Me First or We First: An Examination of the Positive and Negative Effects of Value Priority Congruence on Individual and Group‐Level Outcomes

What the paper says

We build from and advance value congruence theory and research by introducing new insights related to how value congruence may have different consequences when considered in light of job demands. Specifically, we apply both the theory of basic values and job demands‐resources theory to understand when and why objective value priority congruence with other organizational members results in positive or negative outcomes for both individuals and groups. Using data from a large quick service organization, we examine how employee‐supervisor and employee‐group value priority congruence and incongruence, on social or personal values, relate to both affective and behavioral individual‐level outcomes (employee engagement and turnover), and group‐level outcomes (collective engagement, customer satisfaction, sales, and group turnover). The results suggest that value priority congruence is associated with less employee engagement and higher turnover when the shared values represent personal (rather than social) value priorities because personal values are misaligned with the demands of the job. In some instances incongruence results in more positive outcomes than congruence on personal values. This pattern of results is consistent across both employee‐supervisor and employee‐group foci. Further, groups in which members predominantly prioritize personal values have lower collective engagement; resulting in significantly lower customer satisfaction and lower sales compared to groups with a majority of members who prioritize values aligned with job demands (social values). Altogether, this research helps explain when value congruence will be positive, and why value incongruence can be more beneficial than value congruence in some instances.