Using Relative Weights to Reanalyze Research on the Job Characteristics Model

In this study, I re-analyze data from a meta-analysis of research on the job characteristics model (Hackman & Oldham, 1980), using relative weights analysis (Johnson, 2001). This analytic technique is particularly well-suited for analyses in which one wants to most accurately determine the proportion of explained variance in a dependent variable among several independent variables, while avoiding common problems with traditional regression analysis. Some of the results of this re-analysis run counter to the established predictions of the job characteristics model, indicating that this classic model of job design and intrinsic motivation could benefit from further research and rethinking.