The effect of source competence on worker attitudes

Abstract

The effect of manipulating source competence, task level, and social cues on worker attitudes was examined in an experimental study. One hundred and eighty five business students participated in a study involving a 2 × 2 × 2 factorial design. The design partitions were: source competence (high versus low), task level (enriched versus unenriched), and social cues (positive versus neutral). Significant multivariate main effects for source competence and social cues on supervision satisfaction were found in the hypothesized direction. In addition, a significant source competence x task level x social cues multivariate interaction on work satisfaction was also found in the hypothesized direction