PERSON-ORGANIZATION FIT AND EMPLOYEE TURNOVER INTENTION AMONG UNIVERSITY TEACHERS: THE MEDIATING EFFECT OF ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT

Abstract

This study aims to examine the role of Person-Organization Fit (P-O Fit)
in turnover intention of university teachers and also to evaluate organizational
commitment as a mediator. In this quantitatively designed research, data were
collected through survey instrument adopted from relevant studies by simple
random sampling technique from faculty members of the universities and their
campuses present in rural areas of Sindh, Pakistan. The sample for this study is
210 employees from rural Sindh-Pakistan, and the population represents
universities teaching staff under permanent and non-permanent employment
type. In data analysis through Partial Least Square Structural Equation
Modeling (PLS-SEM) in Smart PLS Version 4, this study revealed that P-O Fit
relates negatively with turnover intention, means higher the P-O Fit of university
teachers less likely they quit their current jobs. Results further indicate that P-O
Fit has direct significant and positive impact on organizational commitment and
organizational commitment has a direct and significant negative impact on
turnover intention. It was also reported in findings that organizational
commitment mediates the relationship between P-O Fit and turnover. This
suggests that the greater P-O Fit causes more commitment of faculty within
higher education institutions and this ultimately reduces job quitting intention of
employees. Moreover, the indirect effect of P-O Fit through organization
commitment is strengthened and further minimizes the turnover intention of the
teaching staff.