Organizational Cultures: An International Journal

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European Country Contextual Differences Impacting Job Quality Characteristics and Worker Satisfaction: A Look at France and Germany from 1997 to 2005


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1 Utah Valley University, United States
     

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Prior research has indicated that the nature of work has changed dramatically in recent years in response to economic shifts and an increasingly global economy. In this study, we used non-panel longitudinal data from the International Social Survey Program (Work Orientations II and III: 1997 and 2005-survey questions on job characteristics and job quality) to examine the changing job quality and job satisfaction determinants in two European countries, France and West Germany, while exploring the country contextual and cultural shifts that impacted this change. We used a comparative international methodology to examine similarities and differences between France and West Germany from 1997 to 2005. We used a variety of bivariate and multivariate descriptive statistics and procedures, as well as ordinary least squares and ordered probit regression analysis, to explore variations across the two countries to examine the conditions that exist in France and Germany that may affect the satisfaction of workers within those two countries. To move beyond the existing research of social psychologists and organizational behavior researchers, we utilized descriptive country level comparative data to include important macro-crossnational factors that may directly influence working conditions and the perceptions of workers.

Keywords

Job Satisfaction, Work Quality, France, Germany, Country Contextual Factors.
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  • European Country Contextual Differences Impacting Job Quality Characteristics and Worker Satisfaction: A Look at France and Germany from 1997 to 2005

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Authors

Jonathan H. Westover
Utah Valley University, United States
Trista Doxey
Utah Valley University, United States
Michelle Spencer
Utah Valley University, United States

Abstract


Prior research has indicated that the nature of work has changed dramatically in recent years in response to economic shifts and an increasingly global economy. In this study, we used non-panel longitudinal data from the International Social Survey Program (Work Orientations II and III: 1997 and 2005-survey questions on job characteristics and job quality) to examine the changing job quality and job satisfaction determinants in two European countries, France and West Germany, while exploring the country contextual and cultural shifts that impacted this change. We used a comparative international methodology to examine similarities and differences between France and West Germany from 1997 to 2005. We used a variety of bivariate and multivariate descriptive statistics and procedures, as well as ordinary least squares and ordered probit regression analysis, to explore variations across the two countries to examine the conditions that exist in France and Germany that may affect the satisfaction of workers within those two countries. To move beyond the existing research of social psychologists and organizational behavior researchers, we utilized descriptive country level comparative data to include important macro-crossnational factors that may directly influence working conditions and the perceptions of workers.

Keywords


Job Satisfaction, Work Quality, France, Germany, Country Contextual Factors.

References