Perceptions of organizational context and job attitudes: The mediating effect of organizational identification

Informed by social exchange theory and social identity theory, we developed a conceptual model that examines the mediating role of organizational identification in the relationship between employees’ perceptions of organizational context and their job attitudes. In our model, the antecedents include perceived organizational support (POS), procedural justice, and perceived job insecurity. The outcome variables consist of affective organizational commitment, job satisfaction, and intentions to leave. Our respondents were 591 workers employed in three different firms in China. The results of regression analyses showed that employees’ job attitudes are affected by their perceptions of organizational context and organizational identification. Further, organizational identification was found to mediate the effects of POS on the outcome variables.

[1]  Paul E. Levy,et al.  Perceptions of the organizational context and psychological contract breach: Assessing competing perspectives , 2009 .

[2]  Fred A. Mael,et al.  Social identity theory and the organization , 1989 .

[3]  T. Tyler,et al.  The Social Psychology of Procedural Justice , 1988 .

[4]  E. A. Locke The nature and causes of job satisfaction , 1976 .

[5]  R. Eisenberger,et al.  Perceived Organizational Support and Employee Diligence, Commitment, and Innovation , 1990 .

[6]  H. Rosin,et al.  Workplace variables, affective responses, and intention to leave among women managers , 1991 .

[7]  M. Riketta Organizational identification: A meta-analysis , 2005 .

[8]  M. Sverke,et al.  No security: a meta-analysis and review of job insecurity and its consequences. , 2002, Journal of occupational health psychology.

[9]  Tom R. Tyler,et al.  Why people cooperate with organizations: An identity-based perspective. , 1999 .

[10]  Chi-Sum Wong,et al.  Antecedents and Outcomes of Employees' Trust in Chinese Joint Ventures , 2003 .

[11]  Cornelius J. König,et al.  A model for the effects of job insecurity on performance, turnover intention, and absenteeism , 2010 .

[12]  Xiangming Chen,et al.  COLLECTIVIST ORIENTATION AS A PREDICTOR OF AFFECTIVE ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT: A STUDY CONDUCTED IN CHINA , 2002 .

[13]  John P. Meyer,et al.  Commitment in the Workplace: Theory, Research, and Application , 1997 .

[14]  J. Cummings,et al.  Perceived organizational support, discretionary treatment, and job satisfaction. , 1997, The Journal of applied psychology.

[15]  Sharon Foley,et al.  Linking employees' justice perceptions to organizational commitment and intention to leave: The mediating role of perceived organizational support , 2006 .

[16]  T. Kostova,et al.  A model of dual organizational identification in the context of the multinational enterprise , 2007 .

[17]  Blake E. Ashforth,et al.  Organizational Identity and Identification: Charting New Waters and Building New Bridges , 2000 .

[18]  Zehava Rosenblatt,et al.  Job Insecurity: Toward Conceptual Clarity , 1984 .

[19]  A. Cohen Commitment before and after: An evaluation and reconceptualization of organizational commitment , 2007 .

[20]  T. Tyler,et al.  Understanding why the justice of group procedures matters: A test of the psychological dynamics of the group-value model. , 1996 .

[21]  Carol T. Kulik,et al.  Relations between job facet comparisons and employee reactions , 1986 .

[22]  R. Bhagat,et al.  On improving the robustness of Asian management theories: Theoretical anchors in the era of globalization , 2010 .

[23]  M. Edwards HR, perceived organisational support and organisational identification: an analysis after organisational formation , 2009 .

[24]  Fred A. Mael,et al.  Alumni and their alma mater: A partial test of the reformulated model of organizational identification , 1992 .

[25]  R. Eisenberger,et al.  Perceived organizational support. , 1986 .

[26]  S. Wayne,et al.  Commitment and employee behavior: comparison of affective commitment and continuance commitment with perceived organizational support. , 1993, The Journal of applied psychology.

[27]  Tom R. Tyler,et al.  Cooperation in Groups: Procedural Justice, Social Identity, and Behavioral Engagement , 2000 .

[28]  Marjorie Armstrong-Stassen,et al.  Perceived organizational support, career satisfaction, and the retention of older workers , 2009 .

[29]  John P. Meyer,et al.  The measurement and antecedents of affective, continuance and normative commitment to the organization , 1990 .

[30]  David Ahlstrom,et al.  On the types of papers the Asia Pacific Journal of Management generally publishes , 2012 .

[31]  Hans De Witte,et al.  The impact of job insecurity and contract type on attitudes, well-being and behavioural reports: A psychological contract perspective , 2006 .

[32]  Matthew J. Hornsey,et al.  Effects of Psychological Contract Breach on Organizational Citizenship Behaviour: Insights from the Group Value Model , 2008 .

[33]  R. Loi,et al.  Mobility norms, risk aversion, and career satisfaction of Chinese employees , 2010 .

[34]  T. Tyler The psychology of procedural justice: A test of the group-value model. , 1989 .

[35]  Sumita Raghuram,et al.  Organizational identification among virtual workers: the role of need for affiliation and perceived work-based social support , 2001 .

[36]  Y. Baruch,et al.  The Dynamics Between Organisational Commitment and Professional Identity Formation at Work , 2007 .

[37]  R. Mauborgne,et al.  Procedural justice, strategic decision making, and the knowledge economy , 1998 .

[38]  Dwight D. Frink,et al.  The Effects of Organizational Restructure on Employee Satisfaction , 1996 .

[39]  Tahira M. Probst,et al.  Development and validation of the Job Security Index and the Job Security Satisfaction scale: A classical test theory and IRT approach , 2003 .

[40]  R. Cropanzano,et al.  Social Exchange Theory: An Interdisciplinary Review , 2005 .

[41]  D. Rousseau Psychological contracts in organizations : understanding written and unwritten agreements , 1995 .

[42]  Donald E. Conlon,et al.  Justice at the millennium: a meta-analytic review of 25 years of organizational justice research. , 2001, The Journal of applied psychology.

[43]  Ngo Hang-yue,et al.  Perceptions of Discrimination and Justice , 2005 .

[44]  S. Chreim Influencing Organizational Identification During Major Change: A Communication- Based Perspective , 2002 .

[45]  Paul E. Spector,et al.  The Role of Justice in Organizations: A Meta-Analysis , 2001 .

[46]  Celia V. Harquail,et al.  Organizational images and member identification. , 1994 .

[47]  H. Ngo,et al.  Different responses to job insecurity of Chinese workers in joint ventures and state-owned enterprises , 2005 .

[48]  P. Blau Exchange and Power in Social Life , 1964 .

[49]  Suzanne S. Masterson,et al.  Insider or outsider? how employee perceptions of insider status affect their work behavior , 2002 .

[50]  Blake E. Ashforth,et al.  Identification in Organizations: An Examination of Four Fundamental Questions , 2008 .

[51]  Denise M. Rousseau,et al.  The ‘problem’ of the psychological contract considered , 1998 .

[52]  Christine S. Randall,et al.  Extensions of justice theory : justice evaluations and employees' reactions in a natural setting , 1995 .

[53]  G. Johns The Essential Impact of Context on Organizational Behavior , 2006 .

[54]  J. L. Price,et al.  Professional Turnover: The Case of Nurses , 1981, Health systems management.

[55]  S. Ashford,et al.  Content, Cause, and Consequences of Job Insecurity: A Theory-Based Measure and Substantive Test , 1989 .

[56]  R. Loi,et al.  How Do Cultural Types Affect Work-related Attitudes?: The Mediating Role of Perceived Organisational Support , 2006 .

[57]  S. Alexander Haslam,et al.  Psychology in Organizations: The Social-Identity Approach , 2000 .

[58]  Blake E. Ashforth,et al.  How Relational and Organizational Identification Converge: Processes and Conditions , 2008, Organ. Sci..

[59]  J. Slocum,et al.  The Effects of Job Insecurity on Satisfaction and Perceived Organizational Performance , 2007 .

[60]  D. Rousseau,et al.  Trends in organizational behavior , 2000 .

[61]  Lois E. Tetrick,et al.  The psychological contract as an explanatory framework in the employment relationship. , 1994 .

[62]  P. Bobko,et al.  Investigation of the Multidimensional Model of Job Insecurity in China and the USA , 2006 .

[63]  Rolf van Dick,et al.  MY JOB IS MY CASTLE: IDENTIFICATION IN ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXTS , 2005 .

[64]  J. Guarino Book Review Psychological Contracts in Organizations: Understanding Written and Unwritten Agreements. By Denise M. Rousseau. Sage, Thousand Oaks, California , 1998 .

[65]  Berrin Erdogan,et al.  WORK VALUE CONGRUENCE AND INTRINSIC CAREER SUCCESS: THE COMPENSATORY ROLES OF LEADER-MEMBER EXCHANGE AND PERCEIVED ORGANIZATIONAL SUPPORT , 2004 .

[66]  R. Eisenberger,et al.  Perceived organizational support: a review of the literature. , 2002, The Journal of applied psychology.

[67]  Jukka Lipponen,et al.  Perceived procedural justice and employee responses to an organizational merger , 2004 .

[68]  John P. Meyer,et al.  Job satisfaction, organizational commitment, turnover intention, and turnover: Path analyses based on meta-analytic findings. , 2006 .

[69]  Raymond T. Sparrowe,et al.  The role of job security in understanding the relationship between employees' perceptions of temporary workers and employees' performance. , 2005, The Journal of applied psychology.

[70]  Jukka Lipponen,et al.  Relationships between organizational justice, identification with organization and work unit, and group-related outcomes , 2006 .

[71]  Kelly A. Mollica,et al.  The Influence of Eligibility on Employees' Reactions to Voluntary Workforce Reductions , 1998 .

[72]  Robert H. Moorman,et al.  Relationship between organizational justice and organizational citizenship behaviors : do fairness perceptions influence employee citizenship ? , 1991 .

[73]  Alan Brown,et al.  Identities at work , 2007 .

[74]  Lois E. Tetrick,et al.  Social and Economic Exchange: Construct Development and Validation. , 2006 .

[75]  Kyle Lewis,et al.  Integrating Justice and Social Exchange: The Differing Effects of Fair Procedures and Treatment on Work Relationships , 2000 .

[76]  Michael G. Pratt,et al.  To be or not to be: Central questions in organizational identification. , 1998 .

[77]  N. Ashkanasy,et al.  A multilevel model of affect and organizational commitment , 2010 .

[78]  M. D. Dunnette Handbook of Industrial and Organizational Psychology , 2005 .

[79]  D. A. Kenny,et al.  The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. , 1986, Journal of personality and social psychology.