Assessing the impact of job involvement on performance

Purpose The hypothesized relationship between the attitude of job involvement and performance has received limited support. In 2002, Diefendorff et al. proposed that previous attempts to confirm this relationship were flawed, and subsequently found support for job involvement's criterion‐related validity. The present study seeks to provide another test of job involvement's association with performance. Design/methodology/approach Data were gathered using a field sample combined within a longitudinal design. Hypotheses were tested using correlation and hierarchical regression. Findings Employees’ self‐reported job involvement significantly predicted certain supervisor performance ratings above and beyond work centrality. Research limitations/implications The psychological environment may have been disrupted by the public announcement that the focal organization had been acquired by an international firm shortly before data collection began. Practical implications Encouraging greater job involvement may positively influence work‐related behaviors, especially individually directed citizenship behaviors. Originality/value The present study tested the long‐term relationship of employee attitudes to workplace behaviors with an applied sample, while providing a theoretical context to describe the effects.