Public Administration Perspective

Development and validation of the Red Crescent Personnel psychological empowerment scale (R-PES)

Document Type : Research Article

Author

Ph.D. Candidate of Assessment and Measurement (Psychometrics), Department of Assessment and Measurement, Allameh Tabatabaei University, Tehran, Iran

10.52547/jpap.2023.230561.1270

Abstract

Purpose: This study was undertaken to develop and validate an instrument for assessing psychological empowerment among employees.
Design/ methodology/ approach: Employing a mixed-methods approach, this study was structured into two phases: qualitative and quantitative. The qualitative phase utilized the phenomenological method, analyzing data from semi-structured interviews with 26 experts, including university professors and Red Crescent personnel such as deputies and volunteers. The subsequent quantitative phase adopted a correlational research design with structural equation modeling (SEM), analyzing data from 350 participants. This phase focused on employees of the Red Crescent Society in Tehran province. Instruments used included the Spitzer Psychological Empowerment Questionnaire (1999) and a questionnaire developed for this research.
Research Findings: Analysis revealed that the 29-item questionnaire possesses a robust factor structure, accurately explaining at least 68% of the variance in employees' psychological empowerment across seven sub-scales: trust, self-determination, sense of meaning, competence, effectiveness, self-confidence, and innovation.
Limitations & Consequences: This study exclusively focused on psychological empowerment, not accounting for its broad impact on various dimensions of individual and collective life.
Practical Consequences: The research confirms that the 29-item questionnaire for assessing psychological empowerment (R-PES) demonstrates sound face, content, convergent, and structural validity, making it a reliable tool for measuring employees' psychological empowerment. It is advisable for researchers, industrial psychologists, and career counselors to employ this questionnaire for assessing psychological empowerment among employees. Its validated factor structure and its proficiency in capturing significant variance in psychological empowerment render it a valuable instrument in workplace assessments.
Innovation or value of the Article: This questionnaire represents the first indigenous Iranian instrument designed to measure psychological empowerment.
Paper Type: Research Paper

Keywords

  1. Abdulahi, Bijan. (2006). Psychological empowerment of employees: dimensions and validation based on the structural equation model. Research and Planning in Higher Education, 11(2-1 (36-35)), 37-64.
  2. Abdullahi, B., & Heydari, S. (2009). Factors related to empower faculty members: a case study of Tarbyat Moalem university of Tehran. Higher education journal, 2(1), 24-1.
  3. Abili Kh, Nastiezaie N.(2010). Surveying the Relationship between Psychological Empowerment and Organizational Commitment in Nursing Staff]. Tolooe Behdasht. (12): 26-38.
  4. Ahearne, M., Mathieu, J., & Rapp, A. (2005). To empower or not to empower your sales force? An empirical examination of the influence of leadership empowerment behavior on customer satisfaction and performance. Journal of Applied psychology, 90(5), 945.
  5. Alsop, R., Bertelsen, M., & Holland, J. (2005). Empowerment in practice: From analysis to implementation. The World Bank.
  6. Amrahi, A.(2014). Study of influx quality of work life and cognitive empowerment on Organizational Trust intermediary role of organizational learning. [MA thesis] Educational Management, Urmia: Urmia university.
  7. Ardalan, M. R. (2013). Servant leadership role in promoting organizational trust with the role of mediator empowerment.
  8. Baird, K., & Wang, H. (2010). Employee empowerment: Extent of adoption and influential factors. Personnel Review, 39(5), 574-599.
  9. Biron, M., & Bamberger, P. (2010). The impact of structural empowerment on individual well-being and performance: Taking agent preferences, self-efficacy and operational constraints into account. Human Relations, 63(2), 163-191.
  10. Brown, T.A.(2006). Confirmatory Factor Analysis for Applied Research. Guilford Press, New York.
  11. Cornell Empowerment Group. (1989). Empowerment through family support. Networking Bulletin: Empowerment and Family Support, 1(1), 1-
  12. Corsun, D. L., & Enz, C. A. (1999). Predicting psychological empowerment among service workers: The effect of support-based relationships. Human relations, 52(2), 205-224.
  13. Dee, J. R., Henkin, A. B., & Duemer, L. (2003). Structural antecedents and psychological correlates of teacher empowerment. Journal of educational Administration, 41(3), 257-277.
  14. Doeringer, P. B., & Piore, M. J. (2020). Internal labor markets and manpower analysis: with a new introduction. Routledge.
  15. Drake, A. R., Wong, J., & Salter, S. B. (2007). Empowerment, motivation, and performance: Examining the impact of feedback and incentives on nonmanagement employees. Behavioral research in accounting, 19(1), 71-89.
  16. Erstad, Margaret. (1997). Empowerment & Organizational Change. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management: MCB. University Press.
  17. Fernandez, S., & Moldogaziev, T. (2015). Employee empowerment and job satisfaction in the US Federal Bureaucracy: A self-determination theory perspective. The American review of public administration, 45(4), 375-401.
  18. Galiè, A., & Farnworth, C. R. (2019). Power through: A new concept in the empowerment discourse. Global Food Security, 21, 13.
  19. Gravetter, F. J., & Forzano, L. A. B. (2018). Research methods for the behavioral sciences. Cengage Learning.
  20. Greasley K, King N. (2005). Employee perceptions of empowerment. Emerald Group Publishing Limited 27(4):351-68
  21. Guerrero, F., Zheng, Q., Kramer, J., Reichow, B., & Snyder, P. (2023). A systematic review of the measurement properties of the Family Empowerment Scale. Disability and Rehabilitation, 1-14.
  22. Hsieh, S. H., Lee, C. T., & Tseng, T. H. (2022). Psychological empowerment and user satisfaction: Investigating the influences of online brand community participation. Information & Management, 59(1), 103570.
  23. Hui, C. (1994). Effects of leadership empowerment behaviors and followers’ personal control, voice, and self-efficacy on in-role and extra-role empowerment process model. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Indiana University Bloomington.
  24. Kotze, E., Menon, S. T., & Vos, B. (2007). Psychological empowerment in the South African military: The generalisability of Menon's Scale. SA Journal of Industrial Psychology, 33(2), 1-6.
  25. Kretschmann, J., Plien, M., Nguyen, T. H. N., & Rudakov, M. (2020). Effective capacity building by empowerment teaching in the field of occupational safety and health management in mining. Записки Горного института, 242, 248-256.
  26. Lambe, C. J., Webb, K. L., & Ishida, C. (2009). Self-managing selling teams and team performance: The complementary roles of empowerment and control. Industrial Marketing Management, 38(1), 5-16.
  27. Lawler III, E. E. (1994). Total quality management and employee involvement: are they compatible?. Academy of Management Perspectives, 8(1), 68-76.
  28. Leach, D. J., Wall, T. D., & Jackson, P. R. (2003). The effect of empowerment on job knowledge: An empirical test involving operators of complex technology. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 76(1), 27-52.
  29. Lee, M., & Koh, J. (2001). Is empowerment really a new concept?. International journal of human resource management, 12(4), 684-695.
  30. Mahmoud, M. A., Ahmad, S., & Poespowidjojo, D. A. L. (2022). Psychological empowerment and individual performance: the mediating effect of intrapreneurial behaviour. European Journal of Innovation Management, 25(5), 1388-1408.
  31. Makin, P. J., Cooper, C. L., & Cox, C. (1996). Organizations and psychological contract: Managing people at work. Oxford: The British Psychological Society.
  32. Menon, S. (2001). Employee empowerment: An integrative psychological approach. Applied psychology, 50(1), 153-180.
  33. Menon, S. T. (1995). Employee Empowerment: Definition, Measurement and Construction Validation. Thse de doctorat, Universite McGill, Montreal.
  34. Menon, S. T., & Hartmann, L. C. (2002). Generalizability of Menon's empowerment scale: Replication and extension with Australian data. International Journal of Cross Cultural Management, 2(2), 137-153.
  35. Myers, M. D. (1997). "Qualitative Research in Information Systems". Association for Information Systems, Retrieved Jan 19, 2009 from http://www.qual.auckland.ac.nz
  36. Perez, M. I. (2004). The effect of empowerment on organizational effectiveness moderated by leadership style: An applied assessment. Psychological Measurement. 30(3): 607-610.
  37. Rinehart, J. S., & Short, P. M. (1993). Job Satisfaction and Empowerment among Teacher Leaders, Reading Recovery Teachers, and Regular Classroom Teachers.
  38. Robbins, T. L., Crino, M. D., & Fredendall, L. D. (2002). An integrative model of the empowerment process. Human resource management review, 12(3), 419-443.
  39. Rogers, E. S., Chamberlin, J., Ellison, M. L., & Crean, T. (1997). A consumer-constructed scale to measure empowerment among users of mental health services. Psychiatric services, 48(8), 1042-1047
  40. Schermuly, C. C., Creon, L., Gerlach, P., Graßmann, C., & Koch, J. (2022). Leadership styles and psychological empowerment: A meta-analysis. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 29(1), 73-95.
  41. Schumacker, R. E., & Lomax, R. G. (2004). A beginner's guide to structural equation modeling. Psychology press
  42. Skene, K. R. (2021). What is the Unit of Empowerment? An Ecological Perspective. The British Journal of Social Work.
  43. Soleimani, M., Dana, L. P., Salamzadeh, A., Bouzari, P., & Ebrahimi, P. (2023). The effect of internal branding on organisational financial performance and brand loyalty: mediating role of psychological empowerment. Journal of Asian Business and Economic Studies, 30(2), 143-163.
  44. Spreitzer, G. M. (1995). Psychological empowerment in the workplace: Dimensions, measurement, and validation. Academy of management Journal, 38(5), 1442-1465.
  45. Spreitzer, G. M. (1996). Social structural characteristics of psychological empowerment. Academy of management journal, 39(2), 483-504.
  46. Spreitzer, G. M., & Doneson, D. (2005). Musings on the past and future of employee empowerment. Handbook of organizational development, 4, 5-10.
  47. Stewart, J. G., McNulty, R., Griffin, M. T. Q., & Fitzpatrick, J. J. (2010). Psychological empowerment and structural empowerment among nurse practitioners. Journal of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, 22(1), 27-34.
  48. Thomas, K. W., & Velthouse, B. A. (1990). Cognitive elements of empowerment: An “interpretive” model of intrinsic task motivation. Academy of management review, 15(4), 666-681.
  49. Ullman, J. B., & Bentler, P. M. (2003). Structural equation modeling. Handbook of psychology, 607-634.
  50. Val, M. P. d., & Lloyd, B. (2003). Measuring empowerment. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 24(2), 102-108.
  51. Wall, T. D., Cordery, J. L., & Clegg, C. W. (2002). Empowerment, performance, and operational uncertainty: A theoretical integration. Applied Psychology, 51(1), 146-169.
  52. Wang, G., & Lee, P. D. (2009). Psychological empowerment and job satisfaction: An analysis of interactive effects. Group & organization management, 34(3), 271-296.
  53. Whetten, D. A., & Cameron, K. S. (1998). Developing management skills: New York. US: Addison Wesley.
  54. Wilkinson, A. (1998). Empowerment: theory and practice. Personnel review, 27(1), 40-56.
  55. Zakaria, A. (2011). Empowerment among Managers in Malaysian Banking: The Role of Leadership Behaviour and Motivation (Doctoral dissertation, The University of Manchester (United Kingdom)).
  56. Zhang, X., & Bartol, K. M. (2010). Linking empowering leadership and employee creativity: The influence of psychological empowerment, intrinsic motivation, and creative process engagement. Academy of management journal, 53(1), 107-128.
  57. Zimmerman, M. A., Israel, B., Schultz, A., & Checkoway, B. (1994). Further explorations in empowerment theory: An empirical analysis of psychological empowerment. Unpublished.

 

 

Public Administration Perspective
Volume 14, Issue 4 - Serial Number 56
2024
Pages 125-149