Attribution Theory in the Organizational Sciences: The Road Traveled and the Path Ahead

Individuals make attributions when they infer causes about particular outcomes. Several narrative reviews of attributional research have concluded that attributions matter in the workplace, but note that attribution theory has been underutilized in organizational research. To examine the predictive power of attributions in organizational contexts, we present a meta-analysis of existing attribution theory research. Our findings suggest that attributions have consistently demonstrated effect sizes that are comparable to more commonly utilized predictor variables of workplace outcomes. Expanding on these findings, we argue that attributions are an integral part of individuals' cognitive processes that are associated with critical organizational outcomes. We conclude with suggestions to help expand and optimize the contribution of attributional research to understanding and managing organizational outcomes.