The Science

The evidence behind the Values Alignment Index®

A well-established theory, an independently assessed instrument and a wider body of workplace research. Each answers a different question — and each has its limits.

01 · The framework

Schwartz’s theory of basic human values

Shalom Schwartz’s theory describes the motivations behind what people consider important, and the relationships between them. The Values Alignment Index® is built on this framework, used with Professor Schwartz’s permission.

Schwartz’s 2012 overview reports evidence from 82 countries for the cross-cultural structure of basic values. This is evidence for the underlying framework, not an 82-country validation of the Index itself. Values are relatively stable over time, rather than fixed.

Source: Schwartz (2012), An Overview of the Schwartz Theory of Basic Values

Source for the 60,000+ figure: Schwartz (2003), A Proposal for Measuring Value Orientations across Nations, European Social Survey — 64,271 respondents in 210 samples from 67 countries.

Values Alignment Index wheel showing the eight values within four orientations

02 · The instrument

Independent assessment of the Index

In 2023 a Chartered Occupational Psychologist assessed the Index’s reliability and construct validity with 374 UK working adults. The review found acceptable internal consistency across three of the four value pairs, with the fourth marginally below the conventional threshold, and significant positive correlations between every Index item and corresponding items in Schwartz’s Portrait Values Questionnaire. The review concluded that the validity demonstrated is sufficient for use in practice.

374: UK working adults in the validation sample
α 0.63–0.77: Internal consistency across the four value pairs
4 of 4: Value pairs correlating significantly with Schwartz's PVQ
Normed: Scores referenced against a UK working-population sample

What the figures mean

Internal consistency indicates how closely questions within each value pair measure the same orientation. Cronbach’s alpha ranged from 0.63 to 0.77. The PVQ correlations provide evidence of construct validity — that the Index measures the values it is intended to measure.

How scores are interpreted

Scores are norm-referenced against the UK working-population sample. The review does not establish test–retest reliability or direct prediction of job performance, and its UK norms should not be treated as international norms.

Source: independent 2023 Values Alignment Index assessment, 374 UK working adults. These instrument results are supplied by &Evolve; they are distinct from the published framework and workplace studies below.

03 · Workplace outcomes

What values alignment can — and cannot — predict

The academic evidence is consistent: values alignment reliably predicts commitment, intention to stay and discretionary effort, with a small and largely indirect effect on task performance. The best available evidence shows it works primarily through trust and the quality of communication.

(Kristof‑Brown et al., 2005; Arthur et al., 2006; Edwards & Cable, 2009; Rahn, Soutar & Lee, 2020)

These studies concern values congruence and person–organisation fit more broadly. They do not demonstrate that this Index directly predicts an individual’s performance. Alignment should inform judgement alongside skills, experience and context, rather than dictate recruitment decisions.

Sagiv & Schwartz (2000) examined subjective wellbeing and values congruence in two small student samples — not burnout or clinical mental health. Rahn, Soutar & Lee examined employees’ change beliefs, not direct task-performance prediction.

Sources

The independent validation summary is available on request.

Request the summary