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Job scope, affective commitment, and turnover: The moderating role of growth need strength
Author(s) -
Zargar Mahmood Shafeie,
Vandenberghe Christian,
Marchand Catherine,
Ayed Ahmed Khalil Ben
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
journal of occupational and organizational psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.257
H-Index - 114
eISSN - 2044-8325
pISSN - 0963-1798
DOI - 10.1111/joop.12046
Subject(s) - psychology , scope (computer science) , turnover , operationalization , social psychology , moderated mediation , organizational commitment , job attitude , personality , mediation , job performance , sample (material) , job satisfaction , management , economics , philosophy , chemistry , epistemology , chromatography , computer science , political science , law , programming language
Using a sample of business alumni from multiple organizations ( N = 230), we examined the relationships of job scope to actual turnover, measured 15 months later, as mediated by affective commitment and moderated by growth need strength (which was operationalized through learning goal orientation, need for achievement, and proactive personality as first‐order factors). Moderated mediation analyses (Edwards & Lambert, 2007, Psychol. Methods , 12, 1–22) revealed that: (1) job scope's relationship to commitment was stronger at high levels of growth need strength; (2) the indirect effect of job scope on turnover was stronger at high levels of growth need strength; and (3) growth need strength had a residual, positive relationship to turnover. We discuss the implications of these findings for our understanding of how motivation‐related individual difference variables combine with job characteristics and commitment in explaining turnover decisions. Practitioner points Organizations should provide challenging job characteristics to employees with high growth need as this may lead to increased affective commitment and lower turnover rates. For employees with weak growth needs, organizations may build climates for learning, achievement, and self‐initiative as this may create the conditions for the emergence of commitment and reduce turnover.