Mediation testing in management research: A review and proposals

Wood, R.E.; Goodman, J.S.; Beckmann, N.; Cook, A.

doi:10.1177/1094428106297811

Mediation testing in management research: A review and proposals

Wood, R.E.; Goodman, J.S.; Beckmann, N.; Cook, A.

Authors

R.E. Wood

J.S. Goodman

Professor Nadin Beckmann nadin.beckmann@durham.ac.uk
Professor

A. Cook

Abstract

The authors review and critique the conduct and reporting of mediation analyses in 409 studies published in five leading organization studies journals over the past 25 years. The aim of the study is to learn from past practice and to use that knowledge to signal to researchers the importance of correctly applying mediation tests as well as to facilitate the valid testing of mediation models and the reporting of mediation results in future studies. The authors content code their sample for a wide range of characteristics and find that the majority of inferences of full and partial mediation are based on testing procedures that deviate significantly from procedures recommended by statisticians. In addition, the reporting of results is often incomplete and inefficient. The authors discuss and evaluate the findings of the study and make recommendations for future testing and reporting of results for mediation models.

Citation

Wood, R., Goodman, J., Beckmann, N., & Cook, A. (2008). Mediation testing in management research: A review and proposals. Organizational Research Methods, 11(2), 270-295. https://doi.org/10.1177/1094428106297811

Journal Article Type	Article
Publication Date	Apr 1, 2008
Deposit Date	Oct 5, 2011
Publicly Available Date	Apr 15, 2015
Journal	Organizational Research Methods
Print ISSN	1094-4281
Electronic ISSN	1552-7425
Publisher	SAGE Publications
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	11
Issue	2
Pages	270-295
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1177/1094428106297811
Keywords	Mediation, Causality, Causal steps approach, Process variables, Organizational research.

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Copyright Statement
Wood, R.E., Goodman, J.S., Beckmann, N. & Cook, A. (2008). Mediation testing in management research: A review and proposals. Organizational Research Methods 11(2): 270-295.. Copyright © 2008 Sage Publications. Reprinted by permission of SAGE Publications.