Date of Award
Spring 6-12-2026
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Ph.D. in Business
Organizational Unit
Daniels College of Business
First Advisor
Daniel Baack
Second Advisor
Kellie Keeling
Third Advisor
Kerry Mitchell
Copyright Statement / License for Reuse
All Rights Reserved.
Keywords
Mentoring, Negative experience, Values, Mentors, Mentees
Abstract
Mentoring is widely recognized as a developmental relationship that promotes career advancement, psychosocial support, and organizational benefits. However, not all mentoring relationships yield positive outcomes. An emerging body of research highlights negative mentoring experiences, including mentee performance problems and interpersonal conflict, which can diminish satisfaction, increase stress, and discourage future participation. Despite these findings, little empirical attention has been given to predictors of negative mentoring experiences.
Grounded in social exchange theory and social capital theory, this study examines whether mentors’ perceptions of value similarity or dissimilarity with their mentees predict negative mentoring experiences. Values, defined as enduring beliefs that guide attitudes and behaviors, are central to relationship quality. While value congruence fosters trust and cooperation, value dissimilarity has been linked to conflict, miscommunication, and strained interactions.
A cross-sectional survey design was employed using a sample of 199 mentors recruited through professional networks and cloud sourcing. Values were measured using the Short Schwartz Value Survey, and negative mentoring experiences were assessed with the Brief Measure of Negative Mentoring Experiences. Blockwise multiple regression and polynomial regression analyses were conducted to examine the relationships between value dissimilarity and two categories of negative mentoring outcomes: mentee performance problems and interpersonal problems.
Contrary to theoretical expectations, mentor-perceived value dissimilarity did not significantly predict negative mentoring experiences across analytic approaches. Instead, relationship length emerged as the most consistent predictor, with longer mentoring relationships associated with fewer reported problems. Additionally, specific mentor value orientations and mentor perceptions of mentee values demonstrated limited associations with interpersonal problems, although no evidence of value congruence or incongruence effects was observed.
These findings suggest that mentoring outcomes may be less influenced by overall value similarity or dissimilarity and more strongly shaped by relational and perceptual factors. This study contributes to the literature by extending social exchange theory in mentoring contexts and demonstrating that mentors’ perceptions and interpretations may be more influential than global value alignment. The findings suggest that organizations can strengthen mentoring outcomes by prioritizing relationship development, expectation management, and mentor awareness of perceptual processes over value-based matching alone.
Copyright Date
6-2026
Publication Statement
Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.
Rights Holder
Janet Ash
Provenance
Received from ProQuest
File Format
application/pdf
Language
English (eng)
Extent
92 pgs
File Size
1 MB
Recommended Citation
Ash, Janet, "Value (Dis)Similarity As a Predictor of Negative Mentoring Experiences" (2026). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 2697.
https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/2697
Included in
Business Administration, Management, and Operations Commons, Interpersonal and Small Group Communication Commons, Leadership Studies Commons, Organizational Behavior and Theory Commons