Work values in East and West Germany: different weights, but identical structures

On the basis of representative data collected in 1991 as part of the German General Social Survey (ALLBUS) Baseline Study in East and West Germany an answer is sought to the question whether East Germans differ from West Germans with respect to work values. Work values are classified into existence, growth and relatedness (ERG) categories and, at the same time, into performance‐dependent and performance‐independent ones. As from previous studies it is known that East Germans put more emphasis on existence and on relatedness values than West Germans, while growth values are weighted identically in both parts of Germany, the present paper concentrates on the structural aspect. Employing multidimensional scaling (MDS) it can be demonstrated that the structures of work values are highly similar in East and West Germany: both samples verify the ERG‐ and the performance‐dependency facet in the same way, i.e. by exhibiting radex patterns. Moreover, the item correlations are all positive in both samples, as predicted by a new theory of directed behavior. Finally, after subtracting the value scores of each individual from the individual's mean score, the item correlations in both East and West Germany are largely compatible with predictions derived from Alderfer's theory of motivation. Thus, widespread assumptions about fundamental differences in the work values of East and West Germans prove false in many ways.