LIBRARY
OF THE
MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE
OF TECHNOLOGY
WORKING PAPER
ALFRED P. SLOAN SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT
ORGANIZATIONAL TRUST AND SATISFACTION
WITH PARTICIPATION IN ORGANIZATIONAL
DECISION MAKING
James W. Driscoll
WP 867-76
**
MASS. I.NST. T
'CM
1976
AUG 19
DtWEY m
July 1976
MASSACHUSETTS
INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
50 MEMORIAL DRIVE
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 02139
*^UG 24 1976
L/
sraries
ORGANIZATIONAL TRUST AND SATISFACTION
WITH PARTICIPATION IN ORGANIZATIONAL
DECISION MAKING .
James W. Driscoll
WP 867-76
**
MASS. INST. T'CM.
AUG 19 1976
DEWEY
July 1976
The New York State School of Industrial and
Labor Relations, Cornell University, Ithaca,
New York, provided financial support for the
collection of the data reported here. Ann E.
JfecEachron provided helpful comments and
support during the preparation of this report.
**
Assistant Professor in the Alfred P. Sloan
School of Management, Massachusetts Institute
of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
M.I.T. LIBRARIES
AUG 2 4 1976
RECEIVED
Organizational Trust and Satisfaction with
Participation in Organizational Decision Making
ABSTRACT
Among a college faculty, organizational trust predicted
satisfaction with participation in decision making beyond the effects of
perceived participation, the congruence between desired and perceived
participation, or global trust as a personality dimension. Organizational
trust emphasizes decision results and suggests a political perspective on
decision making.
- 2 -
Deutsch (1955) defined social trust as an individual's willing-
ness to rely on the actions of another where the potential costs of such
dependence outweigh its benefits. Gamson (1968) extended the notion of
trust to decision making in political systems. For Gamson, a political
system consisted of competing groups with differing interests who seek to
influence decision making. Trusting individuals and groups expected
decisions within the system to favor their interests in the long run and
thus had less need to exert their influence through participation. They
were satisfied with the existing process.
To the extent that organizations are political systems composed
of individuals and groups with different interests and goals (Baldridge,
1971; Tushman, 1976), trust should play a major role in determining atti-
tudes of organizational members towards decision making. Nonetheless, in
examining individual attitudes towards participation in decision making,
most research focuses on the extent of participation or involvement in
decision making, rather than on how the results of decisions affect parti-
cipating individuals and groups. This perspective claims that increased
participation is directly linked to satisfaction with participation. The
political perspective suggests that trust, as defined by Deutsch and Gamson,
may provide an alternative reason for satisfaction with participation;
when positive decision results are anticipated, satisfaction with level of
participation should be high regardless of the current level of involvement
in decision making. The purpose of the current study is to assess satis-
faction with participation in decision making from these two perspectives.
072022-1
- 3 -
HYPOTHESES
Although there have been some negative findings, e.g. Lischeron
and Wall (1975b), a body of evidence has supported the conclusion that
under appropriate conditions increased levels of participation in decision
making are associated with increased satisfaction. After reviewing the
leadership literature, for example, Stogdill (1974:392) concluded that in
many different situations there was a "slight tendency for satisfaction to
be related to participative leadership." Strauss (1963), Lowin (1968), and
Wood (1973) reviewed a number of conditions under which participation
should effect satisfaction. Ritchie (1974:65) recently summarized these
conditions as follows. Participation in decision making by subordinates
was more effective when: 1) they had relevant skills and information;
2) they perceived that their involvement will affect outcomes; 3) they
were motivated to participate and thereby achieve outcomes; 4) they felt
that participation was legitimate; 5) the status difference or expertise
[difference] between participants was low; 6) the trust and support
exhibited by their supervisor was high.
While Strauss (1963), Lowin (1968), Wood (1973), and Ritchie
(1974) have each described a broad range of psychological mechanisms to
explain the effects of participation, the present study focuses on two
explanations that are commonly advanced to account for the relationship
between levels of involvement and satisfaction with participation in
decision making. These explanations rest on a behavioral definition of
participation where the extent of subordinate involvement can range from
- 4
taking no part in the decision-making discussion of an issue to partici-
pating in all phases in the formal determination of organizational policy
(Vroom and Yetton, 1974; Wood, 1973).
According to the first explanation, increased involvement in
decision making provides satisfaction for a variety of needs including the
need to control the environment at work (Lowin, 1968; Wood, 1972). This
explanation leads to the hypothesis that increases in participation will
be positively associated with satisfaction with participation (Hypothesis
1). A related explanation is that the fit between participation and an
individual's role expectation or desire for participation may determine
satisfaction with participation in decision making (Allutto and Belasco,
1972); that is, the congruence between desired and perceived participation
is expected to be positively related to satisfaction with participation
(Hypothesis 2). Previous research supports this view for teachers (Allutto
and Belasco, 1972) and blue collar workers (Allutto and Acito, 1974;
Lischeron and Wall, 1975a). This study tests the generalizability of this
hypothesis to college faculty members, who place a high value on partici-
pation in collegial decision-making.
The above explanations of satisfaction rest on the assumption
that extent of participation is directly linked to satisfaction with
participation regardless of the results of decision making. Yet, logically,
decision outcomes would seem to influence satisfaction with participation.
The notion of trust is helpful in this regard because trust reflects the
expectancy that decisions will favor an individual's interest. Thus,
whatever an individual's extent of involvement in decision making, indi-
viduals with high trust in organizational decision makers should report
- 5
satisfaction with their current participation level (Hypothesis 3).
Trust may derive from two sources, however; either from an
assessment of the likely consequences of relying on others in a specific
situation (Deutsch, 1958; Gamson, 1968) or as a global tendency to expect
others to act in one's interest across situations (Rosenberg, 1956; Rotter,
1971). In the present context, organizational members may be satisfied
with their current level of participation in decision making either because
they expect decision makers in particular situations to consider their
interests or because they generally expect others to behave in their behalf
in making decisions. Studies of trust in government have indicated the
relative independence of trust in specific institutions from trust as a
global or personality variable (Citrin, 1974). This study, therefore, com-
pares the usefulness of organizational and global definitions of trust in
predicting satisfaction with participation in decision making. It is
expected that trust based on the organizational situation, rather than
trust as a global tendency, will be a better predictor of satisfaction
because the former is more closely linked with decision outcomes (Hypothesis
4).
To test these alternative explanations of satisfaction with
participation in decision making, a population where participation had a
high value was chosen, specifically, the faculty of a four year college
where the major goal was undergraduate education. Not only does the model
of higher education as a self-governing collegium engender an expection of
involvement in decision making, but, as Strauss (1963) has pointed out, the
average professor is more likely than the average citizen to desire
participation.
6 -
METHOD
Sample
Questionnaires from 109 (39?o) members of the faculty at a small
liberal arts college in upstate New York were received in response to a
mail survey done in 1975. Those responding did not differ significantly
from the population in terms of their sex or academic rank. Of the
respondents, 497o were full or associate professors, 817o male, and 56% were
less than 40 years old. The results reported here refer to those respon-
dents who provided information on all the variables of interest.
Independent Variables
Perceived level of participation for each individual was measured
by averaging the extent of opportunities for involvement in separate
decisions--selecting faculty members, promoting faculty members, determining
faculty salary increases, appointing a new department head, and allocating
the college budget. Opportunities for involvement in each decision could
range from: (1) making no input, (2) having the opportunity to speak to a
participant in the decision, (3) being consulted by the final decision
maker, (4) discussing the decision in a group, to (5) participating in a
group making the final decision based on a vote or consensus. The median
correlation among these five items was moderate (r=.37, n >98 , p<C.01),
indicating that participation was fairly consistent across these five
decision issues.
The congruence between desired and perceived participation was
measured by having each respondent indicate their desired level of parti-
cipation for each of the above decisions. The absolute values of these
- 7 -
congruence measures also had a moderate median intercorrelation (r=.34,
nx^g? , p<_.01) while the median correlation among the desired levels of
participation was somewhat lower (r=.24, n_>97, p<C02).
Organizational trust was measured by averaging three Likert-type
items describing the frequency with which the administrative decision
makers at three hierarchical levels (chairperson of the department, dean
of the school, and president of the college) could be trusted to make
decisions the respondent considered appropriate. These items had a
slightly stronger median intercorrelation (r=.41, n> 92 , p<..01).
Trust as a global tendency was measured by the average of two
items referring to a general faith in the helpfulness of other people
(Rosenberg, 1956). These items correlated highly (r=.88, n=94, p^C.Ol).
Dependent Variable
Satisfaction with participation in decision making, the depen-
dent variable, was a single Likert-type item with responses ranging from
extremely dissatisfied to extremely satisfied on a 7 point scale. The
hypotheses were tested using this item. In addition, to control for the
effects of method variance arising from the measurement of these variables
in the same questionnaire, a rotated criterion was constructed. This
criterion used an item measuring overall job satisfaction to compute that
component of satisfaction with participation which was independent of the
overall satisfaction item. The hypotheses were then tested using that
criterion and the results of these tests were identical in all major
respects to those reported here which refer to the unadjusted measure of
satisfaction with participation.
- 8
RESULTS
Table 1 shows the correlations of the various participation
measures--perceived, desired, and the congruence between perceived and
desired--with satisfaction with participation. Hypothesis 1 is supported
by the significant positive correlation between perceived participation and
satisfaction with participation. As perceived participation in decision
making increase, satisfaction with participation increases. Hypothesis 2
is also supported by the significant positive correlation between the
congruence measure of participation and the satisfaction measure. As the
congruence between desired and perceived participation increases, satis-
faction with participation increases.
Table 1 also shows the correlations of organizational and global
trust with satisfaction with participation. Only organizational trust
correlates significantly and positively with the satisfaction measure.
TABLE 1
Pearson Correlation Matrix (N=96)
1. 2. 3. 4, 5.
1. Satisfaction with partici-
pation in decision making —
2. Perceived participation .48* —
3. Desired participation -.06 .32* —
4. Congruence between desired
and perceived participation .64* .76* -.07 —
5. Organizational trust .64* .31* .07 .45* —
6. Global trust .13 -.03 .01 .03 .14
*
p<.01
8A
TABLE 2
Regression of Satisfaction with Participation on Measures of
Participation and Trust (n=96)
Standardized regression
coefficient "F" statistic
Perceived participation
Congruence between desired and
perceived participation
Organizational trust
Global trust
a. R^=.57, F=30.04, d.f=4,91, p^.Ol.
,02 .03
.43 14.73*
.43 29.88*
.06 .78
d.f=l,94, p<.01.
When the two hypothesized measures of participation--perceived and the
congruence between perceived and desired--are statistically controlled in
a multiple regression analysis, the association between organizational
trust and satisfaction remains significant (F=29.88, d.f=l,94, p-C.Ol)
(Table 2). Hypothesis 3 was thus supported. Individuals with high trust
in organizational decision makers are more satisfied with their partici-
pation regardless of the extent of perceived or desired participation. In
both the Pearson and nniltiple regression analyses, moreover, organizational
- 9
trust is a better predictor of satisfaction than global trust. Using the
Hotelling-Williams test to compare these Pearson correlations as described
by Darlington (1974), organizational trust is a significantly better pre-
dictor of satisfaction than global trust (Z=3.22, n=96, p^.Ol). Hypothesis
4 therefore is supported. Satisfaction is linked closer to organizational
trust than to global trust, presumably because the attitude in question,
namely satisfaction with participation in the organization's decisions, is
situationally specific. Although no comparative hypotheses were advanced,
Table 2 also clarifies the relative usefulness of the two hypothesized
measures of participation. The congruence between desired and perceived
participation predicts satisfaction with participation regardless of the
level of participation, global or organizational trust (F=14.73, d.f=l,94,
p-<i.01). In contrast, the perceived level of participation fails to add to
the prediction of satisfaction when these other factors are controlled
(F=.03, d.f=1.94, n.s.).
DISCUSSION
The explanation of satisfaction with participation in decision
making in this study includes two different perspectives on organizations
as described by Dahrendorf (1958). Perceived participation in decision
making and its congruence with desired levels reflect an integrative analy-
sis of organizations. In that analysis, the primary variable in decision
making is the extent of individual involvement in the process as a source
of satisfaction for reasons of social needs, higher-order needs, or role
expectations. The decisions resulting from the process receive little
- 10
emphasis since this analysis assumes basic agreement on goals among membors
of the organization. In contrast, a political analysis of organizations
assumes conflict over the distribution of resources within the organization
rather than coordination in the pursuit of common organizational goals.
Gamson's (1968) concept of political trust applied here to organizations is
congruent with this latter perspective.
The present results support Dahrendorf's assertion that under-
standing organizations requires both perspectives. Professors' attitudes
towards their present participation in decision making reflect both their
current level of participation in that process and their trust in its
results.
Of the two integrative explanations of professors' attitudes
towards their participation in decision making, the congruence between per-
ceived and desired participation is a more useful predictor than the per-
ceived levels of participation. Although participation predicts satisfac-
tion directly, even among a population of college professors considering de-
sired levels of participation improves the prediction of their attitudes.
This finding supports one of the several conditions summarized by Ritchie
(1974) and highlighted by Alutto and Belasco (1972) for the effectiveness of
participation, namely that individuals are motivated to participate in decisions.
Of the two explanations suggested by a political perspective on
organizations, trust as an assessment of the current decision-making system
(organizational trust) rather than trust as an enduring personality charac-
teristic (global trust) predicts satisfaction with participation. This
relative importance of trust as a characteristic of the situation rather
than of the personality supports Mischel's (1968) emphasis on the
11
psychological impact of differences among situations over the effects of
personality.
Although this correlational study cannot identify the causes of
satisfaction with participation, the usefulness of trust in this study
suggests more attention should be given to political analyses of organi-
zational decision making. Decision making not only provides a source of
satisfaction for the social and higher-order needs of organizational members
through participation in this process, but as a political system, organiza-
tional decision making also emphasizes the goals of certain members in its
results. Decision outcomes determine the distribution of resources including
money and the freedom to act within the organization. Therefore, analyses
of attitudes towards organizational decision making should consider how
decisions affect individual interests within a political system.
12
REFERENCES
1. Alutto, J. and Belasco, J. "A typology for participation in
organizational decision making," Administrative Science Quarterly ,
Vol. No. 17 (1972), pp. 117-125.
2. Alutto, J. and Acito, F. "Decisional participation and sources of job
satisfaction: a study of manufacturing personnel," Academy of
Management Journal , Vol. No. 17 (1974), pp. 160-167.
3. Baldridge, J.V. Power and Conflict in the University (New York: Wiley,
1971).
4. Citrin, J. "Comment: the political relevance of trust in government,"
American Political Science Review , Vol. No. 68 (1974), pp. 973-988.
5. Dahrendorf , R.M. Class and Class Conflict in Industrial Society
(Stanford, California: Stanford University, 1959).
6. Darlington, R. B. Radicals and Squares and Other Statistical Procedures
for Behavioral Science (Ithaca, New York: Logan Hill, 1974).
7. Deutsch, M. "Trust and suspicion," Journal of Conflict Resolution , Vol.
No. 2 (1958), pp. 265-279.
8. Gamson, W.A. Power and Discontent (Homewood, Illinois: Dorsey, 1968).
9. Lischeron, J. A. and Wall, T.D. "Attitudes towards participation among
local authority employees," Human Relations , Vol. No. 28 (1975a),
pp. 499-517.
10. Lischeron, J. A. and Wall, T.D. "Employee participation: an experimental
field study." Human Relations , Vol. No. 28 (1975b), pp. 863-864.
11. Lowin, A. "Participative decision making: a model, literature critique,
and prescriptions for research," Organizational Behavior and Human
Performance , Vol. No. 3 (1968), pp. 68-106.
12. Mischel, W. Personality and Assessment (New York: John Wiley and Sons,
1968).
13. Ritchie, J.B. Supervision. In G. Strauss, R.E. Miles, C.C. Snow and
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14. Rosenberg, M. "Misanthropy and political ideology," American
Sociological Review , Vol. No. 21 (1956) pp. 690-695.
13 -
15. Rotter, J.B. "Generalized expectancies for interpersonal trust,"
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16. Stogdill, R.M. Handbook of Leadership ; A Survey of Theory and Research
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18. Tushman, M. "A political approach to organizations: a review,
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19. Vroom, V.H. and Yetton, P.W. Leadership and Decision - Making (Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1973).
20. Wood, M.T. "Participation, influence, and satisfaction in group
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21. Wood, M.T. "Power relationships and group decision making in
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pp. 280-293.
5081 028
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