The Measurement of Work Value Congruence: A Field Study Comparison

Abstract

Although research and practice involving a large number of individual and organizational-level processes requires making comparisons between different work-related values or sets of values (i.e., work value congruence), there is an absence of research dealing with how value congruence should be conceptualized and measured. This study examined a number of issues involving the conceptualization and measurement of work value congruence using interpersonal value comparisons. Comparisons were made for supervisor-subordinate pairs using work value congruence indexes composed of single versus multiple value measures and specific versus general value measures. These comparisons were made for actual and squared indexes and for indexes that were corrected for association with their component value measures. Results showed that a squared congruence index using a more inclusive rank order measure was most appropriate for assessing the effect of value congruence on affective outcomes.