NEED TYPE AND JOB SATISFACTION AMONG INDUSTRIAL SCIENTISTS

NEED-FULFILLMENT THEORIES OF JOB SATISFACTION ASSUME THAT INDIVIDUALS DIFFER IN THE OUTCOMES THEY PREFER (NEED) TO OBTAIN FROM JOBS, AND THAT THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE OUTCOMES RECEIVED ON THE JOB AND SATISFACTION IS DEPENDENT UPON THESE PREFERENCES. IT WAS HYPOTHESIZED THAT THE PATTERN OF PREFERENCES FOR JOB OUTCOMES MODERATES THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PREFERENCE FOR AND SATISFACTION WITH AN OUTCOME. QUESTIONNAIRES WERE EMPLOYED TO ASSESS PREFERENCE AND SATISFACTION ON 30 DIFFERENT JOB OUTCOMES WITH 113 INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH SCIENTISTS WORKING IN 1 FACILITY. PREFERENCE (NEED) RATINGS WERE SUBJECTED TO Q CLUSTER ANALYSIS. 2 "NEED" TYPES WERE IDENTIFIED. NEED TYPE MODERATED THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PREFERENCE FOR AND SATISFACTION WITH THAT OUTCOME ONLY ON THOSE OUTCOMES MOST CLOSELY RELATED TO THE COMPANY ITSELF. IT IS PROPOSED THAT THESE 2 NEED TYPES REFLECT THE 2 TYPES OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PERSONNEL THAT DIFFER PRIMARILY IN ORIENTATION TOWARD THE COMPANY ITSELF. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved).