together in the initial model, the small effect that Work Values can have may have
been overlooked. As it is, some interesting questions for future research are
raised by the finding that Work Values do appear to have some (albeit a small)
effect on employees attitudes to work and job performance/work motivation.
In a similar vein, the hypotheses relating to Work Meaning (H 3 and H 4 ) could not
(with hindsight) have been tested if the full model was initially specified. Because
the three employee attitude constructs (Work Meaning, Affective Organisational
Commitment and Job Satisfaction) did not demonstrate sufficient discriminant
validity, they could not be included as discrete entities within one model. Section
7.6 describes how these constructs were amalgamated into a broader employee
attitudes construct – however, had this amalgamation been undertaken prior to
testing Work Meaning as a discrete construct (and in the absence of the other two
employee attitude constructs), it would not have been possible to test H 3
(ML→ME) and H 4 (ME→JP).
While building the models in this way, the measurement model for each
successive model was initially specified with all of the indicator variables, even
though some of these indicator variables were found not to perform well in the
previous model. By building each successive model iteration ‘from scratch’, two
issues are addressed. Firstly, that the model-based imputation of missing values
(see Section 6.6.1 below) is based on the specific model that is being estimated
and tested. Secondly, this approach was able to confirm (or refute) the
robustness of the measurement of the individual constructs. That is, by
estimating, testing and modifying each model ‘from scratch’ it was possible to
make an assessment of the consistency of factor structures across models.
6.5 Instrumentation
The overall research aim is to explore and evaluate the contribution of
motivational leadership to employee work motivation in hospitality services. The
specific objectives as described in Chapter 1 are to:
- critically evaluate the field of hospitality leadership studies to identify relevant
issues and inform the research design; - develop a theoretical framework to:
a. locate the variables of interest in relation to existing organisational
psychology theories;