An exploratory study on the construct validation of the organisational climate measure in the Belgian workplace

Abstract

To obtain valid and reliable research findings it is important to validate one’s measuring instrument with specific reference to the linguistic and cultural context in which it is to be used. This entails determining that items of the measurement instrument load significantly on the different constructs, and establishing the psychometric properties of the instrument. The purpose is to decrease or eliminate measurement errors, which detract from the validity of research findings. The aim of this study was to perform both an exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis study on the Organisational Climate Measure Questionnaire (OCM), developed by Patterson and colleagues, to assess constructs and the model fit of the data within the Belgian context. Exploratory factor analysis was employed as part of the process to uncover the underlying structure of the relatively large set of variables, while confirmatory factor analysis was employed to assess the construct validity of the questionnaire, to pinpoint areas of weakness and to provide a foundation for further research. The OCM was administered to a sample of 301 participants in the Belgian manufacturing sector, drawn by means of convenient sampling. The study resulted in a final ten-factor model with 44 items, and the fit indices indicated that the data reflected a reasonable model fit. The fit indices displayed the following: CFI = .941, NNFI = .935 and the NFI = .840. The reliability scales for the ten factors ranged between .797 and .915.