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The Effects of Empowerment on Attitudes and Performance: The Role of Social Support and Empowerment Beliefs
Author(s) -
Logan Mary S.,
Ganster Daniel C.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
journal of management studies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.398
H-Index - 184
eISSN - 1467-6486
pISSN - 0022-2380
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-6486.2007.00711.x
Subject(s) - empowerment , intervention (counseling) , psychology , psychological intervention , supervisor , social psychology , control (management) , applied psychology , unit (ring theory) , perception , social support , management , political science , law , economics , mathematics education , neuroscience , psychiatry
This paper reports the results of a randomized field experiment that tested the effects of an empowerment intervention among unit managers of a large trucking company. The intervention was designed to increase participants' beliefs in their personal control and self‐efficacy with regard to key aspects of their jobs. Individuals who managed geographically dispersed profit centres were randomly assigned to either an intervention group (N = 38) or a no‐treatment control group (N = 30). The intervention significantly increased perceptions of maintenance control and impact at four months after the intervention, but only for those managers who felt that their supervisors were supportive. The intervention also improved archival measures of unit performance and affected work attitudes (depending upon the level of perceived supervisory support). The data point out the key role that perceived supervisor social support plays when implementing such organizational change interventions.