Behavior in organizations as a function of employee's locus of control.

Abstract

Locus of control is an important variable for the explanation of human behavior in organizations. The nature of the concept, its measurement (e.g., Rotter's Internal–External Locus of Control Scale), and general evidence for its validity are discussed. Several hypotheses are presented involving the locus of control in an organizational context, and supporting evidence from applied studies is reviewed. Specifically, it is suggested that locus of control is related to motivation, effort, performance, satisfaction, perception of the job, compliance with authority, and supervisory style. Furthermore, locus of control may moderate the relation between incentives and motivation and between satisfaction and turnover.