Date of Award

Fall 1997

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Business Administration (DBA)

Department

Management

First Advisor

Gene Brown

Abstract

The objective of this dissertation was to assess how certain organizational-level and individual-level factors affect member job attitudes. Specifically, market orientation and organizational learning, contingent on the individual's orientation toward learning, were examined as potential predictors of job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Individual performance of employees affects organizational performance. Consequently, these organizational and individual factors are significant to management because of their potential influence on the attitudes of employees.

A national sample consisting of sales and marketing executives made up the sample frame. A self-report questionnaire was mailed to 2000 randomly selected potential respondents. The return of 213 usable questionnaires resulted in a 10.8% response rate out of the 1975 actually delivered. Hypotheses were tested involving the influence of each predictor variable on each employee attitude. The individual's orientation toward learning as moderator was also tested. Finally, the influence of an interaction between the predictor variables on employee attitudes and the moderation of this influence by the individual's learning orientation was tested. The principal statistical method of analysis was moderated multiple regression. Both employee attitudes were regressed on market orientation and the learning organization as moderated by individual learning orientation. The moderated interaction between the predictor variables was also examined against each attitude.

Statistical analysis revealed that: (1) job satisfaction and organizational commitment are each influenced by market orientation and the learning organization, (2) job satisfaction and organizational commitment are each influenced by individual learning orientation in the presence of market orientation or learning organization characteristics, (3) interaction between market orientation and the learning organization does not affect job satisfaction, (4) interaction between market orientation and the learning organization does not affect either job satisfaction or organizational commitment, (5) individual learning orientation does not moderate the effects of market orientation, the learning organization, or their interaction on job attitudes, (6) learning organization appears to explain more variance in either employee attitude than does market orientation.

Managerial implications of the findings were discussed along with contributions to knowledge in management and marketing. Finally, future research suggestions were provided.

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