Date of Conferral

2019

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Management

Advisor

Sheryl Kristensen

Abstract

Business managers lack knowledge and understanding of the transferability of Army veterans' individual work performance (IWP) in the private sector, which results in organizations' failure to hire Army veterans who possess strong IWPs. The purpose of this nonexperimental, cross-sectional study was to compare Army veterans' and nonveterans' transferable IWP as defined by task performance (TP), contextual performance (CP), and counter-productive work behavior (CWB). The IWP framework provided the theoretical foundation for this study. The research question examined how veterans' IWPs compared to those of nonveterans. The sample frame included U.S. Army civilian veterans and nonveterans at a large military installation in the United States. Data were collected from the IWP questionnaire with 210 participants (105 veterans and 105 nonveterans). Independent-sample t tests were used to analyze the data based on an alpha of 0.05 and a medium effect size of 0.50. Rejection of null hypotheses provided evidence to indicate differences between veterans' and nonveterans' TP, CP, CWB, and the composite index of IWP. Veterans measured higher compared to nonveterans for all hypotheses tested. The results of the study have several implications for positive social change. Business managers, veterans, and society benefit by improving understanding of veterans' transferable IWPs. Results of this study could lead to an improvement in perceptions of veterans as possessing positive and sought-after work attributes and with a competitive advantage in the workplace, leading to lower unemployment of veterans and higher productivity of companies that hire veterans.

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