Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-zzh7m Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-25T15:31:13.749Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Spanish Adaptation of the Scale of Psychological Empowerment in the Workplace

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 January 2013

Maria-Jesús Albar ,
Manuel García-Ramírez ,
Ana María López Jiménez  and
Rocío Garrido
Maria-Jesús Albar*
Affiliation:
Universidad de Sevilla (Spain)
Manuel García-Ramírez
Affiliation:
Universidad de Sevilla (Spain)
Ana María López Jiménez
Affiliation:
Universidad de Sevilla (Spain)
Rocío Garrido
Affiliation:
Universidad de Sevilla (Spain)
*
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to María-Jesús Albar. Facultad de Enfermería, Fisioterapia y Podología. Universidad de Sevilla. Avda. Dr. Fedriani s/n, 41008 Sevilla (Spain). E-mail: mja@us.es
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The objective of this study is to adapt and translate into Spanish Spreitzer's Psychological Empowerment Scale (1995a). A process of translation and reverse-translation was applied to the scale's items, whose psychometric properties were then examined using a sample of 272 professional nurses at public hospitals in the province of Seville. The data were subjected to confirmatory factor analysis. The significance of the factor loadings demonstrated the need to create a new model eliminating one item. The 11-item model was shown to possess adequate construct validity and internal consistency. The results confirm the original, four-factor structure obtained by Spreitzer, with the exception of item 10, and support the utilization of the Spanish version of this scale in the workplace. Future research should more extensively investigate its construct validity, and test the nomological network of the operationalized construct within the field of psychological well-being and in the context of the workplace.

El objetivo de este estudio es adaptar al español la escala de Empoderamiento Psicológico en el trabajo desarrollada por Spreitzer (1995a). Se llevó a cabo un proceso de traducción y retrotraducción de los ítems que la componen y se exploraron sus propiedades psicométricas en una muestra de 272 profesionales de enfermería de hospitales públicos en la provincia de Sevilla. Los datos se sometieron a un análisis factorial confirmatorio. La significación del peso factorial mostró la necesidad de especificar un nuevo modelo eliminando un ítem. La versión de 11 ítems mostró una adecuada validez de constructo y consistencia interna. Los resultados confirman la estructural factorial original de cuatro factores obtenida por Spreitzer, a excepción del ítem 10, y apoyan la utilización de la versión española de esta escala en contextos laborales. Futuras investigaciones deben profundizar en la validación del constructo y probar la red nomológica de la operacionalización del constructo en el ámbito del bienestar psicológico en el contexto laboral.

Keywords

psychological empowerment scalepsychometric validationworkplace contextnursingescala de empoderamiento psicológicovalidación psicométricacontexto laboralenfermería
Type
Research Article
Information
The Spanish Journal of Psychology , Volume 15 , Issue 2 , July 2012 , pp. 793 - 800
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Aryee, S., & Chen, Z. X. (2006). Leader-member exchange in a Chinese context: Antecedent, the mediating role of psychological empowerment and outcomes. Journal of Business Research, 59, 793–801. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2005.03.003CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ashforth, B. E. (1989). The experience of powerlessness in organizations. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 43, 207–242. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0749-5978(89)90051-4CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bandura, A. (1987). Pensamiento y acción [Thought and action]. Barcelona, Spain: Martínez RocaGoogle Scholar
Bonias, D., Bartram, T., Leggat, S., & Stanton, P. (2010). Does psychological empowerment mediate the relationship between high performance work systems and patient care quality in hospitals? Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, 48, 319–337. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1038411110381667CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bowen, D., & Lawler, E. (1992). The empowerment of service workers: What, why, how, and when? Sloan Management Review, 33, 31–39.Google ScholarPubMed
Brief, A. P., & Nord, W. R. (1990). Meanings of Occupational Work. Lexington, MA: Lexington BooksGoogle Scholar
Byrne, B. M. (1989). A primer of LISREL: Basic applications and programming for confirmatory factor analytic models. New York, NY: Springer-Verlag.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chang, L., Shih, C., & Lin, S. (2010). The mediating role of psychological empowerment on job satisfaction and organizational commitment for school health nurses: A cross-sectional questionnaire survey. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 47, 427–433. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2009.09.007CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Conger, J. A., & Kanungo, R. N. (1988). The empowerment process: Integrating theory and practice. Academy of Management Review, 13, 471–482. http://dx.doi.org/10.5465/AMR.1988.4306983CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (1985). Intrinsic Motivation and Self-Determination in Human Behavior. New York, NY: Plenum,CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ergenely, A., Sag, G., Ari, I., & Metin, S. (2007). Psychological empowerment and its relationship to trust in immediate managers. Journal of Business Research, 60, 41–56. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2006.09.012CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fornell, C., & Larcker, D. (1981). Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. Journal of Marketing Research, 18, 39–50. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/3151312CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gist, M., & Mitchell, T. N. (1992). Self-efficacy: A theoretical analysis of its determinants and malleability. Academy of Management Review, 17, 183–211. http://dx.doi.org/10.5465/AMR.1992.4279530CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gregory, B. T., Albritton, M. D., & Osmonbekov, T. (2010). The mediating role of psychological empowerment on the relationships between P-O fit, job satisfaction, and in-role performance. Journal of Business and Psychology, 25, 639–647. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10869-010-9156-7CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Halbesleben, J. R. B., Wakefield, B. J., Wakefield, D. S., & Cooper, (2008). Nurse burnout and patient safety outcomes: Nurse safety perception versus reporting behavior. Western Journal of Nursing Research, 30, 560–577. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0193945907311322CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hochwälder, J., & Bergsten Brucefors, A. (2005). A psychometric assessment of a Swedish translation of Spreitzer's empowerment scale. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 46, 521–529. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9450.2005.00484.xCrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kraimer, M. L., Seibert, S. E., & Liden, R. C. (1999). Psychological empowerment as a multidimensional construct: A test of construct validity. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 59, 127–142. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0013164499591009CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Laschinger, H. K. S., & Leiter, M. (2006). The impact of nursing work environments on patient safety outcomes: the mediating role of burnout/engagement. Journal of Nursing Administration, 36, 259–267.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marsh, H. W., & Hocevar, D. (1985). Application of confirmatory factor analysis to the study of self-concept: First and higher-order factor models and their invariance across groups. Psychological Bulletin, 97, 562–582. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037//0033-2909.97.3.562CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Maton, K. L., & Salem, D. A. (1995). Organizational characteristics of empowering community settings: A multiple case study approach. American Journal of Community Psychology, 23, 631–656. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF02506985CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Matthews, R. A., Diaz, W. M., & Cole, S. G. (2003). The Organizational Empowerment Scale. Personnel Review, 32, 297–318. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/00483480310467624CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Menon, S. T. (2001). Employee empowerment: An integrative psychological approach. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 50, 153–180. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1464-0597.00052CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Muñiz, J., & Hambleton, R. K. (2000). Adaptación de los test de unas culturas a otras [Adapting tests from one culture to the next]. Metodología de las Ciencias del Comportamiento, 2, 129–149.Google Scholar
Randolph, W., & Edward, R. (2011). Managerial use of power bases in a model of managerial empowerment practices and employee psychological empowerment. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 18, 95–106. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1548051810379798CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rappaport, J. (1984). Studies of empowerment: Introduction to the issue. Prevention in Human Services, 3, 1–7.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Satorra, A., & Bentler, P. M. (1994). Corrections to test statistics and standard errors in covariance structure analysis. In von Eye, A. & Clogg, C. C. (Eds.), Latent variable analysis: Applications for developmental research (pp. 399–419). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Schermelleh-Engel, K., Moosbrugger, H., & Müller, H. (2003). Evaluating the fit of structural equation models: Test of significance and descriptive goodness-of-fit measures. Methods of Psychological Research - Online, 8, 23–74.Google Scholar
Speer, P. W., & Peterson, N. A. (2000). Psychometric properties of an empowerment scale: Testing cognitive, emotional and behavioural domains. Social Work Research, 24, 109–118. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/swr/24.2.109CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Spreitzer, G. M. (1995a). Psychological empowerment in the workplace: Dimensions, measurement, and validation. Academy of Management Journal, 38, 1442–1465. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/256865CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Spreitzer, G. M. (1995b). An empirical test of a comprehensive model of intrapersonal empowerment in the workplace. American Journal of Community Psychology, 23, 601–629. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF02506984CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Spreitzer, G. M. (1996). Social structural characteristics of psychological empowerment. Academy of Management Journal, 39, 483–504. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/256789CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Spreitzer, G. M. (1997). Toward a common ground in defining empowerment. Research in Organizational Change and Development, 10, 31–62.Google Scholar
Thomas, K. W., & Velthouse, B. A. (1990). Cognitive elements of empowerment: An “Interpretive” Model of Intrinsic Task Motivation. Academy of Management Review, 15, 666–681. http://dx.doi.org/10.5465/AMR.1990.4310926Google Scholar
Thorlakson, A. J. H., & Murray, R. P. (1996). An empirical study of empowerment in the workplace. Group and Organization Management, 21, 67–83. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1059601196211004CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zimmerman, M. A. (1995). Psychological empowerment: Issues and illustration. American Journal of Community Psychology, 23, 581–599. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF02506983CrossRefGoogle Scholar