Tripartite Efficacy Beliefs and Homeowner Participation in Multi-Owned Housing Governance

Homeowners’ collective actions are essential for effective governance of multi-owned housing (MOH) and a city’s sustainable development. Yet, not all homeowners keenly participate in MOH governance. Unpacking why homeowners decide to participate is thus insightful. So far, little work has been done on how perceived efficacies of property management agents (PMAs) shape collective actions in MOH governance. Founding upon the social cognitive theory and collective interest model, a theoretical model is built to empirically examine how proxy efficacy belief influences participation behaviors of homeowners. Drawing on the findings of a survey of 2035 homeowners in Hong Kong and Macau, this study reveals that participation level correlates positively with self and group efficacy beliefs but negatively with perceived proxy efficacy. Poor performance or incapacity of the PMAs triggers a higher degree of homeowner participation. The research findings have significant policy implications for promoting a better MOH upkeep culture.

Implications of Proxy Efficacy for Studies of Team Leadership in Organizational Settings

Although there have been numerous studies of self-efficacy and collective efficacy in different contexts, little attention has been paid to proxy efficacy. In this article we propose that a person’s self-efficacy may be related to proxy efficacy when achievement of personal goals is related to the performance of the proxy on the person’s behalf. We argue this is important in team leadership. We further propose that the extent to which team members believe their leaders efficacious as their proxies may affect team processes and effectiveness. A team level construct, namely team proxy efficacy for the leader, referring to a shared proxy efficacy belief for the team leader, is also proposed. Several propositions involving the role of team proxy efficacy in team processes, and how proxy efficacy may play roles in the emergence and success of shared leadership in teams are developed.

Measuring Elementary-aged Children’s Self-efficacy and Proxy Efficacy for Gardening and Related Health Behaviors

After-school garden programs may be an effective setting to reach school-age children to promote nutritious diets and physical activity, while reducing sedentary behavior. The current analyses drew data from Project PLANTS (i.e., promoting lifelong activity and nutrition through schools), an after-school randomized controlled trial focusing on the prevention of obesity among children through garden clubs. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of a scale measuring children’s self-efficacy and proxy efficacy within the after-school, gardening context. In addition to children’s garden self-efficacy, measurement scales for gardening, physical activity, and fruit and vegetable proxy efficacy were also examined. Proxy efficacy was defined as children’s confidence that they have the skills and abilities to get their parent to provide behavior-specific opportunities. Participants (N = 969) were fourth grade students (n = 611; age 9.4 years, sd = 0.6; 63% white, 50% female) and fifth grade students (n = 358; age 10.4 years, sd = 0.6; 57% white, 54% female) attending eight elementary schools. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) (n = 484), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) (n = 485), multigroup invariance, and tests to examine the sensitivity in detecting expected mean differences determined scale construct and criterion validity. The measurement model included five constructs: garden self-efficacy (seven items), garden barrier self-efficacy (four items), parent-directed proxy efficacy for physical activity opportunities (six items), fruit and vegetable availability (seven items), and opportunities to garden (four items). The five-factor model fit the data well [comparative fit index (CFI) = 0.958], demonstrating factor determinacy coefficients ≥0.940. Tests of invariance (equal form, factor loadings, and indicator intercepts) were acceptable between genders [change in CFI (ΔCFI) = 0.000], fourth and fifth graders (ΔCFI = 0.000), and normal and overweight/obese weight status children (ΔCFI = 0.000). Females had greater garden self-efficacy, garden barrier self-efficacy, garden proxy efficacy, and fruit and vegetable proxy efficacy. The current measurement model demonstrated good factorial validity, confirming the unbiased generalizability across gender, grade level, and body mass index subgroups. Further validation is suggested in additional populations and across time points.

Examining Elementary School—Aged Children’s Self-Efficacy and Proxy Efficacy for Fruit and Vegetable Consumption

Children’s self-efficacy for fruit and vegetable consumption (FVC) and proxy efficacy to influence others to make fruit and vegetables (FV) available may influence their FVC. A previous investigation has demonstrated that self-efficacy for fruit consumption, self-efficacy for vegetable consumption, proxy efficacy to influence parents to make FV available, and proxy efficacy to influence after-school staff to make FV available can be measured with four independent but related scales. The purpose of the present investigation is to confirm this factor structure and determine if the scales were invariant across gender, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status (SES) subgroups of children attending after-school programs. Results provide further validity evidence for the four correlated scales. In addition, results confirm measurement invariance across gender, SES, and ethnicity, confirming the unbiased generalizability of the current measure to these demographic groups. Lastly, tests of population heterogeneity reveal no meaningful differences in self- and proxy efficacy among gender, SES, and ethnicity subgroups.