Best‐practice recommendations for estimating interaction effects using moderated multiple regression

An interaction effect indicates that a relationship is contingent upon the values of another (moderator) variable. Thus, interaction effects describe conditions under which relationships change in strength and/or direction. Understanding interaction effects is essential for the advancement of the organizational sciences because they highlight a theory's boundary conditions. We describe procedures for estimating and interpreting interaction effects using moderated multiple regression (MMR). We distill the technical literature for a general readership of organizational science researchers and include specific best‐practice recommendations regarding actions researchers can take before and after data collection to improve the accuracy of MMR‐based conclusions regarding interaction effects. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.