How Organizational Information Sources Influence Employee Mission Valence: A Quantitative Analysis

Abstract

This study contributes to our understanding of mission valence and its drivers by examining existing research models from a social constructionist perspective and extending its focus to non-managerial employees. More specifically, structural equation modelling was used to analyse a sample of 585 non-managerial employees employed by a public welfare organization with the aim of testing if (1) goal clarity, public service motivation and work impact are related with higher levels of mission valence, and (2) how multiple sources of socializing influence, namely top management, supervisors and co- workers, shape employee perceptions of these relations. The study results indicate that goal clarity, public service motivation and work impact are positively related with mission valence. Consequently, the results of previous studies , all using samples of senior managers, seem to be generalizable to employees at the opposite end of the organizational hierarchy. In addition, the study results indicate that transformational leadership and co-workers influence perceptions of goal clarity, public service motivation and work impact. However, despite the fact that supervisors are often depicted as an interface between the individual and the organization, the study results indicate that supervisors influence goal clarity but not perceived work impact and public service motivation.