The article under consideration is “When Job Dissatisfaction Leads to Creativity: Encouraging the Expression of Voice” by Jing Zhou and Jennifer M. George. The article addresses the question of “conditions under which job dissatisfaction will lead to creativity as an expression of voice” (Zhou & George 2001, p. 682). In order to provide critical analysis of the presented article, we should answer a series of questions that follow:
Research question
The research question is a core issue addressed by a research article. It defines its structure, methods and literature that will be used to answer this research question. The research question addressed by this article is how job satisfaction contributes to the effective organization of work, and how job dissatisfaction can serve as a condition for creativity as an expression of voice. In order to justify a research question, the authors of the article provide the importance of studying this question claiming that “discontentment can be a trigger for change when those who are dissatisfied seek to come up with new ways to improve current conditions” (Zhou & George 2001, p. 683). The study attempted to address the gaps that were being done in previous researches, in particular, the authors provide that “job satisfaction and job performance has not been supported by empirical research” (Zhou & George 2001, p. 683). In addition, a number of previous researches were focused on the study of job satisfaction theories and their role in organizational effectiveness. Focusing a research question on job dissatisfaction, the authors address a new issue in work organization and provide the idea that it can have a positive influence on the work process as a whole.
Paradigm of the study
The paradigm of the research is a framework that defines how theories and hypotheses will be built. Paradigm can also be defined as a world view, beliefs and methods for research. There are three types of paradigm. According to Denzin and Lincoln (2005), the basic beliefs that define a particular research paradigm may be summarized by the responses given to three fundamental questions. These questions are ontological questions, epistemological question and methodological questions. The study in the research article follows a scientific (qualitative) paradigm because it makes use of descriptive focus, based on qualitative data collection organized in natural settings, and it is also based on early inductive data analysis.
Theories
According to Gliner and Morgan(2000):
the theory explains a natural phenomenon which is the goal for science, and it is a set of interrelated constructs, definitions, and propositions that present a systematic view of phenomena by specifying relations among variables, with the purpose of explaining and predicting a phenomena (p. 55)
The study under consideration is based on the exit-voice theory. The exit-voice theory according to which “employees can respond to job dissatisfaction in one of four ways: exit, voice, loyalty and neglect (Zhou and George 2001, p. 684). The theory is relevant to the study in terms of evaluation of the employees’ reaction to dissatisfaction with their job. In addition, this theory allows defining the variables of the research.
Research model and variables
The study uses a qualitative research model and, as has already been mentioned, an exit-voice theory. Such approach and “organizational creativity literature” help identify contextual variables of the research:
useful feedback from coworkers, coworker helping and support, and perceived organizational support for creativity-that encourage dissatisfied employees to be creative by boosting their confidence that creative activities will be meaningful and influential and by directing their attention to, and sustaining their energy for, creativity (Zhou & George 2001, p. 685).
- The variables mentioned above can greatly promote creativity as a voice-expression.
- Sketch of the key conceptual relationships.
- Perceived organizational support for creativity
- Useful Feedback from Coworkers
- Coworker helping and support
- Perceived organizational support for creativity is a moderator.
- Useful Feedback from Coworkers is an independent variable.
- Coworker helping and support is a dependent variable.
According to this diagram, we can conclude that useful feedback from coworkers enables employees to provide help and support to other workers, however, if positive feedback is supported by organizational support, the cooperation and, as a result effectiveness of work, increases.
Research design
The key advantage of chosen research design is that it provides a theoretical framework for future research and offers a detailed analysis of the research question and, gave the opportunity to raise the question and support the research objectives. However, in terms of variance control and validity, research missed out several important issues that could affect the outcomes of the research as a whole. Thus, the key disadvantages of the research provided in the given article lie in the fact that authors of did not measure interventing processes and results of the experiment and data collection consistent only with reasoning. In addition, the results of the research are based on a theoretical approach to the research question and do not suggest management practices. Finally, the underlying psychological issues were not taken into consideration and the conceptual framework of this research can be argued.
Measurement and related issues
“The quality and characteristics of any instruments used to measure the independent and dependent variables are immediately connected to a study’s reliability and validity” (Girden & Kabacoff 2010, p. 7).
In this research, the measurements are presented in a separate section and in tables that demonstrate the dependence of variables on each other. In order to measure creativity in terms of dissatisfaction, the researches provided a 13-item scale which was based on Scott and Bruce. The supervisors had to rate their employees according to the 5 scale range. The supervisors based their choices on personal experience. In order to measure job dissatisfaction, the authors used a three-item scale borrowed from the Michigan Organizational Assessment Questionnaire. Every variable was also measured according to an independent scale. Such an approach helped explain a significant amount of variance in each variable. The measurement provided the results that supported the research hypothesis, thus, “results showed that dissatisfied employees with high continuance commitment were more likely to be creative when their coworkers were helpful and supportive” (Zhou & George 2001, p. 690).
A feasible way to address the shortcomings in the research
A feasible way to address the shortcomings in the research is to use the available data and collect additional evidence to make measurement more clear. As has already been mentioned, the research did not take into consideration psychological mechanisms which were described earlier in the conceptual framework of the research. Furthermore, we suggest that in addition to the measurements that were based on different scales, additional measurements can be done (which would use the same scale system for the variables).
References
Denzin, N. K. & Lincoln, Y. S. 2005, The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Research. SAGE, New Delhi.
Girden, E. R. & Kabacoff, R. 2010, Evaluating Research Articles From Start to Finish, SAGE, New Delhi.
Gliner, J. A. & Morgan, G. A. 2000, Research Methods in Applied Settings: An Integrated Approach to Design and Analysis, Routledge, Mahwah.
Zhou, J. & George, J. M. 2001, “When Job Dissatisfaction Leads to Creativity: Encouraging the Expression of Voice”, Academy of Management Journal, vol. 44, no. 4, pp. 682-696.