Abstract: Pierce, Gardner, Cummings, and Dunham (1989) proposed the concept of organization-based self-esteem (OBSE) and defined OBSE to be “the degree to which organizational members believe that they can satisfy their needs by participating in roles within the context of an organization”. The concept of OBSE has caught the interest of a number of researchers (e.g., Chattopadhyay, 2003; Gardner & Pierce, 2004; Lee, 2003). However, these studies only address this concept from a single dimention. Existing literature has been criticized having shortcomings of either lack of relevance, or lack of construct validity. Studies in China have followed the Western tradition and suffer the same problems, in addition to a lack of consideration to the specific Chinese context. This paper synthesizes the qualitative and quantitive approaches, explores the distinct elements of individual organization-based self-esteem under Chinese context, and paves an avenue for future empirical research. This paper reports an empirical study based on 26 semi-structured interviews of workers with diverse backgrounds. In interviewing these individuals, we first asked for a brief description of their work organization and their tasks at work. We then asked them four questions focused to obtain self-esteem related work experiences that will be used as units of analysis in data analyses. Following the method of concept mapping, we extracted 96 units from the interview transcripts, describing the elements of organization-based self-esteem . These units were then categorized by 15 coders and their “psychological distances” were represented in a matrix. Multidimensional scaling based on the matrix generated a “concept map” that was then culstered into four categories, representing four distinct types of organization-based self-esteem elements. We found that the five-cluster solution best represents the results. Theoretically, organization-based self-esteem is derived from workers’ (1) work performance, (2) work roles, (3) the working unit itself. We then eleborated the meanings of these elements, and provided specific explanations in Chinese context. Performance-based self-esteem is how well workers evaluate themselves based on their performance and achievement at work. Role-based self-esteem is how well workers evaluate themselves based on role characteristics associated with their work. Unit-based self-esteem as how well workers evaluate themselves based on their membership in their organizations. Leader-based self-esteem is how well workers were treated by their leaders. Last, peer and subordinate-based self-esteem represents how they evaluate themselves based on their interactions with their peers and subordinates at work. Theoretical and empirical contributions were discussed in the end.

Key words: Organization-based self-esteem, Concept mapping method, Multidimensional scaling analysis, Cluster analysis

摘要： 基于对26名来自不同组织、有不同职业背景员工的深度采访，本文运用定性和定量相结合的分析方法——概念构图法，实证探索了中国员工基于组织的自尊（OBSE）的内容。本研究发现，中国员工自尊包括五个维度：基于工作单位的自尊、基于工作绩效的自尊、基于工作角色的自尊，基于领导的自尊和基于下属和同事的自尊。本文通过对OBSE的实证分析详细介绍了概念构图法的过程和应用，为如何对新概念、新现象进行探索性研究提供了参考。

关键词: 基于组织的自尊, 概念构图法, 多维尺度分析, 聚类分析