Participation in decision-making and work outcomes : evidence from a developing economy

Purpose: Although there is general agreement that employee participation in decision-making (PDM) has individual and organizational benefits, an important question remains about the possibility that it may also have certain individual and organizational costs as well. This article presents an “episodic process model” that accounts for both the bright and possible dark sides of participation. The model explains how PDM might boost employee hope and self-efficacy, which in turn may lead to two distinct work outcomes–job satisfaction and behavior. Design/methodology/approach: In order to test the model, data (n = 269) were collected from bank employees in two waves. A variance-based structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was utilized to analyze the data. Findings: Results from variance-based structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) show that employee PDM indeed exerts a positive impact on positive psychological resource capacities: hope, self-efficacy and job satisfaction. Hope, in turn, has a positive influence on job satisfaction and a negative influence on job-search behavior. Bias-corrected bootstrapping analysis demonstrated that the relationship between employee PDM and job satisfaction is mediated by hope. Originality/value: Insights for practitioners in a developing economy and possible areas of future research are highlighted.