Lincoln, Yvonna, and Egon Guba, "Postpositivism and the Naturalist Paradigm," pp. 14-46 in Yvonna Lincoln and Egon Guba, Naturalistic Inquiry . Beverly Hills, CA: Sage, 1985.*

The Social Psychology of Organizations.

Social identity theory and the organization

Abstract : A study is reported of the variations in organizational commitment and job satisfaction, as related to subsequent turnover in a sample of recently-employed psychiatric technician trainees. A longitudinal study was made across a 10 1/2 month period, with attitude measures collected at four points in time. For this sample, job satisfaction measures appeared better able to differentiate future stayers from leavers in the earliest phase of the study. With the passage of time, organizational commitment measures proved to be a better predictor of turnover, and job satisfaction failed to predict turnover. The findings are discussed in the light of other related studies, and possible explanations are examined. (Modified author abstract)

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Organizational Commitment, Job Satisfaction and Turnover Among Psychiatric Technicians. Technical Report No. 16.

The call center agent (CCA) profession is growing rapidly because organizations are learning that a competitive advantage can be attained through their CCAs. By providing front-line support, CCAs shape much of the perception that customers have about the organization. This study assessed the relationship between role ambiguity and job satisfaction for CCAs. Role ambiguity can occur in situations where an individual has a lack of understanding around his or her role and/or expectations. Job satisfaction refers to his or her response to the conditions of work as these perceptions are shaped by different interpretations of objective differences in work conditions. It is considered at both the overall and facet levels. Extensively used role ambiguity and job satisfaction instruments were administered to CCAs in a Web survey, then analyzed quantitatively. Demographic characteristics were gathered to determine if they impact this relationship. Prior research has repeatedly concluded that a negative relationship exists between role ambiguity and job satisfaction for various professions. However, little research of this kind has been devoted to CCAs. No single study has considered the impact of demographics on the relationship between role ambiguity and facet level job satisfaction for CCAs. This study found a significant negative correlation, both at the overall and facet level measurements. In addition, each of the nine demographic characteristics considered played a moderating role to a varying degree. Regarding future research, this topic can be explored qualitatively to determine if the same conclusions are reached. Alternatively, other survey instruments can be used. Also, call centers can be studied categorically. Finally, other consequences of role ambiguity, antecedents of job satisfaction, and demographic variables can be included.

Chiquita Irene King

Papers

Examining student employees' perceptions of their roles in an outbound call center