What Is Your Why? A Quantitative Study of the Relationship Between Conscientiousness and Affective Commitment in Higher Education
Open AccessEmployee turnover is a significant cost in higher education institutions and involves potential disruptions in teaching and research programs, student advising, morale, and hiring costs to replace faculty and staff (Monks, 2012; Nagowski, 2006). In 2008, institutional costs of high turnover were estimated at $68 million (Figueroa, 2015). Turnover rates in higher education institutions have consistently risen over the years, from 14.8% in 2014 to 18.5% in 2018 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2019).This study is the first to explore the relationship between employees’ conscientiousness facets—organization, productiveness, and responsibility —and their affective commitment to their organization when moderating for perceived organizational support. Much of the research on affective commitment has taken place in hospitals, businesses, and the banking industry, with few studies conducted in the context of educational institutions (Izzati et al., 2015). To test six hypotheses, an online survey was distributed to 742 full-time employees within a large urban university based on the East Coast. Responses were analyzed using hierarchical multiple regression. Contrary to hypotheses, conscientiousness facets did not have a statistically significant relationship with affective commitment and perceived organizational support did not significantly moderate the relationship between conscientiousness facets and affective commitment. These results do not align with prior literature, suggesting additional research is needed to understand the relationship facets and perceived organizational support have with affective commitment.
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