The selection, optimization, and compensation model in the work context: A systematic review and meta‐analysis of two decades of research

• Author: Susanne Scheibe,Hannes Zacher,Darya Moghimi,Nico W. Van Yperen
• Date: 01 February 2017
• Published date: 01 February 2017
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/job.2108

The selection, optimization, and compensation

model in the work context: A systematic review and

meta-analysis of two decades of research

DARYA MOGHIMI

1

*, HANNES ZACHER

1,2

, SUSANNE SCHEIBE

1

AND NICO W. VAN YPEREN

1

1

Department of Psychology, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands

2

School of Management, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia

Summary Over the past two decades, the selection, optimization, and compensation (SOC) model has been applied in

the work context to investigate antecedents and outcomes of employees’use of action regulation strategies.

We systematically review, meta-analyze, and critically discuss the literature on SOC strategy use at work

and outline directions for future research and practice. The systematic review illustrates the breadth of

constructs that have been studied in relation to SOC strategy use, and that SOC strategy use can mediate

and moderate relationships of person and contextual antecedents with work outcomes. Results of the

meta-analysis show that SOC strategy use is positively related to age (r

c

= .04), job autonomy (r

c

= .17),

self-reported job performance (r

c

= .23), non-self-reported job performance (r

c

= .21), job satisfaction

(r

c

= .25), and job engagement (r

c

= .38), whereas SOC strategy use is not significantly related to job tenure,

job demands, and job strain. Overall, our findings underline the importance of the SOC model for the work

context, and they also suggest that its measurement and reporting standards need to be improved to become

a reliable guide for future research and organizational practice. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Keywords: action regulation; meta-analysis; review; selection, optimization, and compensation; SOC

Introduction

Employees often face multiple demands and pursue several goals simultaneously. However, their resources might

not always suffice to meet all demands and to achieve all goals, and thus, employees need to adapt their behavior

to be successful. The selection, optimization, and compensation (SOC) model proposes that in situations characterized

by high demands and limited resources, individuals can make use of a set of four action regulation strategies that help them

invest their resources in an optimal way (P. B. Baltes, 1997; P.B. Baltes & Baltes, 1990; Freund & Baltes, 2000). Selection

involves the prioritization of some goals over others, either to achieve a desired state (elective selection)orinresponsetoa

loss of resources needed for goal achievement (loss-based selection). Optimization entails the acquisition, refinement, and

use of resources that are needed to achieve the selected goals, and compensation involves substituting for the (potential)

loss of resources by acquiring and using new or previously unused resources. The conjoint consideration of goals and

resources, and the specification of adaptive responses to resource losses, render the SOC model a unique approach to action

regulation in the work context (B. B. Baltes, Rudolph, & Bal, 2012; Müller & Weigl, 2015; Zacher & Frese, in press).

Over the past two decades, organizational scholars have repeatedly emphasized the potential importance of the

SOC model for the work context (e.g., B. B. Baltes & Dickson, 2001; Truxillo, Cadiz, & Hammer, 2015), and authors

frequently use the SOC model as a theoretical framework to develop hypotheses on the role of age in the work context

(without operationalizing it; Bal & De Lange, 2015;Hertel et al., 2013; Kooij & Van De Voorde,2011; Truxillo, Cadiz,

*Correspondence to: Darya Moghimi, Department of Psychology, University of Groningen, Grote Kruisstraat 2/1, 9712 TS, Groningen, The

Netherlands. E-mail: d.moghimi@rug.nl

Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Received 05 December 2014

Revised 16 February 2016, Accepted 06 March 2016

Journal of Organizational Behavior, J. Organiz. Behav. 38, 247–275 (2017)

Published online 5 April 2016 in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com) DOI: 10.1002/job.2108

The IRIOP Annual Review Issue

Rineer, Zaniboni, & Fraccaroli, 2012; Tschopp, Grote, & Köppel, 2015; Zaniboni, Truxillo, & Fraccaroli, 2013;

Zaniboni, Truxillo, Fraccaroli, McCune, & Bertolino, 2014). Moreover, several empirical studies investigated associa-

tions of SOC strategy use with various employee and job characteristics, as well as work outcomes. However, so far,

neither a systematicreview nor a meta-analysis of the literature on SOC strategy use at work has been conducted. Con-

sequently,research on the SOC model at work remains fragmentedand fails to provide a clear agendafor future research

and a reliable guide for organizational practice.

In this article, we first describe the theoretical background and operationalization of SOC strategy use. Second, we

outline the methods and results of a systematic review and a meta-analysis of the literature on SOC at work. In the

systematic review, we examine relationships of SOC strategy use with all antecedents and outcome variables that

have been empirically studied to date (Figure 1). The meta-analysis focuses on those antecedents and outcomes that

have been empirically investigated in relation to SOC strategy use in at least five independent samples. Finally, we

critically discuss limitations of the current literature on SOC strategy use at work and outline recommendations for

future research and organizational practice.

Theoretical Background and Operationalization

Development of the SOC model

The SOC model was developed in the lifespan developmental literature (P. B. Baltes & Baltes, 1990). It assumes that

the use of SOC strategies is particularly adaptive and results in successful development when demands are high and

resources are low. P. B. Baltes and Baltes (1990) originally conceptualized the SOC model as a meta-theory of

development that can be applied to different levels of analysis (e.g., individual, group, organization, and society)

and specific contexts (e.g., work and family life). At the individual level, the SOC model proposes that people

who experience a mismatch between their demands and resources can maintain effective functioning and well-being

by using SOC strategies. Freund and Baltes (2000) specified an action-theoretical application of the SOC model by

Figure 1. Overview of constructs included in the systematic review and meta-analysis. All antecedent and outcome variables shown

were included in the systematic review. Antecedent and outcomes variables that were examined in five or more independent

samples were included in the meta-analysis and are italicized

248 D. MOGHIMI ET AL.

Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. J. Organiz. Behav. 38, 247–275 (2017)

DOI: 10.1002/job