| Organizational Behavior Management (OBM) practitioners suggest that it is through the repeated demonstration of maintenance and generalization that credibility and recognition for OBM can be built (McSween & Matthews, 2004). One way to encourage maintenance and generalization is by institutionalizing the intervention. Sigurdsson and Austin (2006) described institutionalization as having four components: Internal staff involvement in (a) intervention development, (b) intervention implementation, (c) data collection, and, (d) consequence delivery. They coded research articles from the Journal of Organizational Behavior Management from 1991–2002 for inclusion of these components in OBM research. Although their sample size was small, a regression analysis found a positive relationship between the number of components included and effect size of the intervention compared to baseline, accounting for 25% of the variability. Of the 31 studies included in the review, seven did not include any of the four components of maintenance and only four included all of the components. This suggests that OBM researchers may need to continue to develop strategies for involving organizations and their employees in interventions. One approach that allows OBM researchers and practitioners to involve managers in intervention design and implementation is the “Consultant Workshop Model.” This model teaches managers to conduct their own performance improvement projects, potentially equipping them with the knowledge to continue improving performance after the consultation period and the ability to address other performance targets (e.g., Snyder, 2006). OBM consultants and researchers have employed variations of this model (e.g., Ackley & Bailey, 1995; Maher, 1984; Nordstrom, Lorenzi, & Hall, 1990; “Performance Catalyst,” 2007; “Precision Leadership,” 2007). |