CREATING ORGANIZATIONAL CITIZENS: A QUASI-EXPERIMENTAL AND QUALITATIVE EXAMINATION OF SUPERVSIOR- AND PEER-BASED INTERVENTIONS

Research suggests that supervisors and peers can help employees make sense of what is important or expected from them at work and, thereby, shape their behaviors. In this dissertation, I examine how employees’ organizational citizenship behaviors (OCB), such as helping and voice, are differentially affected by these two sources of influence over time. In particular, I compare the relative and joint effectiveness of two field interventions to enhance OCB: (a) a role clarification intervention in which supervisors are trained to set expectations for OCB for their employees and encourage them to engage in OCB and (b) a norm establishment intervention in which peers are trained to set expectations for each other and encourage each other to perform OCB. I utilize a mixed methods approach involving a quasi-field experiment to test for changes in OCB and qualitative data to explore the theoretical mechanisms over the course of three months in a large food processing plant. I find that role clarification interventions alone have immediate positive effects on OCB, whereas norm establishment interventions alone take a longer period of time to increase OCB. In addition, in the condition where both interventions were combined, norm establishment interventions weaken the effects of role clarification earlier on; however, at later stages in time, this pattern reverses as norm establishment enhances the effects of role clarification on OCB. Through these findings, I highlight how (a) organizations seeking quick increases in citizenship might be better off focusing on supervisors as sources of influence; (b) organizations need to persist with peer-focused interventions to see positive gains; and (c) despite initial hurdles with peer-focused interventions, over time, they can lead to the highest increases in OCB when combined with supervisor-focused interventions.

Exploring Calling Work Orientation: Construct Clarity and Organizational Implications

Employees maintain a personal view toward their work, which can be referred to as their work orientation. Some employees view their work as their life’s purpose (i.e., calling work orientation) and they tend to be 1) prosocially motivated, 2) derive meaning from work, and 3) feel that their purpose is from beyond the self. The purpose of the current dissertation was to differentiate calling work orientation from other similar workplace constructs, to investigate the most common covariates of calling work orientation, and to empirically test two possible moderators of the relationship between calling work orientation and work-related outcomes of job satisfaction, job performance, and work engagement. Two independent samples were collected for the purpose of testing hypotheses: data were collected from 520 working students and from 520 non-student employees. Participants from the student sample were recruited at Florida International University, and participants from the employee sample were recruited via the Amazon Mechanical Turk website. Participants from the student sample answered demographic questions and responded to self-report measures of job satisfaction, job performance, work engagement, spirituality, meaningful work, prosocial motivation, and work orientation. The procedure was similar for the employee sample, but their survey also included measures of counterproductive work behaviors, organizational citizenship behaviors, conscientiousness, and numerical ability. Additionally, employees were asked whether they would be willing to have a direct supervisor, peer, co-worker, client, or subordinate rate their job performance. Hierarchical regression findings suggest calling work orientation was predictive of overall job performance above and beyond two common predictors of performance, conscientiousness and numerical ability. The results for the covariate analyses provided evidence that prosocial motivation, meaningful work, and spirituality do play a significant role in the development of an employees’ work orientation. Perceived career opportunities moderated the relationship between calling work orientation and job performance for the employee sample. Core self-evaluations moderated the relationship between calling work orientation and job performance, and core self-evaluations moderated the relationship between calling work orientation and work engagement. Collectively, findings from the current study highlight the benefits of examining work orientation in the prediction of workplace outcomes.

Distinguishing between task and contextual performance for nurses : development of a job performance scale

Aim. This paper is a report of a development and validation of a new job performance scale based on an established job performance model. Background. Previous measures of nursing quality are atheoretical and fail to incorporate the complete range of behaviours performed. Thus, an up-to-date measure of job performance is required for assessing nursing quality. Methods. Test construction involved systematic generation of test items using focus groups, a literature review, and an expert review of test items. A pilot study was conducted to determine the multidimensional nature of the taxonomy and its psychometric properties. All data were collected in 2005. Findings. The final version of the nursing performance taxonomy included 41 behaviours across eight dimensions of job performance. Results from preliminary psychometric investigations suggest that the nursing performance scale has good internal consistency, good convergent validity and good criterion validity. Conclusion. The findings give preliminary support for a new job performance scale as a reliable and valid tool for assessing nursing quality. However, further research using a larger sample and nurses from a broader geographical region is required to cross-validate the measure. This scale may be used to guide hospital managers regarding the quality of nursing care within units and to guide future research in the area.

Rejected! The harmful effects of workgroup mistreatment and the moderating role of organisational norms

This program of research investigated the harmful effects of mistreatment by the workgroup, and the role of perceived rejection as a critical mediator linking mistreatment and outcomes. This research program had three primary purposes. First, the research aimed to examine the important role of workgroup mistreatment as an independent predictor of negative outcomes, over and above the influence of supervisor mistreatment. Second, the research aimed to examine the effect of perceived rejection as an explanatory variable linking workgroup mistreatment and outcomes. Finally, the moderating effect of organizational norms on the relationship between workgroup mistreatment and perceived rejection was examined. The relationships of interest were examined over four studies, using multiple methods of data collection, across part-time and full-time working samples. In Study 1 (Chapter 2), the independent role of workgroup mistreatment and the mediating role of perceived rejection were examined. One hundred and forty two part-time working participants took part in the study. The participants completed a questionnaire on workplace behaviors in their organizations. The results of hierarchical regression analyses revealed a strong harmful effect of workgroup mistreatment, independent of mistreatment by the supervisor. In addition, the results showed that perceived rejection fully mediated the relationship between workgroup mistreatment and depression and organizational based self esteem. The study highlighted that perceived rejection acts as a key underlying psychological mechanism involved in the effect of workgroup mistreatment. This study has been published in the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology. Study 2 and Study 3 were presented as one paper in Chapter 3. The aims of these two studies was to explore the effects of workgroup mistreatment on a wider range of individual and organizational level outcomes, and to provide further evidence of the mediating role of perceived rejection as observed in Study 1. The results from both studies demonstrated that workgroup mistreatment had a significant and independent role in predicting negative individual and organizational level outcomes, providing support for the findings of Study 1. In the first study, 189 participants received scenarios manipulating workgroup mistreatment and supervisor mistreatment. The results of hierarchical regression analyses revealed that workgroup mistreatment harmfully affected participants, over and above that of the supervisor. The results also demonstrated that perceived rejection mediated the positive relationships between workgroup mistreatment and depression and organizational deviance, and also the negative relationships between workgroup mistreatment and organizational based self esteem and organizational citizenship behaviors. The second study included an additional aim, to examine the moderating role of supportive organizational norms. Two hundred and twenty nine participants read scenarios that manipulated workgroup mistreatment, supervisor mistreatment and organizational norms. The results of hierarchical regression analyses revealed the significant harmful effects of workgroup mistreatment, over and above the influence of supervisor mistreatment. The results also revealed the mediating role of perceived rejection. The direct effect of positive organizational norms also emerged, consistent with previous research. In addition, the result revealed that employees who experienced supportive organizational norms were more likely to reconcile with their workgroup members after experiencing mistreatment compared to employees who experienced hostile organizational norms. Finally, an unexpected pattern on the key affective variables of depression and organizational based self esteem emerged, such that mistreatment led to more negative outcomes in the supportive norms condition than in the hostile condition, where employees appeared to be desensitized. This paper is currently under review at the Journal of Applied Social Psychology. In Study 4 (Chapter 4), the overall model of workplace mistreatment was tested on a sample of full-time workers in an applied setting. One hundred and seventy two adults took part in the study. Participants were required to evaluate their workplace regarding mistreatment and organizational norms and to report their own psychological, behavioral and organizational outcomes. The results revealed that workgroup mistreatment was associated with increased depression, stress and avoidance, over and above supervisor mistreatment. In addition, the results revealed that perceived rejection acted as an explanatory variable linking workgroup mistreatment to a number of outcomes. Furthermore, the moderating role of hostile organizational norms emerged on depression, stress, reconciliation and avoidance. This paper is currently under review at the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology. Overall, the four studies provided empirical support for the majority of the hypotheses. The effects were demonstrated for a range of psychological, behavioral, and organizational level outcomes, using multiple methods of data collection, across part-time and full-time workers. At the conclusion of the thesis (Chapter 5), an overall summary is provided of the findings across all four studies, practical and theoretical implications and research directions.

Virtuosidade organizacional, empenhamento e comportamentos de cidadania organizacional

Os recentes colapsos morais e financeiros de organizações outrora reputadas, que têm ocorrido por todo o mundo, conduziram a comunidade empresarial, a imprensa popular e de negócios, assim como os investigadores a redescobrirem o papel da virtuosidade no contexto organizacional. A presente investigação pretende contribuir para manter este momentum. Procuramos responder à sugestão de alguns autores para que o estudo exploratório de Cameron, Bright e Caza (2004), que relaciona virtuosidade organizacional com desempenho, tenha continuidade, e que a sua medida de virtuosidade seja empregue noutros contextos e em relação a outros resultados (Wright & Goodstein, 2007). Este estudo empírico investiga como (a) as percepções de virtuosidade organizacional dos indivíduos explicam os seus níveis de empenhamento organizacional, (b) o empenhamento organizacional influencia os comportamentos de cidadania organizacional, (c) as percepções de virtuosidade organizacional predizem directamente os comportamentos de cidadania organizacional, e (d) o empenhamento organizacional medeia a relação entre as percepções de virtuosidade organizacional e os comportamentos de cidadania organizacional. Foram inquiridos 212 indivíduos oriundos de 14 organizações do sector industrial. Os indivíduos descreveram as suas percepções de virtuosidade organizacional e o seu empenhamento para com a organização; os seus comportamentos de cidadania organizacional foram relatados pelo respectivo supervisor. Os principais resultados sugerem que (a) as percepções de virtuosidade organizacional explicam o empenhamento afectivo e o empenhamento normativo, (b) o empenhamento normativo fomenta os comportamentos altruístas, (c) as percepções de virtuosidade organizacional explicam o desportivismo, a virtude cívica, o altruísmo, e o comportamento de cidadania organizacional global, e (d) o empenhamento normativo medeia a relação entre as percepções de virtuosidade organizacional e o altruísmo. Pesem embora as limitações do estudo, a evidência empírica obtida sugere que a virtuosidade organizacional é digna de um estatuto mais elevado na literatura e que deve ser levada em consideração pela comunidade empresarial.

Les relations entres les générations, les valeurs au travail et les comportements de citoyenneté organisationnelle

Notre recherche a pour but de mieux comprendre les comportements de citoyenneté organisationnelle et plus particulièrement ce qui peut les favoriser ou les défavoriser. Nous en avons retenu cinq pour notre recherche: les comportements de vertu civique, d’esprit d’équipe, conformistes, de courtoisie et d’altruisme Nous avons choisi d’étudier l’influence des valeurs au travail sur ces comportements et notre objectif est de vérifier l’influence de 28 valeurs au travail sur nos cinq comportements de citoyenneté organisationnelle. Par ailleurs, nous avons choisi d’inclure à notre modèle de recherche la variable des générations. Nous cherchons à savoir si les valeurs au travail peuvent changer en fonction de l’appartenance d’un individu à l’une des 4 générations présentes sur le marché du travail (Vétérans, Baby Boomers, X et Y) et si le fait d’appartenir à une géné-ration plutôt qu’une autre aura un impact sur les comportements de citoyenneté organisationnelle. Les données ont été collectées au sein de la firme de sondage l’Observateur. Au total, 278 questionnaires sont utilisables dans le cadre de notre recherche. Des analyses de régression hiérarchiques ont permis de vérifier la capacité explicative des valeurs sur les comportements de citoyenneté organisationnelle. Des tests post hoc de Scheffé ont permis de vérifier l’existence de différences de valeurs entre les générations et des analyses de variance nous ont permis de vérifier l’influence des générations sur les comportements de citoyenneté organisationnelle. Les résultats indiquent que des liens significatifs existent entre les valeurs et les comportements de citoyenneté organisationnelle permettant ainsi de confirmer l’influence favorable ou défavorable de certaines valeurs parmi les 28 à l’étude sur nos cinq comportements de citoyenneté organisationnelle. En ce qui a trait aux différences existan-tes entre nos générations à l’étude, les résultats nous révèlent qu’elles sont beaucoup moins importantes que ce que la littérature nous laisse penser. Finalement, nos résultats ne nous permettent pas de confirmer que certaines générations sont plus disposées que d’autres à adopter des comportements de citoyenneté organisationnelle. Mots-clés : valeurs au travail, génération, comportements de citoyenneté organisationnelle.

L’habilitation individuelle au travail : validation d’une mesure d’habilitation comportementale et vérification du rôle de trois facteurs de l’environnement de travail

Depuis que le concept d’habilitation (empowerment) a été introduit dans le monde du travail, il est rapidement devenu à la mode dû à ses bénéfices anticipés à la fois pour les organisations et pour les travailleurs. Toutefois, bien que l’état d’habilitation psychologique des travailleurs ainsi que ses déterminants soient bien documentés (Seibert, Wang, & Courtright, 2011), il existe peu d’outils pour évaluer de façon comportementale l’habilitation des travailleurs (Boudrias & Savoie, 2006). Cette réalité nuit aux organisations qui tentent de mettre en place des programmes d’habilitation des employés et qui souhaitent en mesurer leurs effets comportementaux. En 2006, Boudrias et Savoie ont amorcé le travail pour pallier cette lacune en créant un cadre conceptuel de l’habilitation comportementale au travail composé de deux approches distinctes, soit l’approche émergente (comportements discrétionnaires) et l’approche structurelle (implication dans la gestion du travail) et en validant un premier questionnaire permettant de mesurer l’approche émergente. La présente thèse vise à poursuivre le travail amorcé, en instrumentant la seconde approche et en poursuivant la validation du concept d’habilitation comportementale. Plus spécifiquement, la thèse vise à : a) valider un questionnaire qui mesure l’implication des employés dans la gestion de leur travail, en deux versions, à savoir une version auto-rapportée ainsi qu’une version destinée au supérieur hiérarchique; b) établir la structure factorielle de l’habilitation comportementale à l’aide des deux approches opérationnalisées; c) vérifier la spécificité du construit d’habilitation comportementale par rapport à d’autres mesures connexes (p.ex. comportements de citoyenneté organisationnelle, comportements d’innovation, comportements d’auto-leadership et d’autogestion), et d) vérifier un modèle structurel incluant trois déterminants de l’environnement de travail, à savoir le style de supervision, le soutien des collègues et la latitude décisionnelle, comme prédicteur de l’habilitation individuelle au travail, évaluée à l’aide d’une mesure d’habilitation psychologique et des mesures des deux approches d’habilitation comportementale. Pour ce faire, trois études distinctes ont été réalisées auprès de travailleurs variés et quatre échantillons ont été constitués dont trois comprenant uniquement des données auto-rapportées (N = 274, 104, 249) et un quatrième incluant aussi des données rapportées par le supérieur (N = 151). Les résultats des analyses factorielles confirmatoires démontrent que la structure de l’instrument d’implication dans la gestion ainsi que celle de l’habilitation comportementale composée des deux approches sont constantes d’un échantillon à l’autre et dans ses deux versions. De plus, les propriétés métriques du questionnaire validé sont satisfaisantes. D’autre part, les résultats des analyses corrélationnelles indiquent que les mesures d’habilitation comportementale présentent une validité discriminante par rapport à des mesures d’autres construits connexes. Enfin, les analyses acheminatoires pour vérifier le modèle structurel anticipé indiquent que l’habilitation psychologique agit comme variable médiatrice dans les relations entre, d’une part, la latitude décisionnelle et les pratiques de gestion des supérieurs, et, d’autre part, les deux approches d’habilitation comportementale. Le soutien des collègues, de son côté, n’est pas relié à l’habilitation des travailleurs.

Emociones y toma de decisiones éticas: desarrollo e implicaciones para la empresa

Los líderes organizacionales se deben enfrentar a retos ambientales del mundo de los negocios y diversas presiones que los ponen día a día en un alto riesgo ético. Sortear dichos riesgos ha demandado cambios sustanciales en las dinámicas de las organizaciones contemporáneas, por lo que las exigencias a los directivos de tomar decisiones acertadas en situaciones de alta complejidad moral son cada vez mayores. Estas decisiones involucran un comportamiento ético de quien las toma, lo cual a su vez está mediado por sus emociones.

A Influência da Inteligência Emocional (IE) nos Comportamentos de Cidadania Organizacional (CCO) dos trabalhadores do Intermarché do Distrito de Leiria: um estudo exploratório

O objetivo desta investigação foi verificar se existia uma relação entre a inteligência emocional e o desempenho dos comportamentos de cidadania organizacional em trabalhadores de Intermarché. Participaram, neste estudo 108 colaboradores de várias lojas de Intermarché do distrito de Leiria (14 do género masculino e 94 do género feminino) com uma média de idades de 33 anos. Os instrumentos utilizados foram os questionários de Medidas Sociodemográficas, de Inteligência Emocional de Rego e Fernandes (2005) e o de Comportamentos de Cidadania Organizacional de Rego (1999). Os resultados demonstraram não haver uma relação condicionante, evidente, entre estas duas variáveis bem como em relação às medidas sociodemográficas.

Effects of psychological contract breach on performance of IT employees: The mediating role of affective commitment

In this study, we investigated the relationships between psychological contract breach, affective commitment, and two types of employee performance (i.e. civic virtue behaviour and in-role performance). It was predicted that an experience of contract breach can severely hurt the affective commitment of the employees and this, in turn, results in poor in-role performance and less civic virtue behaviours. Results revealed that affective commitment had differential mediating effects on the two types of employee performance. That is, affective commitment mediated the relationship between breach and self-reported and supervisor-rated civic virtue, but not the relationship between breach and in-role performance.

Workplace familism and psychological contract breach in the Philippines

The present study addresses the call for theory-based investigations on workplace familism. It contributes to the literature by proposing and testing the moderating role of workplace familism between psychological contract breach and civic virtue behaviour. We surveyed 267 full-time employees and found main effects of both types of workplace familism (i.e. workplace organisational and workplace supervisor familism) and breach of relational obligations on civic virtue behaviour. Workplace supervisor familism also moderated the relationship between breach and civic virtue behaviour, with the negative relationship between breach and civic virtue behaviour stronger when workplace supervisor familism was high. This suggests that employees with a high level of workplace supervisor familism may feel a sense of betrayal and, therefore, respond more negatively to contract breach. Implications for practice and directions for future research are discussed.

O IMPACTO DA ESPIRITUALIDADE NO TRABALHO E DE PERCEPÇÃO DE SAÚDE ORGANIZACIONAL SOBRE COMPORTAMENTOS DE CIDADANIA ORGANIZACIONAL

Cada vez mais o fator humano está em evidência no mercado competitivo e globalizado. Por isso, constantemente, as empresas se preocupam com a qualidade do trabalho, para que seus colaboradores sintam prazer em sua realização, não sendo tão agredidos pelas pressões do dia a dia. Nesse contexto, esta dissertação teve como objetivo geral analisar as relações entre espiritualidade no trabalho, percepção de saúde organizacional e comportamentos de cidadania organizacional entre professores universitários. Participaram deste estudo 82 trabalhadores de ambos os sexos, com idade entre 28 e 63 anos, os quais atuam no Estado de São Paulo em Instituições de Ensino Superior públicas e privadas. Como instrumento para coleta de dados foi utilizado um questionário de autopreenchimento composto de três escalas que mediram as variáveis da pesquisa. Assim, o estudo se propôs a apresentar, interpretar e discutir as relações entre as variáveis, como também, testar hipóteses referentes ao modelo conceitual proposto, por meio de uma pesquisa com abordagem quantitativa, cujos dados coletados foram analisados por aplicação de técnicas estatísticas paramétricas (cálculo de estatísticas descritivas: médias, desvios padrão, índice de precisão de medidas, teste t e correlações; cálculos de estatísticas multivariadas: regressão linear múltipla padrão. A análise dos dados foi realizada pelo software estatístico Statistical Package for the Social Science SPSS, versão 19.0 para Windows. Os resultados obtidos demonstraram que dentre as três dimensões de comportamentos de cidadania organizacional, apenas duas divulgação da imagem da organização e cooperação com os colegas receberam impacto positivo de percepção de saúde organizacional e espiritualidade no trabalho. Para estas duas classes de ações de cidadania organizacional ficou mais evidenciado o poder de impacto no trabalho. O estudo possibilitou concluir que ações de sugestões criativas realizadas pelos empregados, não sofre influências do quanto eles acreditam que a empresa tem uma saúde satisfatória e do quanto eles vivenciam, ou não, a espiritualidade no ambiente organizacional.

COMPROMETIMENTO ORGANIZACIONAL AFETIVO E ENGAJAMENTO NO TRABALHO COMO PREDITORES DE COMPORTAMENTOS DE CIDADANIA ORGANIZACIONAL

O ambiente organizacional de hoje requer das pessoas e das organizações elevados níveis de desempenho. Comportamentos de cidadania organizacional são tidos como desempenho que promovem a efetividade organizacional e por isso cada vez mais importantes para garantir a competitividade das empresas. O presente estudo, de caráter transversal e quantitativo, teve como objetivos analisar, interpretar e discutir as relações de comportamentos de cidadania organizacional, comprometimento organizacional afetivo e engajamento no trabalho, sendo as duas últimas variáveis estudadas como variáveis independentes e preditoras de comportamentos de cidadania organizacional no modelo teórico proposto. Participaram deste estudo 175 trabalhadores de diversas empresas da região metropolitana de São Paulo que responderam a um questionário eletrônico contendo perguntas referentes a escalas validadas para as três variáveis estudadas. Os dados coletados foram analisados utilizando-se o Software Statistical Package for Social Sciences, SPSS versão 19.0 para Windows. Foram realizadas análises de estatística não paramétrica, análises descritivas, correlações e regressão múltipla hierárquica. Os resultados obtidos demonstraram que comprometimento organizacional afetivo demonstra maior impacto sobre comportamentos de defesa da organização; a dimensão absorção, de engajamento no trabalho demonstrou ter um maior impacto sobre a dimensão de sugestões criativas de comportamentos de cidadania, e também quanto à dimensão cooperação com colegas. As hipóteses levantadas foram confirmadas, sendo que o estudo possibilitou concluir que diferentes classes de comportamentos de cidadania organizacional podem apresentar diferentes preditores.

O IMPACTO DAS POLÍTICAS E PRÁTICAS DE RECURSOS HUMANOS SOBRE OS COMPORTAMENTOS DE CIDADANIA ORGANIZACIONAL

O objetivo deste estudo é investigar se as políticas e práticas de recursos humanos (PPRH) impactam os comportamentos de cidadania organizacional (CCO), a fim de proporcionar aos gestores uma compreensão de como os indivíduos, tão diferentes entre si, comportam-se dentro e fora da organização diante daquilo que lhes é estabelecido pela área de recursos humanos. No campo teórico, foram consideradas as obras de Milkovich e Boudreau (1994), Dessler (2002), Demo et al. (2012) entre outros para abordar a questão de PPRH e os trabalhos de Handy (1978), Organ (1990), Siqueira (2003) entre outros para a temática CCO. A metodologia utilizada nesse estudo trata-se de uma pesquisa quantitativa entre 156 trabalhadores de empresas públicas, privadas e mistas localizadas no Estado de São Paulo, sendo que para a captação dos dados foram aplicados questionários de autopreenchimento, composto por duas escalas, sendo uma voltada a PPRH (DEMO et al., 2012) e outra cujas questões são relacionadas a CCO (BASTOS et al., 2014). Como resultados, identificou-se que PPRH impacta de forma significativa CCO e que a política de envolvimento, que trata da criação de um vínculo afetivo entre a organização e seus colaboradores, contribuindo para o seu bem-estar em termos de reconhecimento, relacionamento, participação e comunicação (Demo et al., 2012, p.38), é a única que impacta de forma significativa CCO, se comparados aos impactos causados pelas políticas de recrutamento e seleção, treinamento e desenvolvimento, condições de trabalho, avaliação de desempenho e remuneração e recompensas. Conclui-se também que o conjunto de PPRH impacta com maior significância os fatores de CCO denominados divulgação da imagem organizacional e sugestões criativas. Não houve impacto significativo entre PPRH e o fator cooperação com os colegas.

Insufficient discriminant validity:a comment on Bove, Pervan, Beatty and Shiu (2009)

Bove, Pervan, Beatty, and Shiu [Bove, LL, Pervan, SJ, Beatty, SE, Shiu, E. Service worker role in encouraging customer organizational citizenship behaviors. J Bus Res 2009;62(7):698–705.] develop and test a latent variable model of the role of service workers in encouraging customers' organizational citizenship behaviors. However, Bove et al. [Bove, LL, Pervan, SJ, Beatty, SE, Shiu, E. Service worker role in encouraging customer organizational citizenship behaviors. J Bus Res 2009;62(7):698–705.] claim support for hypothesized relationships between constructs that, due to insufficient discriminant validity regarding certain constructs, may be inaccurate. This research comment discusses what discriminant validity represents, procedures for establishing discriminant validity, and presents an example of inaccurate discriminant validity assessment based upon the work of Bove et al. [Bove, LL, Pervan, SJ, Beatty, SE, Shiu, E. Service worker role in encouraging customer organizational citizenship behaviors. J Bus Res 2009;62(7):698–705.]. Solutions to discriminant validity problems and a five-step procedure for assessing discriminant validity then conclude the paper. This comment hopes to motivate a review of discriminant validity issues and offers assistance to future researchers conducting latent variable analysis.