| The goals of the present study were threefold: (1) to determine the impact of expectations about work values on organizational communication satisfaction, (2) to apply diverse theoretical thinking to expectations about work values research, and (3) to address issues with previous research through the use of experimental design. Four competing hypotheses, based on Interaction Adaptation Theory (Burgoon & White, 1997; Burgoon, Stern, & Dillman, 1995), Expectancy Violation Theory (Burgoon & Hale, 1988), the met expectations hypothesis (Porter & Steers, 1973) and values research, predicted how the experience of expectations as either met or unmet and of work values as fulfilled or unfilled would affect organizational communication satisfaction. This experiment (N = 200) varied whether expectations were met or unmet and whether work values were fulfilled or unfulfilled through the use of four experimental conditions in order to compare the predictive power of the competing hypotheses. Though contrasts testing all four hypotheses resulted in significant findings, the hypothesis based on values research provided the most accurate prediction of the results. This finding implies that organizations should measure work values to maximize satisfaction outcomes and that job seekers should carefully consider their work values when accepting a position. The implications of the results for this area of research and the potential for future research on work values and expectations about work values are discussed. |
