Some antecedents and consequences of scientific performance

Relationships between organizational factors and the performance of 151 engineers were studied to determine the extent to which the factors preceded performance and performance preceded the factors. Four factors were related significantly to subsequent performance: involvement in work, colleague contact, diversity of work activities, and number of subordinates. Every factor studied (these four, plus salary and influence on work goals) was related to previous performance. The performance-factor sequence was much more predominant than the factor-performance sequence. An engineer's performance apparently has pervasive consequences for his social-psychological working environment.