzen gesetzt sind. Im Ergebnis plädiert die Untersuchung für einen Paradigmenwechsel im (Selbst-)Verständnis zeitgemäßer funktionaler Leitungstätigkeit im wissenschaftlichen Bibliothekswesen und verwandten/angrenzenden Dienstleistungsbereichen: Leitungskompetenz ist unabdingbar als eine Mischung aus Fach-, Management- und Sozialkompetenz zu begreifen. Hieraus folgen Konsequenzen für Wissenschaft und Praxis: Professionelle Qualifizierung der sozialen Kompetenzen und Fertigkeiten zur Wahrnehmung und Ausfüllung der Leitungsfunktion ist systematisch zu entwickeln, in die Aus- und Weiterbildung zu implementieren und in der Praxis der Einrichtungen sicherzustellen. / Management and Cooperation in Research Libraries of Berlin The present work addresses an increasingly important-but hitherto largely neglected-topic in library science, in the field of information and communication, and among professional librarians: vertical social interaction in the research library as a work system. The intention behind this study was to find out in what way interaction between managers and their subordinates is linked to the latter group's job performance and innovativeness. With pressure to change and innovate being steadily increased by reduced subsidies, dwindling resources, growing customer demands for efficiency and quality service, and headlong technological change such as digitalization and networking, this dissertation presents an inquiry into the ability of this type of informational facility to function. Change and innovation are not understood in this analysis only as technological modernization and are not reduced to technical or merely formal organizational measures. Instead, the focus is on the actors and their attitudes, social behavior on the job, and perceptions. Research results from a variety of disciplines (especially industrial and organizational sociology, management theory, human-factors engineering, and communication sciences) provided the systematic, theoretical basis for describing and analyzing the social interaction that takes place within an organization. Communication, participation, autonomy, conflict, motivation, and cooperation were identified as the basic constituents of those dynamics in research libraries. Theoretically and empirically, the work climate served as the appropriate indicator of the socioemotional quality of interaction and was the link between managers' behavior, social interaction, and achievement of the organization's purpose. A historical review of library science and communication shows that only a few far-sighted librarians, such as Joachim Stoltzenburg, quickly recognized and discussed key components of development and their implications for library management. Articulating the social and sociological dimension of these facets, such thinkers argued against the Zeitgeist and prevailing consensus of their contemporaries in the profession. Apart from such efforts, however, social interaction in the library as a work system has continued to be a subject largely ignored in discussions of "reform" in this area, an exchange that has been meager in other respects as well. For reasons of quality control, a number of methods were used in the empirical part of the study. The survey itself consisted of both qualitative and quantitative elements in order to lay a broad, solid basis for generating and interpreting results. To ensure that the data was as realistic and well-founded as possible, the principle of comparing subjective and objective perception was observed by having managers assess themselves in addition to having them assessed by their colleagues. The study's regional scope and sharply defined subject of investigation made it possible to conduct a representative survey that included nearly every library of this type in the federal state of Berlin, Germany. At the highest level of aggregation, data analysis showed a distinct demarcation between two worlds of work: one in libraries with an agreeable working atmosphere, the other in libraries with an average or poor working atmosphere. In answer to the central question of which management style is best able to enhance the job performance and innovativeness of the participants, it was found that their commitment to, identification with, and innovativeness on behalf of "their" organization was greatly conditioned by the managers' transparent, communicative, participatory behavior,ability to interact and cooperate as equals with their subordinates in professional matters,observance of their formal authority,explicit meritocratic and innovation-minded behavior when accompanied by appropriate targets, andsensitivity to and ability to deal with conflict. Irrespective of these findings on work climate, it was generally true that most of the nonmanagerial employees in the study performed activities characterized by very segmented processing of materials and an orientation to office work. They had decidedly liberal working conditions and wide latitude to organize their own, albeit narrowly circumscribed, sphere of work, but they had little opportunity for advancement or material gratification. Nevertheless, their intrinsic motivation was high. Regardless of work climate, the scope for action by the managers in the study was severely restricted by structural factors (rigid work systems, public service) and budgetary constraints (low level of investment). Ultimately, the study is a call to change the paradigm of the way in which contemporary functional management activity is understood in the field of research libraries and related service areas. It is essential for managerial competence to be grasped as a blend of technical, managerial, and social expertise. The implications for both research management and practice in libraries in general are that social competencies and skills for perceiving and performing managerial functions should be systematically developed in a professional manner, made part of basic and advanced training, and routinely practiced in research libraries.