Gender disparity in job satisfaction of Western versus Asian managers

JBR-07801; No of Pages 10 Journal of Business Research xxx (2013) xxx–xxx

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Journal of Business Research

Gender disparity in job satisfaction of Western versus Asian managers Anusorn Singhapakdi a,⁎, M. Joseph Sirgy b, Dong-Jin Lee c, Kalayanee Senasu d, Grace B. Yu e, Amiee Mellon Nisius f a

College of Business & Public Administration, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA 23529-0220, USA Virginia Tech, USA Yonsei University, South Korea d School of Human Resource Development, National Institute of Development Administration, Thailand e Hannam University, South Korea f College of Business & Public Administration, Old Dominion University, USA b c

a r t i c l e

i n f o

Article history: Received 3 June 2012 Received in revised form 3 December 2012 Accepted 9 April 2013 Available online xxxx Keywords: Gender disparity Job satisfaction Managers Cross-cultural

a b s t r a c t This study is to shed more light on gender disparity in job satisfaction in the context of Western versus Asian managers. It addresses the “gender paradox of the female contented worker” and takes a position that the paradox does not apply to female managers in Asia. Data were collected from Thailand as representative of Asian countries and from the U.S. as representative of Western countries. The data show that the gender paradox phenomenon is suspect at best. The results suggest that there is gender disparity in job satisfaction in both countries. There are also significant gender disparities in lower-order quality of work life (QWL) and organizational socialization in Thailand, but not in the U.S. There is no significant gender disparity in higher-order QWL in both countries. These results imply that gender disparity in job satisfaction in Thailand is driven mainly by significant gender disparity in lower-order QWL and organizational socialization. © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction Job satisfaction has been an important research topic for many years (Clark, 1997; Donohue & Heywood, 2004; Sloane & Williams, 2000). Job satisfaction is closely related to income, working conditions, effort requirements, chance for promotions, self-actualization potential and more (Bender, Donohue, & Heywood, 2005; Clark & Oswald, 1996). Studies have generally revealed that female workers tend to experience substantial disadvantages in the workplace compared to their male counterpart. Women are still over-represented in lower-paying jobs (Banyard, 2010; Bradley, 2007), while only 3% of the CEOs of Fortune 500 companies are female (Catalyst, 2010). Female workers experience: • lower pay (Cohen & Huffman, 2003; Cotter, Hermsen, & Vanneman, 2004; England, 2010), • gender bias in hiring and evaluation (Ely & Meyerson, 2000; Ridgeway, 1997), • limited training opportunities (Lynch, 1992), and • disadvantages in pension and other benefits (Heywood, 1989). Despite the fact that women earn less and enjoy substantially less autonomy and status in the workplace than men, research has shown ⁎ Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 757 683 5129; fax: +1 757 683 3258. E-mail addresses: [email protected] (A. Singhapakdi), [email protected] (M.J. Sirgy), [email protected] (D.-J. Lee), [email protected] (K. Senasu), [email protected] (G.B. Yu), [email protected] (A.M. Nisius).

that women tend to express higher levels of work satisfaction than men. This has come to be known as the paradox of the female contented worker (Agassi, 1982; Clark, 1997; Crosby, 1982; Donohue & Heywood, 2004; Hodson, 1989; Phelan, 1994). One possible reason for this paradox is difference in preferences and weights that women and men place on their jobs (Clark, 1997; Hakim, 1996; Sloane & Williams, 2000). Studies have found that while male workers prefer jobs with high income, responsibility, and opportunities for leadership; female workers prefer jobs with good co-workers, good supervisors, and the opportunity to help others (Konrad, Corrigall, Lieb, & Ritchie, 2000). These job preference differences result from gender socialization (Perlman & Pike, 1994) and a desire to integrate work and family life (Garey, 1999). Women have stronger desire to integrate work and family (Garey, 1999); therefore, they are more likely to choose to work part-time (Epstein et al., 1999; Glauber, 2012). The research reported in this paper focuses on cross-cultural gender disparity in relation to job satisfaction, organizational socialization, and quality-of-work life. The authors argue that, in addition to its direct effect, gender can affect job satisfaction by means of organizational socialization and quality of work life. These constructs are important because of their organizational outcome effects, as well as their pronounced managerial implications. Culture is also an important construct in this study (by using survey data of managers from Thailand and the U.S.) because much of the research dealing with the paradox of the female contented worker has been conducted in developed countries or Western countries (Koonmee, Singhapakdi, Virakul, & Lee, 2010). Based on a literature review, no studies were identified that

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Please cite this article as: Singhapakdi, A., et al., Gender disparity in job satisfaction of Western versus Asian managers, Journal of Business Research (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2013.04.004

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compare Western managers with Asian managers. Therefore, this study is designed to contribute to the extant literature given that the U.S. is representative of the developed and Western countries, whereas Thailand is considered to be representative of developing and non-Western countries. Moreover, as noted by Marta and Singhapakdi (2005), the two countries are also different in terms of cultural values. Based on Hofstede's (1980) cultural typology, they concluded by making the following assertion: Thais are more collectivist than Americans and more accepting of enduring power differentials. Thailand is a more feminine culture, which means they tend to prefer more nurturing over aggressive behavior, and they also strive harder to avoid situations of uncertainty (Marta & Singhapakdi, 2005; p. 564). The feminist movement in the U.S. in the last few decades has helped bring about gender reforms in the U.S. such as greater access to education, more equitable pay, and a reduction of domestic violence. Concerning equality in the workplace, it is probably true that women now have pay that is more equitable with men (Banyard, 2010; Bradley, 2007). However, it is important to discern if they, also, have achieved more equality in the workplace in terms of work–life quality, organizational socialization, and job satisfaction. Given the extensive globalization in the recent decades, it is also important to determine if this workplace liberalization has taken place in developing and non-Western countries such as Thailand. The findings from this research are important because they may highlight the need for both private and public sectors to develop specific policies to address gender-disparity issues in the workplace, especially in the developing and non-Western countries. As previously mentioned, the focus of the present study is on job satisfaction, organizational socialization, and quality-of-work life (QWL) because of their organizational outcome effects and their pronounced managerial implications. These work-related factors (organizational performance, organizational commitment, work–life balance, and life satisfaction) are vitally important for the health of both the employer and the employee. QWL and job satisfaction are factors that affect employee well-being; and developing policies and programs designed to enhance QWL and job satisfaction is essentially an ethical imperative in today's business (Cascio, 1998). It is important to note that QWL is different from job satisfaction. According to previous research, QWL is an antecedent of job satisfaction (e.g., Koonmee et al., 2010; Lee, Singhapakdi, & Sirgy, 2007). Ultimately, employee socialization affects job satisfaction; thus, policies and programs designed to enhance employee socialization should enhance organizational health through increased job satisfaction (Singhapakdi, Sirgy, & Lee, 2010; Van Maanen, 1976). While more women are in management roles in today's organizations, misleading assumptions regarding women in leadership positions have not changed much over the years (O'Neil, Hopkins, & Bilimoria, 2008). As the paradox of the female contented worker is based on research conducted in Western countries, it may not be applicable to Asian countries or Asian female business executives. In addition, past research has focused on women workers in general, as opposed to business executives. The present study, with its focus on the paradox of the female contented worker, uses data from managers from both Western and Asian countries. 2. Conceptual development and hypotheses One may argue that female managers tend to experience lower levels of job satisfaction than male managers. This may be partly because female managers, compared to their male counterparts, tend to socialize less and experience lower levels of QWL, particularly in relation to low-order needs such as economic needs. The effect of gender on job satisfaction, organizational socialization, and QWL is moderated by culture, specifically Asian versus Western culture. Thus, the hypothesis is that the gender effect on job satisfaction,

organizational socialization, and QWL is more evident in Asian cultures than in Western. The theoretical model capturing these hypotheses is shown in Fig. 1. 2.1. Gender disparity in job satisfaction Past research has produced much evidence suggesting that women workers, compared to men, experience higher levels of job satisfaction (Agassi, 1982; Clark, 1997; Crosby, 1982; Donohue & Heywood, 2004; Hodson, 1989; Phelan, 1994). However, it is likely that the paradox of the female contented worker does not extend to female business executives. According to the occupation-specific sex segregation effect (Hodson, 1989; Wharton & Baron, 1991), female workers are likely to have jobs in stereotypical female occupations (office work). As a result, they are likely to compare their work conditions with other women, thus feeling satisfied with their jobs. Conversely, females who work in male-dominated occupations (management positions) report lower job satisfaction on average than most women, despite of the fact that they benefit from higher pay and job status than those in stereotypical female occupations (Hakim, 1996). In this context, it appears that females in male-dominated occupations tend to compare themselves with their male counterparts, and as such perceive gendered occupation inequality. Based on this theory and suggestive evidence, the authors test a contrasting hypothesis to the paradox of the female contented worker focusing on female business managers: H1. There is significant gender disparity in job satisfaction in that male managers experience greater job satisfaction than female managers. 2.2. Gender disparity in quality of work life (QWL) A more elaborate explanation of the gender effect on job satisfaction is QWL. Past studies show that QWL correlates with job satisfaction— the greater the QWL, the higher the job satisfaction (Anbarasan & Mehta, 2010; Cascio, 1998; Chan & Wyatt, 2007; Koonmee et al., 2010; Schwepker, 2001; Singhapakdi et al., 2010; Sirgy, Efraty, Siegel, & Lee, 2001; Sirgy, Reilly, Wu, & Efraty, 2008; Valentine, 2010). For example, Sirgy et al. (2001) define QWL as employee satisfaction with a variety of needs through resources, activities, and outcomes stemming from participation in the workplace. Furthermore, one can conceptualize QWL in terms of employee satisfaction with two major categories of needs: lower-order needs (basic needs) and higher-order needs (growth needs) (Maslow, 1970). The lower-order need satisfaction of the QWL construct (LQWL) consists of employee satisfaction of health/safety needs and economic/ family needs. The higher-order need (HQWL) construct reflects employee satisfaction with social, esteem, self-actualization, knowledge, and esthetic needs (Sirgy et al., 2001; Marta et al., 2011). Both lower-order and higher-order needs can be met through organizational resources (Valentine, Greller, & Richtermey, 2006). These two QWL dimensions contribute to job satisfaction such that the greater the satisfaction of lower- and higher-order needs of employees, the higher the job satisfaction. Female business executives are likely to have expectations related to LQWL, comparable to male business executives. This may be because they do not compare their pay and working conditions to other female workers in clerical positions, but rather to their male counterparts. As such, their LQWL expectations are likely to be equivalent to men's. However, survey data show that not only do male managers tend to receive higher pay than female managers (e.g., Crosby, 1982; O'Neil et al., 2008), but also have a higher probability of receiving better pensions and health insurance (Heywood, 1989). Further, female managers often suffer a wage penalty for motherhood (e.g., Budig & England, 2001; Budig & Hodges, 2010). Consequently, female managers are likely

Please cite this article as: Singhapakdi, A., et al., Gender disparity in job satisfaction of Western versus Asian managers, Journal of Business Research (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2013.04.004

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H1

H4

H5ab

Gender

Quality of work life (HQWL vs. LQWL)

(+)

Job satisfaction

H2ab

(+) H6

Organizational socialization

Culture (Asian vs. Western)

H3

Fig. 1. The relationship between gender disparity and job satisfaction as mediated by quality of work life and organizational socialization and moderated by culture.

to experience lower LQWL than male managers, which render the female contended worker paradox suspect. The same argument may not hold in relation to HQWL, however. Female business executives are likely to have equivalent expectations and outcomes in relation to higher-order needs (such as task recognition and career development) relative to male executives. Studies find that men and women are equally effective as leaders (Eagly, Karau, & Makhijani, 1995). Women not only bring considerable benefits to their professional and managerial jobs through different perspectives and experiences, but also demonstrate leadership skills as successfully as their male counterparts (Eagly & Carli, 2007). Accordingly, one should expect no gender differences in HQWL; and, of course, HQWL should play a significant role in job satisfaction. Based on this argument, the following hypotheses are tested:

executives remain a small minority among a sea of male executives (e.g., Beu, 2005; Burgess & Tharenou, 2002; Castano, Martin, & Vazquez, 2010; Eddleston, Baldridge, & Veiga, 2004; ILO, 2004). The prevalence of female executives lacking socialization in a maledominated organizational culture has come to be known in the management literature as the glass ceiling (e.g., Davidson & Cooper, 1992; Powell & Butterfield, 1994; Ragins, Townsend, & Mattis, 1998; Rapoport, Bailyn, Fletcher, & Pruitt, 2002). The glass ceiling is all about how female executives are not socialized properly, formally and informally, in upper management. Foster, Lional, and Shastri (2011) show that mentoring can play a significant role in enhancing women's opportunities to advance in organizations and help women break the glass ceiling. As such, the following hypothesis is tested:

H2a. There is significant gender disparity in lower-order QWL in that female business managers are likely to experience lower LQWL than men managers.

H3. There is significant gender disparity in organizational socialization in that female managers are less socialized than male managers.

H2b. There is no significant difference in gender disparity in higher-order QWL.

2.4. Culture and gender disparity in job satisfaction

2.3. Gender disparity in organizational socialization Another explanation regarding the effect of gender on job satisfaction in the context of business executives is organizational socialization (Van Maanen & Schein, 1979). Van Maanen (1976, p. 67) defines organizational socialization as “the process by which a person learns the values, norms and behaviors … of the organization”. Organizational socialization theory (Bauer, Morrison, & Callister, 1998; Bauer, Bodner, Tucker, Erdogan, & Truxillo, 2007) suggests that those better socialized within the organization are likely to feel more satisfied with their jobs than those who do not, and that women are likely to be equally or even better socialized than men. Evidence suggests that women are more accepting of their superiors (either men or women) as role models, whereas men have greater difficulty accepting female superiors as role models (Javidan, Bemmels, Stratton-Devine, & Dastmalchian, 1995), indicating that women tend to socialize better at work than men. Research has shown why women tend to socialize better at work than men. For example, women tend to value interpersonal relationships and have an “interconnected” outlook, whereas men tend to value competitiveness and success and espouse a “separate” outlook (Gilligan, 1982). Additionally, women tend to rank higher on interdependent values, such as inner harmony, self-respect, and helpfulness, while men rank higher on independent values such as ambition, intellect, and logic (Chusmir & Mills, 1989). However, female business executives may not socialize well in a business environment mostly dominated by men. Often, female executives in upper management are not socialized properly, as female

As discussed, past studies show that female workers in femaledominated jobs are likely to compare their work conditions with other females. By doing so, they feel satisfied with their jobs; this is known as the occupation-specific sex segregation effect (Hodson, 1989; Wharton & Baron, 1991). Conversely, females who work in male-dominated occupations (management positions) tend to compare themselves with their male counterparts. Often, these females perceive gendered occupation inequality and report lower job satisfaction than other women, despite benefiting from higher pay and job status than women in stereotypical female occupations (Hakim, 1996). National cultures can affect managerial styles (Westwood & Posner, 1997) and employee behavior (Chen & Francesco, 2000; Miroshnik, 2002). Women's economic participation in Asian countries is much lower than that of North American and European countries (Hausmann, Tyson, & Zahidi, 2011). Further, the female-to-male ratio of management in Thailand is strikingly lower than that of the U.S. (Hausmann et al., 2011). Firms in Asian countries tend to promote values of high power distance and collectivism, where promotion is often associated with family ties and networks. By contrast, Western firms tend to promote individualism and decentralized decision making, where promotion is often linked with personal competency and merit (Chen, 2001; El Kahal, 2001). Based on the occupation-specific sex segregation effect, one would expect gender to interact with culture to affect job satisfaction (Volkema, 2002). Traditionally, management occupations are more male-dominated in Asian countries than in Western countries. The occupation-specific sex segregation effect may cause Asian female business managers to report lower job satisfaction in Asian countries than in Western countries. Therefore, the following hypothesis is tested:

Please cite this article as: Singhapakdi, A., et al., Gender disparity in job satisfaction of Western versus Asian managers, Journal of Business Research (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2013.04.004

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H4. Gender disparity in job satisfaction is significant in Asian, but not in Western countries. Specifically, female managers in Asian countries are likely to be more dissatisfied with their jobs than their male counterparts.

female managers are likely to experience less socialization than their male counterparts.

3. Method 2.5. Culture and gender disparity in quality of work life 3.1. Sampling, survey design, and data collection The slower rate of liberation in Asian countries suggests that need satisfaction differences between male and female managers in Western countries to be different in Asian countries. Many female managers cope with gender disparity by making choices between career and family, such as delaying marriage and parenting, or opting out completely (Blair-Loy, 2001). This tendency is likely to be amplified in Asian countries with more conservative organizational culture, resulting in lower level of LQWL. Thus, Asian male managers are likely to feel that their higher- and lower-order needs are sufficiently met, but this may not be the case for Asian female managers, particularly in relation to lower-order needs. Furthermore, there is some evidence of gender disparity in pay in Asian countries (Koonmee et al., 2010; Lavanna, 2008; O'Neil et al., 2008; Petchsod, 2010; Siengthai & Leelakulthanit, 1994; Soisakul, 2001; Songphra, 2003), leading one to expect Asian female managers to perceive their needs (particularly lower-order than higher-order needs) as not adequately met, compared to their Asian male reference group. However, this moderation effect is likely to be limited to lower-order QWL, not higher-order QWL. Therefore, the following hypotheses are tested: H5a. Gender disparity in lower-order QWL is significant in Asian, but not in Western countries. Specifically, Asian female managers are likely to experience less lower-order QWL than their male counterparts. H5b. Gender disparity in higher-order QWL is not significant in Asian, or in Western countries. 2.6. Culture and gender disparity in organizational socialization Although it can be argued that female managers experience the glass ceiling more so than their male counterparts, Asian cultures may exacerbate this phenomenon. Research has shown that many Asian business cultures are highly conservative. Yeganeh and May (2011) show that conservatism is associated with higher levels of gender gap, while autonomy may lead to gender equality. While Western countries have experienced a great deal of liberalization in recent years, Asian countries have not (e.g., Gibbs, 2009). Extensive globalization and economic growth in Asian countries over the last several decades may have caused an increase in social liberalization in these countries. In fact, one can argue that many of the Asian business cultures have moved towards Western-style liberalization (Wongtada, Virakul, & Singhapakdi, 2006). This may be due to two major forces, especially in Thailand. First, higher disposable income have led many Asian business managers to travel or study abroad in Western cultures, particularly the U.S. and Europe; thus, Asians are likely to be exposed to Western values. Second, the number of women in the workplace in Asian countries has been rising steadily. However, social values and gender–role expectations still demand that Asian business women maintain control of household responsibilities (Siengthai & Leelakulthanit, 1994). One may argue that these values and expectations are weaker in the Western world. Like in Thailand, traditional values have slowed down the liberalization process in Thai organizations compared to the U.S. Thus, one can expect a higher degree of liberalization in U.S. organizations than in Thai organizations and argue that the gender effect of socialization is exacerbated in Asian organizations. Based on this discussion, the following hypothesis is tested: H6. Gender disparity in organizational socialization is significant in Asian countries, but not in the Western countries. Specifically, Asian

This study used a self-administered survey both in the US and Thailand. Survey questions included items designed to capture the focal constructs (LQWL and HQWL, job satisfaction, and organizational socialization) and demographics, including gender. Concerning the cross-cultural comparisons, the questionnaire was translated from English into Thai and then back translated by Thai university professors with doctorates from the U.S. The survey questionnaire was pre-tested using a sample of 55 graduate students at a major university in Thailand. Because the measures were developed in the U.S., the authors evaluated construct equivalence at various stages of the survey development (e.g., Hult et al., 2008).

3.1.1. The Thai sample A mail survey was used for data collection in Thailand. The sampling frame included marketing managers of 514 Thai firms listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET). In the cover letter, respondents were informed that the researchers were interested in their opinions on QWL issues, and that their responses would be treated confidentially and anonymously. Marketing managers of all 514 SET companies received the questionnaire in two waves. The first round yielded 92 questionnaires and the second yielded 60, for a total of 152, with a response rate of 29.5%. Using extrapolation method to test non-response error, there were no statistical differences detected between the early and late respondents (Armstrong & Overton, 1977). Table 1 shows the demographic characteristics of Thai respondents. Among the 152 respondents, 50.3% of respondents were male. In terms of age, 10% of the respondents were under thirty years old, 35.5% in their thirties, 36.8% in their forties, 16.4% in their fifties, and 1.3% in their sixties or over. In terms of business experience, 12% of the respondents had less than 6 years of business experience, 14.7% 6–10 years, 20.7% 11–15 years, 19.3% 16– 20 years, 15.3% 21–25 years, and 18% had more than 30 years of business experience. In terms of firm size, 54.7% of respondents were working in firms with less than 500 employees, 23.6% 500– 1000 employees, and 21.6% over 1000 employees.

Table 1 Sample characteristics. Variables

(%)

US N = 230 Gender Male 46.0 Female 54.0 Age 29 or under 10.0 30–39 30.4 40–49 29.6 50–59 22.2 60 or over 7.8 Years of business experience Under 6 7.9 6–10 18.4 11–15 17.5 16–20 16.2 21–25 13.2 Over 25 26.8

Variables

(%)

Thai N = 152 Gender Male 50.3 Female 49.7 Age 29 or under 9.9 30–39 35.5 40–49 36.8 50–59 16.4 60 or over 1.3 Years of business experience Under 6 12.0 6–10 14.7 11–15 20.7 16–20 19.3 21–25 15.3 Over 25 18.0

Please cite this article as: Singhapakdi, A., et al., Gender disparity in job satisfaction of Western versus Asian managers, Journal of Business Research (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2013.04.004

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3.1.2. The U.S. sample The U.S. data collection was conducted using a web-based survey targeting 2820 randomly selected U.S. practitioner members in the American Marketing Association directory. 2820 letters were mailed inviting them to access the survey questionnaire via a website of a major university in the Southeastern region of the U.S. Of the 2792 letters delivered, 230 persons responded, resulting in a response rate of 8.2%. This response rate is comparable to a recent Singhapakdi and Vitell (2007) study using the same approach. In testing for non-response bias, no statistical differences in the study variables were detected between early and late respondents (Armstrong & Overton, 1977). Therefore, non-response bias is deemed to be a nonissue. Among the 230 US respondents, 46% of respondents were male. Approximately 10% of U.S. respondents were under thirty years old, 30.4% in their thirties, 29.6% in their forties, 22.2% in their fifties, and 7.8% were over 60 years old. In terms of business experience, 7.9% of the respondents had less than 6 years of business experience, 18.4% 6–10 years, 17.5% 11–15 years, 16.2% 16–20 years, 13.2% 21– 25 years, and 26.8% had more than 30 years of business experience. In terms of firm size, 61% of the respondents were working in firms with less than 500 employees, 8.3% 501–1000 employees, and 30.7% over 1000 employees. Overall, the demographic characteristics of the U.S. marketing managers were quite similar to those of the Thai marketing managers (see Table 1). 3.2. Constructs and measures 3.2.1. Quality of work life (QWL) The basic premise of the QWL construct is that employees bring a cluster of needs to their organizations and are likely to perceive a higher QWL as those needs are satisfied through resources provided by the organizations. QWL was conceptualized in terms of satisfaction based on lower- (LQWL) and higher-order needs (HQWL). These items were adapted from the measures of Sirgy et al. (2001) measure. LQWL satisfaction includes factors related to health, safety, finance, and family. Health and safety needs involve protection from ill health and injury at work and enhancement of good health, while satisfaction involves pay, job security, and other family needs. In contrast, HQWL satisfaction includes social, esteem, self-actualization, esthetic, and knowledge needs. Social needs involve collegiality at work and leisure time off work; esteem needs involve recognition and appreciation of one's work; actualization needs involve realization of one's potential within the organization; knowledge needs involve enhancement of professional skills; and esthetics needs involve creativity at work and general esthetics. The QWL measure consisted of 16 items relating to the 16 need satisfaction dimensions of the seven needs as described above—one item for each dimension. The use of multiple indicators was ruled out due to the large number of constructs and dimensions and the possibility of response bias due to fatigue. Bergkvist and Rossiter (2007) found that for predictive validity purposes, single-item measures are as equally valid as multiple-item measures. Subjects were asked to respond to each item by checking a 5-point scale ranging from “Very False” to “Very True”. Both need dimensions were treated as formative constructs involving the average composite of the subdimensions. Each of the dimensions was assumed to contribute something unique to the conceptual domain of the QWL construct. No assumption was made that certain need dimensions are more prepotent than others. See all items in the appendix. 3.2.2. Job satisfaction The job satisfaction measure developed by Dubinsky, Howell, Ingram, and Bellenger (1986) was adopted in this study to measure marketing professionals' degree of satisfaction with their job. An example of a measurement item is, “Generally speaking, I am very satisfied with this job.” Subjects were asked to respond to each item by checking

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a 5-point scale ranging from “Very False” to “Very True.” See all the items in the appendix. 3.2.3. Organizational socialization The organizational socialization measure developed by Sparks and Hunt (1998) was adopted for this study to gauge the extent to which someone has learned the values and norms of an organization of which he or she is a member. An example item includes, “I know how things are done around here.” Subjects were asked to respond to each item by checking a 5-point scale ranging from “Very False” to “Very True.” See all the items in the appendix. 3.3. Test of measurement invariance To ensure that the measures used in the two samples are equivalent, the survey questionnaire was first translated and back translated by two separate researchers. Next, a pre-test was conducted to ensure the cultural meaning of the words was clear in both versions of the questionnaire. Third, in order to ensure valid cross-cultural comparison, the authors conducted a series of measurement invariant tests (Mullen, 1995). In the first test, the authors used configural invariance to see whether the two samples had the same pattern of factor loadings to demonstrate measurement invariance between the two-country sample. In the second test, the authors tested metric invariance to examine whether the two samples had equal loadings (Steenkamp & Baumgartner, 1998). The results of the configural invariance test for the job satisfaction measure provided a good fit to the data (χ 2(2) = 12.651, p = 0.052; CFI = 0.988; GFI = 0.980; SRMR = 0.061). All factor loadings were significant (p b 0.01) (see Table 2). The loading invariance model also provided a good fit to the data, indicating that the job satisfaction measure was invariant between the two samples. Additionally, the results of the configural invariance test for the organizational socialization measure provided a good fit to the data (χ 2(2) = 98.449, p = 0.00; CFI = 0.848; GFI = 0.803; SRMR = 0.117). All factor loadings were significant (p b 0.01) (see Table 3). In sum, the job satisfaction and organizational socialization measures were found to be invariant between the two samples; thus, the two samples were combined for further measurement analyses (see Table 3). As a formative indicator, the QWL construct was excluded from this analysis. 3.4. Construct validity A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted with the combined sample to ensure reliability and validity of the measures used in this study (see Table 4). Based on the results shown in the table, the confirmatory factor analysis on the combined sample provides an acceptable fit to the data (χ 2 = 156.840, df = 24, p = 0.00; CFI = 0.922; GFI = 0.925; NFI = 0.910; RMSEA = 0.112; SRMR = 0.043). The results provide an acceptable level of reliability

Table 2 Testing of measurement equivalence for job satisfaction. Model

χ2

Df

p-Value

CFI

GFI

SRMR

Configural invariance Metric invariance

12.351

2

0.002

0.988

0.980

0.061

76.440

6

0.000

0.922

0.885

0.298

Chi-square difference

Δχ2(4) = 64.089, p > 0.05

Notes: CFI = confirmatory fit index; GFI = goodness of fit index; SRMR = standardized root mean square residual (RMR). Selected items in the job satisfaction measure: sat1, sat2, sat4, and sat5.

Please cite this article as: Singhapakdi, A., et al., Gender disparity in job satisfaction of Western versus Asian managers, Journal of Business Research (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2013.04.004

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Table 3 Testing of measurement equivalence for socialization.

Table 5 Test of gender disparity on job related outcomes.

Model

χ2

df

p-Value

CFI

GFI

SRMR

Configural invariance

98.449

2

0.000

0.848

0.803

0.117

Means

Selected items in the organizational socialization measure: soc1, soc2, soc3, and soc4.

for job satisfaction (α = 0.861; ρ = 0.860), organizational socialization (α = 0.783; ρ = 0.817), and QWL (α = 0.723; ρ = 0.734). All factor loadings are significant with no high cross-loadings. The results indicate that average variance extracted is greater than the square of correlations among the constructs, and the Chi-square difference suggests that the non-constrained model is significantly better than the constrained model (p b 0.05). Overall, these results provide evidence for convergent and discriminant validity. 3.5. Test of common method bias Because all measures are perceptual in nature and collected from the same respondents, one can argue that the study results may be afflicted with common method bias. To minimize this, common method bias is tested (Cote & Buckley, 1987). Results indicate that the method-and-trait model (χ 2 = 32.433, df = 12, p = 0.00; CFI = 0.988; GFI = 0.981; NFI = 0.981; RMSEA = 0.066; SRMR = 0.025) has a significantly better fit than the method-only model (χ 2 = 532.453, df = 27, p = 0.00; CFI = 0.703; GFI = 0.733; NFI = 0.694; RMSEA = 0.241; SRMR = 0.134) with a significant Chi-square (Δχ 2(15) = 500.020;p b 0.001). In addition, the percentage of variance explained by the trait-factor model is significantly greater than the percentage of variance explained by the methodfactor model (p b 0.05). These results provide evidence that common method bias is not a significant threat. 4. Results The authors conducted a series of ANOVA tests that included the combined sample as well as individual country sample to test the hypotheses (see Table 5). H1 states that there is gender disparity (female b male) in job satisfaction. The test results of gender disparity with the combined sample indicate that female managers experience lower levels of job satisfaction comparable to male managers (Females = 3.512, Males = 3.781, p b .05), providing support for H1. H2a and H2b deal with gender disparity in QWL. Specifically, H2a posits that there is significant gender disparity in lower-order QWL. The results indicate that there is significant gender disparity in lower-order QWL (Females = 3.786 versus Males = 3.907, p b 0.10). The results provide marginal support for H2a. H2b states that there is no significant gender disparity in higher-order QWL. The results indicate that that there is a significant

Variables

Female

Male

F-ratio

Sign. level

ANOVA results (Combined) Job satisfaction Lower-order QWL Higher-order QWL Socialization

3.512 3.786 3.725 4.169

3.781 3.907 3.878 4.317

7.746 3.144 4.823 7.066

0.006⁎⁎ 0.077⁎ 0.029⁎⁎ 0.008⁎⁎

ANOVA results (Thailand) Job satisfaction Lower-order QWL Higher-order QWL Socialization

3.479 3.728 3.822 4.193

3.722 4.022 3.979 4.431

4.072 6.712 2.311 7.715

0.045⁎⁎ 0.011⁎⁎ 0.131 0.006⁎⁎

ANOVA results (U.S.) Job satisfaction Lower-order QWL Higher-order QWL Socialization

3.536 3.824 3.656 4.152

3.832 3.818 3.807 4.226

4.098 0.006 2.569 1.027

0.044⁎⁎ 0.937 0.111 0.312

⁎ p b .10. ⁎⁎ p b .05.

gender disparity in higher-order QWL (Females = 3.725 versus Males = 3.878, p b 0.05). These results fail to provide support for H2b. H3 states that there is significant gender disparity in organizational socialization, which the results confirm (Females = 4.169 versus Males = 4.317, p b 0.05), thus providing support for H3. H4 deals with the culture moderation effect in gender disparity in relation to job satisfaction. Specifically, H4 states that gender disparity in job satisfaction is significant in Thailand, but not in the US. The results show that female managers experience lower levels of job satisfaction than male managers in Thailand (Females = 3.479 versus Males = 3.722, p b 0.05) as well as in the US (Female = 3.536 versus Male = 4.098, p b 0.05). As such, the results provide partial support for H4. H5a and H5b address the culture moderation effect in gender disparity in relation to QWL. H5a states that gender disparity in lower-order QWL is significant in Thailand, but not in the US. The results indicate that there is significant gender disparity in lower-order QWL in Thailand (Females = 3.728 versus Males = 4.022, p b 0.05), while there is no gender disparity in lower-order QWL in the US (Females = 3.824 versus Males = 3.818, p > 0.05). The gender and culture interaction effect on lower-order QWL is significant (p b 0.05). These results provide full support for H5a. H5b states that gender disparity in higher-order QWL is not significant in Asian, but not in Western countries. The results indicate that that there is no significant gender disparity in higher-order QWL in Thailand (Females = 3.822 versus Males = 3.979, p > 0.05) and in the US (Females = 3.656 versus Males = 3.807, p > 0.05). These results provide partial support for H5b.

Table 4 Assessment of reliability and validity of the measures. Variables

Items

Coefficient

t-Value

Alpha

Average variance extracted

Composite reliability

Job satisfaction

Sat1 Sat2 Sat4 Sat5 Soc1 Soc2 Soc3 Lower-order QWL Higher-order QWL

0.844 0.739 0.750 0.778 0.756 0.787 0.777 0.727 0.795

19.476 16.068 16.411 17.290 15.816 16.629 16.343 15.265 16.949

0.861

0.779

0.860

0.783

0.773

0.817

0.723

0.762

0.734

Organizational Socialization

QWL

χ2(p-value) = 156.840 (.00), df = 24. CFI = 0.922, GFI = 0.925, NFI = 0.910, RMSEA = 0.112, SRMR = 0.043.

Please cite this article as: Singhapakdi, A., et al., Gender disparity in job satisfaction of Western versus Asian managers, Journal of Business Research (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2013.04.004

A. Singhapakdi et al. / Journal of Business Research xxx (2013) xxx–xxx

H6 states that gender disparity in organizational socialization is significant in Thailand, but not in the US. The results indicate that there is significant gender disparity in organizational socialization in Thailand (Females = 4.193 versus Males = 4.431, p b 0.05), but not in the US (Females = 4.152 versus Males = 4.226, p > 0.05). These results provide support for H6. While not hypothesized, the authors test the effects of QWL and organizational socialization on job satisfaction. The regression results indicate that job satisfaction is indeed significantly predicted by QWL for the Thai sample (βlower-order QWL = .485, p b .05, βhigher-order QWL = .153, p b .10) as well as for the U.S. sample (βlower-order QWL = .170, p b .05, βhigher-order QWL = .644, p b .05). Tables 6 shows cell means for the effects of culture and gender on organizational outcome variables (job satisfaction, lower-order QWL, higher-order QWL, and organizational socialization). Regarding the main findings of this study, there is significant gender disparity (females b males) among marketing managers in job satisfaction, lower-order QWL, high order QWL, and organizational socialization. For Thailand marketing managers, there is a significant gender disparity in job satisfaction, lower-order QWL, and organizational socialization. Yet, there is no significant gender disparity in higher-order QWL among the Thai marketing managers. For US marketing managers, there is significant gender disparity in job satisfaction, yet no gender disparity in lower-order QWL, higher-order QWL, or organizational socialization.

5. Discussion An association between gender and job satisfaction is hypothesized in that female managers are likely to experience less job satisfaction than male managers. The study findings provide support for this hypothesis. The results show that female managers experience low levels of job satisfaction compared to male managers. Thus, the study provides counter evidence in relation to the female contented worker paradox. Social scientists have long predicted that women

Table 6 The effects of gender and culture on job related outcomes: cell means. Dependent variables

Culture

Female

Male

Sign. level

Job satisfaction

Thai US Thai US Thai US Thai US

3.479 3.536 3.728 3.824 3.822 3.656 4.193 4.152

3.722 3.832 4.022 3.818 3.979 3.807 4.431 4.226

0.045 ⁎⁎ 0.044 ⁎⁎ 0.011⁎⁎ 0.937⁎

Lower-order QWL Higher-order QWL Socialization ⁎ p b .10. ⁎⁎ p b .05.

0.131 0.111 0.006⁎⁎ 0.312

7

are likely to express low levels of job satisfaction because they earn less and enjoy substantially less autonomy and status in the workplace than men (see literature review in Rapoport et al., 2002). The authors also argue that the paradox of the female contented worker may not extend to female business executives because female executives are likely to compare themselves with male executives (peers). By doing so, they perceive gender inequity, causing job dissatisfaction (cf. Hakim, 1996; Hodson, 1989; Wharton & Baron, 1991). The findings of this study are consistent with this explanation and imply that organizations should develop equity programs designed to reduce compensation inequities between male and female managers. Doing so is likely to help improve job satisfaction among female managers. The study findings also support the moderation effect of culture in that Asian female managers are likely to experience lower job satisfaction than Asian male managers; but, as hypothesized, this difference is not evident between Western male and female managers. This implies that any efforts to improve job satisfaction among higher-level female employees would be even more crucial for organizations in Asian countries like Thailand. Again, the recommendation, based on the study results, is to develop equity program designed to reduce compensation inequities between male and female executives in Thailand and other Asian countries. In other words, developing compensation equity programs is likely to enhance job satisfaction, particularly among Asian female executives. Across countries, there may be a tendency for female managers to report lower levels of job satisfaction because they are exposed to feminist literature that shows women are discriminated against in the workplace. An example of such publicity is the recent report on “Women and Work” in the Economist (November 26th, 2011) that shows a major gap between men and women in top managers' position. The present study also attempts to shed light on how QWL and organizational socialization play a role in explaining the gender disparity effect on job satisfaction. The study tests the hypothesis that the relationship between gender and job satisfaction is mediated by QWL in that female managers are likely to feel that their lower-order needs are not sufficiently met through organizational resources, compared to male managers. Our results provide support of this hypothesis consistent with previous research that has linked QWL with job satisfaction (Anbarasan & Mehta, 2010; Cascio, 1998; Chan & Wyatt, 2007; Koonmee et al., 2010; Sirgy et al., 2001, 2008; Valentine, 2010). The study also tests the hypothesis that the mediating effect of QWL is moderated by culture in that Asian female managers experience less lower-order QWL than Asian male managers; and that this difference is not as evident between Western male and female managers. The study findings provide support for these expectations. The data show that Thai female managers experience significantly less lower-order QWL than Thai male managers. This finding is consistent with much of the cross-cultural research suggesting that there is gender disparity in pay in Asian countries (Koonmee et al., 2010; Lavanna, 2008; O'Neil et al., 2008; Petchsod, 2010; Siengthai & Leelakulthanit, 1994; Soisakul, 2001; Songphra, 2003). Given that the relationship between gender and job satisfaction is mediated by QWL, organizations should try to improve QWL, especially for female managers because doing so will have a positive impact on their job satisfaction. Our recommendation is especially crucial for Asian countries like Thailand, particularly regarding lower-order QWL because, based on our finding, Thai female managers tend to experience significantly less lower-order QWL than their Thai male counterparts. What is most interesting, however, is the distinction between lower- and higher-order QWL. The authors did not expect a gender disparity in higher-order QWL. Our findings reveal a culture main effect in favor of Asian cultures, suggesting that Thai managers experience greater higher-order QWL than U.S. managers, regardless of gender. One explanation is that Asian businesses tend to be managed more or less like a family business. Family businesses tend to be more

Please cite this article as: Singhapakdi, A., et al., Gender disparity in job satisfaction of Western versus Asian managers, Journal of Business Research (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2013.04.004

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A. Singhapakdi et al. / Journal of Business Research xxx (2013) xxx–xxx

rewarding with respect to higher-order needs such as social and esteem needs (Singhapakdi et al., 2010). Future research should investigate this hypothesis closely. With respect to the mediating effect of organizational socialization, the study findings provided some support for the hypothesis that female business executives are not as well socialized (organizationally speaking) as male executives, which may account for the differences in job satisfaction. This finding is consistent with much of the research on gender disparity in organizational socialization (e.g., Barnett & Karson, 1989; Chusmir & Mills, 1989; Gilligan, 1982; Javidan et al., 1995; Smith & Rogers, 2000). The study findings also supports organizational socialization theory (Bauer et al., 1998; Bauer et al., 2007) suggesting that those who are better socialized within the organization are likely to feel more satisfied with their jobs than those who are not. The study also tests the hypothesis that the relationship between gender and organizational socialization is moderated by culture in that Asian female managers are likely to experience less organizational socialization compared to Asian managers, but this gender disparity is not likely to be evident in relation to Western managers. The study provides directional (not statistical) support for this hypothesis. Gender differences in socialization in the U.S. sample seem negligible (as hypothesized) but are more evident in the Thai sample (again as hypothesized). Perhaps with a larger sample size, the data may lend more support to this hypothesis. Future research should pursue this possibility. Nevertheless, note that the directional support obtained here is consistent with the notion that female managers experience the glass ceiling more so than male, and this phenomenon may be exacerbated in Asian cultures. Asian business culture remains highly conservative (Siengthai & Leelakulthanit, 1994; Wongtada et al., 2006). Given the significant gender disparity in socialization in Thai organizations and the significant role of socialization on job satisfaction as found in this research, organizations in Thailand or similar countries should try to design its work environment to help foster more socialization among their female managers. Future research is also encouraged to ensure that these findings are not confounded by the sampling/data collection methods used in this study. This research used different data collection methods with a mail survey in Thailand and a web-based survey in the U.S. Although mail surveys are common in Thailand, and web-based surveys are becoming common in the U.S., it is possible that the results could be confounded due to the difference in data collection methods. Any gender disparity differences noted between Thai and American managers (in relation to QWL, socialization, and job satisfaction) may have been due to the differences in the data collection method rather than cultural and/or level of economic development of the two countries. Future research should, therefore, replicate these findings using matched data collection methods. Furthermore, the study samples from both the U.S. and Thailand are small and limited to marketing managers working in larger firms. Therefore, the results may not be generalizable across all employees in both the U.S. and Thailand. Future research should test the robustness of these findings through replication with large-scale surveys and samples that are demonstrably representative of the marketing manager population in both countries. This study also compared gender disparity involving organizational socialization, QWL, and job satisfaction between the U.S. and Thailand—two very different countries in terms of culture and level of economic development. The authors drew on concepts such as social liberalization, gender–role expectation, and degree of feminist movement. Although the authors believe the U.S. and Thailand are good exemplars for these different concepts, they were not measured directly. The variable “country” is treated as a proxy measure of these concepts. As a result, the authors cannot be certain that these concepts are true explanatory factors of these findings. Therefore, future research should replicate the findings within this study by measuring these concepts directly (along with other gender-related and occupation-related factors previously mentioned).

As this study measure of organizational socialization is based on managers' perception, social desirability bias can be a threat to the validity of the measure. Future studies should include the measure of social desirability to control the effect. In addition, this study tests the model at one point in time. Since social expectations on women's role evolve over time, one can argue that the effects of gender on QWL change over time. Future studies should examine the changes through a longitudinal study. Acknowledgment The authors wish to thank Busaya Virakul for her assistance with data collection in Thailand. Appendix A. Measures used in the study Job satisfaction 1. Generally speaking, I am very satisfied with this job. 2. I frequently think of quitting this job. 3. I am generally satisfied with the kind of work I do in this job. 4. Most people on this job are very satisfied with the job. 5. People on this job often think of quitting. (Scale: 1 = very false, 5 = very true) Organizational socialization 1. I know the rules of regulations associated with my job. 2. I know “how things are done around here.” 3. I know what's considered (in)appropriate behavior in my company. 4. I know what's considered (un)important to my company. (Scale: 1 = very false, 5 = very true) Quality of work life (QWL) Lower-order QWL 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

I feel physically safe at work. My job provides good health benefits. I do my best to stay healthy and fit. I am satisfied with what I'm getting paid for my work. I feel that my job is secure for life. My job does well for my family.

Higher-order QWL 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

I have good friends at work. I have enough time away from work to enjoy other things in life. I feel appreciated at work. People at work and/or within my profession respect me as a professional and an expert in my field of work. I feel that my job allows me to realize my full potential. I feel that I am realizing my potential as an expert in my line of work. I feel that I am always learning new things that help do my job better. This job allows me to sharpen my professional skills. There is a lot of creativity involved in my job. My job helps me develop my creativity outside of work.

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Please cite this article as: Singhapakdi, A., et al., Gender disparity in job satisfaction of Western versus Asian managers, Journal of Business Research (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2013.04.004