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The role of job involvement and The role of job

involvement
career commitment between and career
commitment
person–job fit and organizational
commitment: a study of higher
education sector Received 21 June 2019
Revised 25 November 2019
18 April 2020
Jeevan Jyoti and Poonam Sharma 15 June 2020
26 July 2020
Department of Commerce, University of Jammu, Jammu, India Accepted 24 August 2020
Sumeet Kour
Department of Commerce, Cluster University of Jammu, Jammu, India, and
Harleen Kour
CMA Ontario, Toronto, Canada

Abstract
Purpose – Organizations try to appoint individuals who fit in with their values and goals. Employees who do
not fit in with the organization’s core values and goals prefer not to stay on for a longer period of time. The
present study is an attempt to explore the impact of person–job (P–J) fit on organizational commitment through
job involvement and career commitment with an application of a serial multiple mediation model.
Design/methodology/approach – Data have been collected through a structured questionnaire. The
population comprised the teachers, working in the higher education sector. The different constructs used have
been duly validated with the help of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. Further data reliability and
scale validity have been checked too. In order to test the serial multiple mediation model, the authors adopted a
regression-based approach and bootstrapping method suggested by Hayes (2012; 2013). Accordingly,
PROCESS developed by Hayes (2012) has been used.
Findings – The results revealed that job involvement and career commitment mediate the relationship
between P–J fit and organizational commitment individually as well as together.
Research limitations/implications – The present study is confined to government degree colleges only.
The element of subjectivity might not have been checked completely as teachers have responded on the basis of
their own experience and perceptions regarding the items in the questionnaire. The study is cross sectional in
nature.
Practical implications – The paper addresses the interest of wide spectrum of stakeholders including the
management, organizations and employees. So, the authors have extended general implications, which are for
all those organizations that want to improve person–organization (P–O) fit and commitment of their employees.
These implications will help organizations to take specific initiatives to improve the P–J fit of their employees,
which will subsequently enhance their commitment level.
Originality/value – The findings of the present study will help the stakeholders in the higher education sector
to identify best employees and undertake the initiatives to generate better job involvement and commitment,
which will be a win–win strategy for both (employees as well as the organizations).
Keywords Job involvement, Career commitment, Person–job fit, Organizational commitment
Paper type Research paper

Introduction
Education is the most important sector because it is capable of shaping the future of the
nation and its citizens (Jyoti and Bhau, 2016). This sector is majorly based on teachers’
knowledge, skill, competence, communication ability and teaching experience which in International Journal of
Educational Management
turn produce highly capable personnel as well as enhance the economic growth of the © Emerald Publishing Limited
0951-354X
country (Naz et al., 2012). Though the education sector is viewed in terms of societal DOI 10.1108/IJEM-06-2019-0205
IJEM contributions, it is now being questioned (Pucciarelli and Kaplan, 2016) as teachers
account for the largest cost and human capital in this sector (Sharma and Jyoti, 2006). The
institutions such as universities, colleges and schools have teachers’ turnover problem
(Darougheha et al., 2013). A mismatch between the goals, values and demands of the
teachers and that of the institution can be one of the factors that result in lack of
commitment and higher turnover. Higher education organizations have recognized the
importance of good teachers. Their success is dependent on their capability to attract,
develop and retain talented employees/teachers (Sharma and Jyoti, 2006). For this purpose,
many organizations that use a conventional selection process concerned with work
orientation that requires the knowledge of role behaviour has replaced this process with
the person–environment fit model, that is, hiring and selecting employees with
characteristics and attributes that allow them to fit into their organization (Polyhart
and Schneider, 2002; Werbel and Johnson, 2001). According to the person–environment
theory, individuals search and build environments that permit them to behaviourally
manifest their traits (for instance, dominant individuals seek leadership positions) (Round
and Tracey, 1990). The amount to which individuals fit in in their work environments has
significant outcomes (for instance, performance, productivity, stress, satisfaction,
turnover and organizational commitment). Better fit is related with superior outcomes
(Su et al., 2015). Person–organization (P–O) fit is a give and take and continuing process
whereby individuals form their environments and environments form individuals (Su
et al., 2015). Among the P–O fit theories attraction–selection–attrition is the most
proclaimed framework in organizational context (Su et al., 2015). Individuals are attracted
to those organizations that assist them in achieving their goals. Alike individuals, thus,
will be attracted to alike organizational settings and among them and those who have the
capabilities to aid the organizations will attain their goals and be selected to join. After
entering the organization, people re-examine their fit and those who experience a poor fit
with their work environment are likely to leave the organization (Schneider et al., 1995).
The theory of work adjustment explains an ongoing procedure of interaction (work
adjustment) between employees and their work environment, indicating that workers and
organizations interact and meet each other’s respective requirements. The success of the
work adjustment process is reflected in the employee satisfaction on the one hand (that is,
the degree to which employee can meet job demands) and in his/ her satisfaction from the
work on the other and is likely to impact the employee’s probability of remaining with the
organization (Boon and Biron, 2016).
Kristof-Brown et al. (2005) and Haji (2011) identified five approaches to person–
environment theory which included the individual’s fit with a particular organization (P–
O), job (P–J), vocation (P–V), group (P–G) and supervisor (P–S). This study focuses on the
person–job (P–J) fit because of avocations for its use in personnel selection and its impact on
work commitment, particularly in the education sector. (P–J) fit is the compatibility between
individuals and the job or tasks they perform at work (Kristof-Brown and Stevens, 2001). It
is the balance between the abilities or desires of a person and the job requirements or
attributes of a job. Priyadarshi and Premchandran (2018) had a view that the individuals
who are selected according to the ability of the particular tasks are more likely to feel
comfortable in performing those tasks and are more likely to be involved in their
organization. Earlier researchers have revealed direct impact of P–J factors on work
commitment (Farzaneh et al., 2014; Suifan, 2015; Therasa and Vijayabanu, 2016). A review
of literature on mediating and extraneous variables revealed a lack of research on job
involvement and career commitment as mediators between P–J fit and organizational
commitment (Table 1). Therefore, the present study examines the impact of P–J fit on
organizational commitment through job involvement and career commitment (mediators)
in the higher education sector.
S. Independent
The role of job
No Authors variables Outcome variables Mediators Moderators involvement
and career
1. Huang et al. P–J fit Innovation behaviour Job involvement Career
(2019) commitment commitment
2. Culibrk et al. Work Job satisfaction and Job involvement –
(2018) characteristics, organizational
organizational commitment
policies and
procedures
3. Dari and P–J fit Job involvement Intrinsic –
Permana motivation
(2018)
4. Kundu et al. P–J fit Job involvement – Goal orientation
(2019)
5. Siren et al. P–J fit Psychological career – Self-directed
(2018) mobility career
management
6. Abdallah Job involvement Organizational Job satisfaction –
et al. (2017) commitment
7. Kooij and High performance Affective P–O fit Career stage
Boon (2017) work system commitment
8. Straatmann P–J fit Organizational Organizational –
et al. (2017) commitment identification and
job satisfaction
9. Tsai and Yen P–E fit Affective – National
(2017) commitment identification
10. Chen et al. P–J fit Job satisfaction Job stress Supervisor
(2016) support
11. Hamid and P–J fit Employee retention Work engagement –
Yahya (2016)
12. Leng and P–J fit Intention to stay Organizational Personality
Chin (2016) commitment traits
13. Afsar et al. P–J fit Innovative work Innovation trust –
(2015) behaviour
14. Deniz et al. P–J fit Job stress P–O fit –
(2015)
15. Han et al. P–J fit Contextual Psychological –
(2015) performance ownership
16. Peng and P–J fit Job satisfaction Self-efficacy –
Mao (2015)
17. Aktas (2014) P–J fit Work attitudes (job – Idiocentrism and
satisfaction, turnover allocentrism
intention and
organizational
commitment)
18. Farzaneh P–J fit Organizational Organizational Psychological
et al. (2014) citizenship behaviour commitment empowerment
19. Llyas (2013) P–J fit Job satisfaction and – Organizational
intention to quit commitment
20. Guan et al. P–J fit Work-related – Need for closure
(2010) attitudes (job
satisfaction and Table 1.
turnover intention) Literature review on
21. Behery (2009) P–J fit Affective Psychological – moderation and
commitment contract mediation
IJEM Higher education sector in India
Education is a very essential tool for anyone to be successful in life. Knowledge gained
through our education enables every individual to become more well rounded as a person.
The educational institutions are in the knowledge business since they are involved in
knowledge creation and its dissemination and learning (Khakpour, 2015). The value of
managing knowledge is directly linked to the effectiveness with which the managed
knowledge aids the students to deal with today’s conditions/situations and effectively
visualize and create their future. Knowledge management increases performance, innovation,
competitive advantage, methods to share the lessons learned, integration and continuous
improvement of the organization. Knowledge management help academia to understand its
goals of conserving resources, understanding the knowledge and its possesses, sharing the
knowledge among its community and understanding its internal processes, distributing
the knowledge among its community and understanding its internal processes to increase the
institution’s administrative and scholarly activities,specifically targeting knowledge
production and increased discovery (Khakpour, 2015). It opens several doors to the
opportunities for attaining better prospects in life promoting career growth. Higher education
is an important stage of acquiring education. This stage helps the students to develop self-
confidence, self-dependence and self-respect. India’s higher education system is the world’s
third largest next to China and US and in the future, it will become one of the largest
educational hubs (Sheikh, 2017). In a constantly developing country like India, policy makers
focus on improving the quality of education as education is always linked with the growth of
a nation. India is planning to have at least 1,000 universities and 50,000 colleges by 2020 to
fulfil its ambition of creating a knowledge-based economy (Jyoti and Bhau, 2016). This
motivates various domestic as well as international job seekers to plan a career in the
education sector in India (Jyoti et al., 2015). India has also produced a solid core of knowledge
workers in the area of scientific and technical education but it needs to do more to generate a
large cadre of educated, agile workers who can adapt and apply their knowledge (Verghese
and Joy, 2012). India needs more educated and experienced staff as India’s higher education
sector is working with 50% of the teaching strength instead of what it currently requires
(Jyoti et al., 2015). Furthermore, the Indian higher education sector not only needs
knowledgeable employees but also needs employees who are committed towards their
organization and have the goal and value congruence with the organization they work for
(Janetius et al., 2016). As teachers are the most important stakeholders in the gamut of higher
education, therefore, the education sector needs teachers who are compatible with their job or
task (P–O fit).

Hypotheses development
Person–job fit, job involvement and career commitment
Individuals come to organizations with certain needs, desires, skills, etc. and expect to find
an environment where they can utilize their abilities and satisfy their basic needs (Farzaneh
et al., 2014). P–J fit is the degree of alignment between the individual and the job (Wong and
Tetrick, 2017 cited in Huang et al., 2019). A good match between employees and their job can
produce positive attitudes and behaviour. P–J fit results in higher job involvement as
employees feel highly involved in a job when their work satisfies their salient needs (Bhat
and Rainayee, 2017; Culibrk et al., 2018; Peng and Mao, 2014). The job’s characteristics and
work situation meet the psychological needs of the employees which help them to become
more involved in their job (Huang et al., 2019). Employees who fit with their jobs, own the
skills and knowledge essential to achieve their tasks that leads to acknowledgement and
respect from leaders and self-organizing support and more workplace autonomy.
Therefore, the more the job characteristics and work situation fulfil employees’
psychological needs, the more they identify with and become involved in their work. On the The role of job
same lines Ju et al. (2013) also found that P–J fit is strongly associated with the job involvement
involvement. Employees, who feel that their work has the potential for satisfying their own
needs, are highly involved in and psychologically attached to their jobs (Rahmadani and
and career
Sebayang, 2017; Yen and Ok, 2011). Furthermore, they engage in extrarole behaviour based commitment
on their perceived extent of attachment to their jobs. Psychologically attached employees
stay with the organization because they genuinely feel good while at work. They also
personally identify with their work leading to higher job involvement. Employees, who are
psychologically attached, enhance the organizational productivity and effectiveness
thereby contributing to the competitive advantage (Vance, 2006; Brown, 1996). P–J fit
matches the skills, abilities and individual interests of the employees with the job demands,
which lead to higher job involvement. In the same context, job involvement is conditioned
by the degree to which employees evaluate their actual degree of compatibility with their
own jobs (Kristof, 1996; Saks and Ashfoth, 1997). Employees’ valuation of their actual
degree of “job-match” leads to the increase in or decrease in involvement with their job. A
recent study by Chua, Cheah and Memo et al. (2018) stated that job involvement is enhanced
when individual skills, abilities, needs and desires are in line with those of the organization.
Specifically, accurate assessment of a job and a well-planned recruitment and selection of
employees will lead to their psychological willingness to get involved in their jobs
(Takeuchi and Takeuchi, 2013). Further, employees who fit well with their job demands and
have enough resources to devote to their work lead to an increase in work motivation that
enhances job involvement (Zhao and Han, 2016). Therefore, it can be concluded that P–J fit
positively affects job involvement.
Studies have also revealed that job involvement leads to career commitment (Ahmed,
2019; Duffy et al., 2011; Fu, 2011). Randall and Cote (1991) viewed that two types of
commitment follow a sequential path from job involvement to career commitment.
According to him, an employee may get involved in a job with the rational expectation that
it will lead to successful career outcomes. Job involvement and doing well are central to
one’s career progress (Goulet and Singh, 2002). Congruence between an individual’s
characteristics and the job attract of the individual enhances their staying intentions (Stark,
2007). Further, need-based fit leads to the intention to recommend also (Knapp et al., 2017).
Authors have related various factors to different forms of career commitment (Womack
et al., 2016). Job involvement and career commitment are both dimensions of work
commitment (Morrow, 1993) that follow a sequence that is, job involvement → career
commitment → organizational commitment. Drebing, McCarty and Lombardo (2002)
reported that commitment to career is an associated involvement in the interpersonal
aspect of the work. On the same lines Fu (2011), Duffy et al. (2011) and Ahmed (2019) found
that there are positive relations between job involvement and career commitment. So,
individuals high on job involvement will also be more committed to their careers. Highly
involved employees feel satisfied and have good commitment towards their career and
profession (Agusramadani and Amalia, 2018; Mantler and Murphy, 2005). Job involvement
satisfies salient needs (Culibrk et al., 2018) whereas career commitment transcends job and
helps the person to identify, attach, involve and achieve personal goals as well as career
goals (Zhang et al., 2018). Therefore, being involved in the job is a basis for being committed
towards his/her career.
As per the earlier discussion P–J fit is related with the job satisfaction and how this job
satisfaction leads to long-term career commitment. Higher P–J fit generates higher job
involvement and employees put an extra effort towards their work action thereby enhancing
their career commitment. P–J fit aids an employee to adapt within the organization that helps
to identify individual competencies needed for the job which increase the job involvement and
leads to further commitment towards the career. Employees who perceive the work’s
IJEM potential for satisfying their needs get highly involved in their jobs, and this positive attitude
towards their jobs results in psychological attachment to their jobs and/or organizations
(Rahmadani and Sebayang, 2017; Yen and Ok, 2011).
H1a. P–J fit positively affects job involvement.
H1b. Job involvement positively affects career commitment.
H1c. Job involvement mediates the relationship between P–J fit and career commitment.

Job involvement, career commitment and organizational commitment

As explained in Hypothesis 1, high job involvement leads by higher career commitment
(Ahmed, 2019; Duffy et al., 2011; Fu, 2011). Randall and Cote (1991) claimed that the positive
work experiences enjoyed by highly involved employees can be recognized not only by their
employing organization but are also influential in the pursuit of their preferred career goals.
Career commitment can be conceptualized as the extent to which someone identifies with or
values his/her profession (Yahya and Tan, 2015). Cohen (1999) also found that career
saliencies are affected by job involvement which fosters job challenge and leads to career
identification. Employees, who are highly involved are confident and have psychological
faith in their identity with regards to their job which leads to higher commitment towards
their career (Danish et al., 2015). Highly involved employees actively participate in their jobs
(Womack et al., 2016) and have more positive work experience in terms of their chosen
careers, which increases their career commitment (Coetzee et al., 2014; Hackett et al., 2001).
Further, Lee et al. (2016) revealed that the career-related resources delivered by organizations,
such as career development opportunities and perceived career support, enhance work
engagement whereas work engagement improves career-related outcomes such as career
commitment and career satisfaction. Lee and Eissenstat (2018) revealed that organizations
should nurture the career-related job resources and personal resources for the purpose of
enhancing employee’s work engagement.
Maintaining commitment of employees within their organization is the biggest challenge
(Bibi et al., 2019). Studies have revealed that career commitment positively affects
organizational commitment (Abdullah and Ramay, 2012; Nazish et al., 2013; Odunayo
et al., 2014). Career-related aspects affect employees’ level of organizational commitment.
Their perception about career-related practices affect their psychological attachment to the
current company and thus, enhances their organizational commitment (Abdullah and
Ramay, 2012; Nazish et al., 2014). Career-related factors comprise the amount of promotion,
internal training and employment security (Chang, 1999). If the organization has a promotion
policy within the company, then the employees feel less uncertainty regarding the future of
their career in the company and become more motivated to commit themselves to the
organization (Chang, 1999). Morrow (1993) also found that career commitment is related to
continuance commitment first and then affective commitment. According to Vandenberg and
Scarpello (1994), career commitment and organizational commitment have a causal priority
relationship, which means that career commitment is an antecedent of organizational
commitment. A high level of employee engagement reproduces a greater trust and loyal
relationship between the individual and the organization which builds up a higher degree of
commitment among the employee towards their organization (Biswas and Bhatnagar, 2013).
Career commitment provides motivational power to employees to work in a chosen career role
(Herachwati and Rachma, 2018) which helps to identify with the organization. Therefore,
employees, who have higher career commitment also, have higher commitment towards the
organization.
 On the basis of earlier discussion, it can be concluded that high job involvement leads to The role of job
higher commitment towards career which in turn generates higher organizational involvement
commitment. Highly involved employees have high career commitment that makes
employees psychologically more attached to the organization. Employees, who are highly
and career
involved in their jobs have positive attitude towards the job that further enhances their commitment
commitment level towards the organization. Hence, it can be concluded that career
commitment mediates the job involvement and organizational commitment relationship.
H2a. Job involvement positively affects career commitment.
H2b. Career commitment positively influences organizational commitment.
H2c. Career commitment mediates the relationship between job involvement and
organizational commitment.

Person–job fit, job involvement, career commitment and organizational commitment

The earlier hypotheses hinted that there is a sequence of relationships from P–J fit to job
involvement; job involvement to career commitment and career commitment to
organizational commitment. The amalgamation of two theories results in logical sequence
of variables discussed in 1st and 2nd hypothesis. Earlier researchers have also hinted that P–J
fit indirectly affects organizational commitment through various mediating variables such as
job involvement, job satisfaction, etc. (Abdallah et al., 2017; Culibr et al., 2018). Ju et al. (2013)
found that P–J fit is strongly related with the job involvement. Employees who perceive that
their work satisfies their needs are highly involved in and are psychologically attached to
their jobs (Rahmadani and Sebayang, 2017; Yen and Ok, 2011). Further, Fu (2011), Duffy et al.
(2011) and Ahmed (2019) found that there is a positive relation between job involvement and
career commitment as individuals high on job involvement will also be more committed to
their careers. In addition to this Abdullah and Ramay (2012), Nazish et al. (2013) and Odunayo
et al. (2014) found that there is a positive relationship between career commitment and
organizational commitment as employees’ perception of career-related practices influence
their psychological attachment to the current company and thus increases their
organizational commitment (AlDhaheri et al., 2017; Aboobaker et al., 2019). Therefore, it
has been hypothesized that P–J fit indirectly affects organizational commitment through job
involvement and career commitment (Figure 1).
H3. Job involvement and career commitment together mediate the relationship between
P–J fit and organizational commitment.

Control Variables
- Gender
- Age
- Association with HOD
as colleague
- Association with HOD
as subordinate

Organizational
Personal-job-fit Job involvement Career commitment Figure 1.
commitment
Theoretical framework
IJEM Methodology
The research is empirical and evaluative in nature. In order to achieve the study objectives,
the following steps have been taken.

Data collection
The data have been obtained from the Head of the Department and teachers working in
Government Degree Colleges in Jammu (North India) affiliated with University of Jammu
through a structured questionnaire. All the colleges run undergraduate courses that have six
semesters. In all the colleges, three semesters, that is, 1st, 3rd and 5th semesters were going on
and all the teachers currently employed, teach in every semester (namely 1st, 3rd and 5th)
simultaneously. The census method has been used to collect the data where 438 teachers have
been contacted out of which 330 teachers reverted (response rate 5 75%; details mentioned in
Table 8). Only the teachers who have the experience of more than one year and above have
been contacted in order to study their fit with the job. To establish the normality of the data,
outliers have been detected with the help of boxplot (Hair et al., 2010) which resulted in
deletion of 18 respondents. The remaining data exhibited normal distribution (Skewness 5
0.440 and Kurtosis 5 0.148). Therefore, effective sample size came to 312.
The sample included 59% females and 41% male. Approximately 44% respondents are in
the age group of 31–40 years. About 43% respondents have experience of 5–10 years and
majority of the respondents have a Master’s of Philosophy degree.

Measures
The five-point Likert scale ranging from “strongly agree” (5) to “strongly disagree” (1) has
been used for data collection. The scale items have been framed from the following literature:
Person–job fit: A total of 11 items (Kristof, 1996) have been used to measure the P–J fit. The
sample items include, “I am the right type of person for this job” and “The job gives me right
recognition” (Cronbach’s alpha 5 0.795).
Job involvement: Job involvement has been measured through nine items (Kanungo, 1982).
The sample item includes, “I am involved in my job” and “My job is very important for my
existence” (Cronbach’s alpha 5 0.742).
Career commitment: A total of 12 items (Carson and Bedian, 1994) have been used to
measure the career commitment. The sample items include, “I identify myself with this
career” and “I have duly planned my career” (Cronbach’s alpha 5 0.747).
Organizational commitment: To measure the organizational commitment, 22 items (Allen
and Meyer, 1991) have been used. The sample item includes, “I feel happy to spend my career
with this organization” and “I am emotionally attached with my organization” (Cronbach’s
alpha 5 0.742).
Control variables: Gender, age and association with Head of Department as a colleague and
association with the Head of Department as a subordinate can affect the relation between P–J
fit and their organizational commitment. Hence, these were considered control variables for
the study.

Results
To check the validity and reliability of the constructs, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) has
been conducted in which all the measurement items have been loaded on their respective
construct (Hair et al., 2010). All measurement models yielded good fit (Table 3). The threshold
of fit indices like goodness of fit index (GFI), comparative fit index (CFI) and adjusted
goodness of fit index (AGFI) should be greater than 0.90 and for root mean square error of
approximation (RMSEA) and root mean square residual (RMR), the values should be less
than 0.80 and 0.50, respectively, as suggested by Hair et al. (2010). The standardized The role of job
regression weights (SRW) are also significant (p < 0.05) except that of the organizational involvement
commitment (Table 2). The normative commitment dimension of organizational commitment
did not confirm in the CFA as SRW values are less than 0.50. Standardized regression weights
and career
(greater than 0.50) and average variance explained (greater than 0.60) established the commitment
convergent validity (Table 2). The reliability of the constructs has been checked through
composite reliability (>0.70) and Cronbach’s alpha (>0.70) (Hair et al., 2010). Composite
reliability and Cronbach’s alpha value for all constructs that are above 0.70 (Table 2) indicate
that the scales are quite reliable. In order to check the discriminant reliability, AVE values
have been compared with the squared correlation values among different scales (Fornell and
Larcker, 1981). The AVE values of all the scales are greater than the squared correlation
values thereby establishing the discriminant validity (Table 4).

Hypothesis testing
Present research contains two mediators in the conceptual framework, namely, job
involvement and career commitment in between personal job fit and organizational
commitment. We checked the mediation effect first separately and then placed both the
mediators in the equation.

Constructs Mean SD SRW AVE CR Cronbach’s alpha

P–J fit 3.85 0.68 0.540 0.908 0.795

1. Demand–ability fit 4.11 0.60 0.511
2. Need–supply fit 3.59 0.90 0.620
Job involvement 3.85 3.85 0.523 0.974 0.742
Career commitment 3.95 0.60 0.585 0.964 0.747
1. Career identity 3.98 0.69 0.688
2. Career planning 3.91 0.70 0.829
Organizational commitment 3.68 0.60 0.612 0.962 0.742 Table 2.
1. Affective commitment 3.80 0.68 0.749 Reliability and validity
2. Continuous commitment 3.55 0.74 0.814 analysis

Constructs χ 2/df RMR GFI AGFI NFI CFI RMSEA

P–J fit 1.570 0.029 0.987 0.965 0.976 0.991 0.043

Job involvement 2.270 0.016 0.993 0.963 0.986 0.990 0.064 Table 3.
Career commitment 2.356 0.024 0.980 0.948 0.964 0.979 0.066 Model summary
Organizational commitment 1.137 0.026 0.990 0.974 0.977 0.0997 0.021 of CFA

Job Career Organizational

Constructs P–J fit involvement commitment commitment

P–J fit 0.540

Job involvement (0.140) 0.374** 0.523
Career commitment (0.207) 0.455** (0.193) 0.439** 0.585 Table 4.
Organizational (0.166) 0.408** (0.199) 0.446** (0.235) 0.485** 0.612 Correlation analysis
commitment discriminant validity
IJEM Preacher and Hayes’ (2008) methodology has been followed to test the separate mediation
effect. They recommended that mediation effect exists if the indirect effect is significant. In
line with this, Zhao et al. (2010) stated that in addition to significant indirect effect, mediation
effect also exists when bias corrected confidence interval contains no zero value. Therefore,
we estimated the mediation effect in Hayes (2012, 2013) PROSSESS SPSS version 20. In this,
we used model 4 to check simple mediation that is, one mediator at single point of time. The
results are as follows:
Job involvement has been hypothesized as the mediator between P–J fit and career
commitment. The result revealed that path from P–J fit to job involvement is significant
(βa 5 0.372 p < 0.001) and path from job involvement to career commitment is also significant
(βb 5 0.235, p < 0.001, Figure 2). Further, indirect effect is also significant and bias corrected
confidence interval for upper bound and lower bound is above zero which is shown in Table 5.
Therefore, the first hypothesis is accepted.
Further, career commitment has been hypothesized as the mediating variable between job
involvement and organizational commitment. The results revealed that the path from
predictor to mediator is significant that is, from job involvement to career commitment
(β 5 0.385, p < 0.001). Also, career commitment that is, mediator, significantly affects the
outcome variable, namely, organizational commitment (β 5 0.209, p < 0.001, Figure 3). The
indirect effect of this model is significant (Table 6). Thus, 95% of confidence interval with
upper bound and lower bound within the prescribed limit indicated that career commitment
mediates the relationship between job involvement and organizational commitment (Table 6).
In order to test the serial multiple mediation model, we again adopted a regression-based
approach and bootstrap method suggested by Hayes (2012, 2013).
Accordingly, PROCESS developed by Hayes (2012) has been used. In this PROCESS for
testing serial mediation, we used model 6 and the results are presented in Figure 4. This figure
shows that job involvement and career commitment act as mediating variables between P–J
fit and organizational commitment.
The direct effect (that is, without entering the mediating variables) of P–J fit on
organizational commitment is significant (c 5 0.298, SE 5 0.039, t 5 7.63, p < 0.001). The
direct effects of P–J fit on job involvement (βa1 5 0.372, SE 5 0.044, t 5 6.12, p < 0.001) and

R 2 = 0.185

JI

0.372*** 0.235***
R 2 = 0.330

Figure 2.
Mediating effect of job
involvement between C' = 0.308*** CC
P-J Fit
person–job fit and
C = 0.400***
career commitment
Key: P-J Fit = person-job fit, JI = job involvement, CC = career commitment

Effect β-values SE LLCI ULCI

Table 5. Total effect (c) 0.395*** 0.036 0.322 0.468

Mediating effect of job Direct effect (c’) 0.308*** 0.039 0.231 0.385
involvement Indirect effect 0.123*** 0.022 0.048 0.134
career commitment (βa2 5 0.308, SE 5 0.039, t 5 7.87, p < 0.001) are significant (Step 1). The The role of job
direct effect of first mediator (job involvement) to the second mediating variable (career involvement
commitment) is also significant (βa3 5 0.234, SE 5 0.044, t 5 5.24, p < 0.001, step 2). In the
third step, the direct effect of job involvement (βb1 5 0.367, SE 5 0.045, t 5 8.12, p < 0.001) and
and career
career commitment (b2 5 0.154, SE 5 0.055, t 5 2.809, p < 0.01) on organizational commitment
commitment are significant (Figure 4). Lastly, in the fourth step all the variables are added
into one single equation (Step 4), the relationship between P–J fit and organizational
commitment revealed low standardized beta value as compared to the direct effect without
mediating variables (c 5 0.101, SE 5 0.041, t 5 2.43, p < 0.05). Based on this result, we can
conclude that job involvement and career commitment mediate the relationship between P–J
fit and organizational commitment. Further, the overall model is also significant (F 5 56.99,
p < 0.001) and explained 59% of the total variance in organizational commitment.
Further, Table 7 shows total indirect effects and specific indirect effects of P–J fit on
organizational commitment through job involvement and career commitment. We evaluated

R 2 = 0.195

CC

0.385*** 0.209***
R2 = 0.308

Figure 3.
Mediating effect of
C' = 0.395*** OC career commitment on
JI
job involvement and
C = 0.476***
organizational
Key: JI = job involvement, CC = career commitment, OC = organizational commitment commitment

Effect β-values SE LLCI ULCI

Total effect (c) 0.476*** 0.040 0.396 0.555 Table 6.

Direct effect (c’) 0.395*** 0.044 0.308 0.482 Mediating effect of
Indirect effect 0.080** 0.024 0.036 0.130 career commitment

βa3 = 0.234***
JI CC
βb2 = 0.154***

βa1 = 0.372***

βa2 = 0.308*** βb1 = 0.367***

R 2 = 0.59

C = 0.299***
P-J Fit C' = 0.101*
OC
Figure 4.
Serial multiple
Key: P-J Fit = person-job fit, JI = job involvement, CC = career commitment, mediation
OC = organizational commitment, *p < 0.05, ***p < 0.001
IJEM Bootstrapping 95%
BCa confidence
Product of coefficient interval
Point Standard Lower Upper
Effects estimate error limit limit

Specific indirect effect

P–J fit → job involvement → organizational 0.1367 0.0226 0.0988 0.1894
commitment
P–J fit → career commitment → organizational 0.0476 0.0205 0.0075 0.0893
commitment
P–J fit → job involvement → career 0.0135 0.0072 0.0019 0.0310
Table 7. commitment → organizational commitment
Bootstrapped results of Total indirect effect 0.1978 0.0320 0.1366 0.2611
mediation Note(s): N 5 312, bootstrap 5 5,000

No. of teachers Total Response

Degree colleges contacted response rate

Government College for Women Parade 60 43 71.6

Government College for Women, Gandhi Nagar 45 35 77.8
Shri Pratap Memorial Rajputana College (SPMR) of 40 30 75
Commerce
B. Ed College of Education 45 36 80
Government Degree College, Paloura 35 31 88.5
Mualana Azad Memorial (MAM), Degree College 50 27 54
Government Gandhi Memorial (GGM), Science 35 27 77.1
College
Government Degree College, Bishnah 32 19 59.4
Table 8. Government Degree College, RS Pura 36 33 91.6
List of colleges and Government Degree College, Akhnoor 40 33 82.5
number of teachers Government Degree College, Khour 20 16 80
contacted Total 438 330 75.34

the statistical significance of the indirect effects with 5,000 bootstrap samples at 95%
confidence interval and with bias corrected and accelerated (BCa CI) results. The result shows
that the total indirect effect of P–J fit through job involvement and career commitment on
organizational commitment is statistically significant as the point estimate 5 0.1978 and 95%
CI 5 0.1366, 0.2611. In addition to this, specific indirect effect is also significant, as shown in
Table 5. These significant values show that job involvement and career commitment act as
mediators between P–J fit and organizational commitment.

Discussion
Present research has examined the individual mediation relationships as well as serial
mediation relationship between P–J fit and organizational commitment.
Firstly, the results revealed that job-involvement mediates the relationship between P–J
fit and career commitment. If a person is compatible with his job, he develops a
psychological identification and commitment with it which ultimately affect his motivation
and effort towards an urge for career growth in the same organization. The individuals,
who find a good match between their knowledge, skills and ability and the demands of the
job they are committed towards the organization and like to work for the benefit of the
organization. Moreover, the higher education sector in Northern India is offering a lucrative The role of job
salary package and promotion policy to their employees keeping in view the level of involvement
difficulty and job demand, so the employees do not like to leave the organization. Thus,
when a specific job fulfils the demands and desires of a person, he/she starts planning a
and career
series of related jobs in a specific field of work as a result of his/her job involvement. commitment
Therefore, the higher the P–J fit level; higher is the job involvement which is in line with the
earlier studies (Huang et al., 2019; Zhao and Han, 2016). Job involvement influences career
commitment directly and strongly because it boosts the person’s ability to accept any job
challenges. Teachers, who perceive that their abilities fit the demand of the job, are more
involved in the job which in turn increases their commitment towards their career. Hence,
when a job gives right recognition to the employees their interest is always centered on the
job that is, they are always involved in their jobs which ultimately leads to increased level of
career commitment.
Further, it has been proved that career commitment mediates the relationship
between job involvement and organizational commitment. This chain of relationships
reconfirms the work commitment theory, wherein career commitment acts as mediator
between job involvement and organizational commitment (Cohen, 1999). Employees,
who are highly involved in their jobs are more committed to their organizations
(Abdallah et al., 2017; Rahati et al., 2015) if their organization satisfies their career need.
When the employees are committed towards their career, they get attached to their
organization, which increases their overall organizational commitment. Therefore,
there is an indirect relation between job involvement and organizational commitment
through career commitment. When employees identify with their job, they have a clear
vision about their career, which in turn enhances their commitment towards the
organization. Employees who are attached to their job prefer to remain in the same
organization even in an adverse situation that increases their loyalty towards the
organization. Involved employees identify their personal goals with the career thereby
increasing the strong sense of belongingness towards their organization. Therefore, the
employees, who are involved in their job, are committed towards their career and have
high commitment towards their organization also.
Lastly, present research revealed that P–J fit is significantly related to organizational
commitment through a series of mediating variables, namely job involvement and career
commitment. Employees, who find their job compatible with their desires, perform the job
with great enthusiasm and involvement (Rahmadani and Sebayang, 2017; Zhao and Han,
2016). Job involvement significantly affects career commitment which is in line with the
earlier studies (Ahmed, 2019; Carmeli et al., 2007; Srikanth and Israel, 2012). Employees
with high levels of job involvement identify with and care about their career (Goulet and
Singh, 2002; Lee et al., 2016). Consequently, employees with high levels of both attitudes
(job involvement and career commitment) are the most behaviourally motivated because
they are both attracted to their job and their career equally. Individuals with a strong
degree of career commitment show higher levels of expectations and requirements from
the organization, which in turn positively influences their organizational commitment
(Ahmed, 2019; Chang, 1999; Olufemi et al., 2013). Therefore, above discussion reveals that
P–O fit helps to involve and engage employee with their job. Engaged employees are better
committed towards their career, which in turn helps to generate higher level of
organizational commitment. So, P–J fit effects organizational commitment directly as well
as indirectly through job involvement and career commitment.

General implications
The paper addresses the interest of wide spectrum of stakeholders including the
management, organizations and employees. So, we have extended general implications,
IJEM which are for all those organizations that want to improve P–O fit and commitment of their
employees. These implications will help organizations to take specific initiatives to
improve the P–J fit of their employees, which will subsequently enhance their commitment
level. Given the deep concerns regarding P–J fit as well as an increase in attention towards
organizational commitment, our theoretical model can serve as a practical means to the
organizations that are seeking to recruit best human resources. The results of the current
study suggest that in order to have committed employees, managers should consider the fit
between employees and the job under consideration. So, it is recommended that the
management should adopt an effective selection process to find out the right people for the
job by matching individuals characteristics (ability, experience, training, etc.) with the
requirement of the job. The selection procedure should include various tests such as
computer administered test, personality test, interest test, performance test, physical
ability test, computer-based test interpretation, estimates of advancement potential, etc. to
assess the individual’s characteristics. Further, the selection procedure/test adopted must
have predictive validity to make sure that the selected employees are capable of
performing given tasks. But in some cases where it is not possible to strictly implement the
selection procedure, training and development on the job can improve P–J fit. So, an
organization should impart training to their employees that increases their skill and
knowledge and helps an organization to achieve P–J fit. Further, it is recommended that the
management should conduct performance appraisal and recognition should be used to
improve P–J fit. To strengthen the P–J fit, performance appraisal should focus on the
employee’s value and goal congruence and should ensure that employee’s goals are in line
with the organizational goals.
Job involvement is required for active participation of employees in terms of task
completion and fulfilment of organizational goals. For better job involvement at all levels,
managers should design jobs and develop higher locus of control and work ethic among
employees to foster healthy psychological climate, which motivates employees to attain
higher level goals (as (recommended by Varshney, 2020) . Besides fostering employees’
engagement at work, managers must carefully design rewards and recognition policies that
can influence the involvement behaviour to a great extent. Managers must thank their
employees for their involvement in work projects, recognize employees’ novel ideas,
highlight the time invested in a team project and appreciate their patience for pursuing
difficult tasks (as recommended by Montani et al., 2020). Further, management should
invest in designing open office, establishing cross-functional and self-managed teams for
novel ideas. Such initiatives establish a climate of togetherness and involvement. Team
work develops interpersonal relationships as well as a sense of involvement and
satisfaction on the job.
Management should consider and care about the career growth of the employees when
planning for their training programmes. Management should also explore various options for
structuring career paths within the organizational structure to secure career commitment of
the employees. It should also allow the employees to plan (through self-developed initiatives)
their career path to step up their career ladder where they can perform a hierarchy of jobs
consisting of a series of more complex duties and responsibilities within a general
occupational area. An organization should create shared experiences among employees, as it
reinforces a feeling of belonging and fitting in. Some of the effective activities are personal
meetings as well as company-wide events. Organizations should encourage employees to
take risk and in case of failure they should openly discuss their mistakes and learn from them.
This encourages innovative thinking and keeps the work passion alive. The results of this
research demonstrate that job involvement is a potent weapon to increase career commitment
and ultimately organizational commitment. The employees feel engaged when the
organization operates transparently and keeps its employees abreast of what’s happening
in the business. As much as possible, let the employees know the company’s financial The role of job
situation, the new contracts and deals of their organization and how their work contributes to involvement
the success of the business. Further, it is recommended that organizations should pay more
attention to their employees’ career planning and development, which is consistent with
and career
employees’ current positions. In addition, an organization should also look into the commitment
employees’ career commitment level. Employees with low career commitment should be
imparted vocational training or consultation with career planners should be arranged for
better career guidance. It will improve employees’ career orientation and focus towards the
profession.

Implications for the higher education sector

The present paper also has specific implications for the education sector. In order to maintain
and enhance the level of job involvement of the teachers, the selection process is critical not
only to emphasize on the ability of the candidates but also the congruence of their values and
the values of the educational institutes. It is recommended that the higher education institutes
should conduct a detailed and continuous survey of P–J fit to maintain the level of
involvement.
Further, it is highly recommended to recruit the potential individuals, who match with the
educational institutes’ values and needs through P–O fit test, interview or other forms of
selection.
In addition, it is recommended that the institutes should focus on enhancing the positive
leader member exchange. For this, valuable suggestions offered by teachers should be
encouraged and appreciated by the Head of the Department (HOD). The HOD must agree with
the valid opinions of the teachers as it will make them feel confident and valued as
recommended by Jyoti and Bhau (2016).
Informal get-togethers and fun at workplace activities should be arranged in the college,
where teachers feel relaxed and share their views. This will help to bring the teachers closer to
the HOD as well as to their job.
Job involvement and continuance commitment are prerequisites of academicians’ work
performance. Higher education institutions should strive to improve job involvement and
commitment level of its teachers to develop their knowledge sharing behaviour for achieving
organizational goals (also recommended by Bibi and Ali, 2017). The management of higher
education institutions should provide organizational support in terms of permission for
attending orientation programs, workshops and conferences, etc. There should be provision
of flexitime and job autonomy to promote organizational commitment.
There should be an arrangement of refresher courses, orientation programmes,
workshops, seminars and conferences from time to time helps teachers to improve their
teaching skills (as recommended by Jyoti et al., 2015). The teachers will feel motivated and
encouraged to attend these programmes in other education institutes. It will result in higher
job involvement and improved P–J fit. Further Bashir and Gani (2019) recommended that
higher education institutions in India should invest on designing proactive practices for
better organizational commitment of the teachers. On these lines, we suggest that the focus
should be on developing better P–J fit (by developing a scientific selection process, which is
predictive in nature), job involvement (through teachers’ participation in management) and
career commitment (by supporting teachers in their developmental activities), which will
ultimately enhance the organizational commitment level of the teachers.

Economic implications
The present study also has certain economic implications. The P–J fit scale can be used as a
selection tool for selecting the employees. This will enable the organization to easily find
IJEM those employees who are best fit for the job. This will reduce the recruitment fails and
unnecessary cost incurred by selecting wrong employees for the organization. Further, P–J fit
improves the working conditions for the employees that reduce the employee’s turnover,
enhance performance level and ultimately lead to increased profitability. Therefore, an
organization should uncover the innate strengths of the employees, so that they can delegate
tasks and responsibilities that are aligned with their talents. This psychometric test should be
conducted to reveal personality traits in order to discover the employee’s true potential.
Further, committed employees are the assets of the organization. They are the wheels of the
business which move the business towards profitability and success. Organizations should
create positive work culture where employees feel motivated and encouraged to share new
ideas and facilitate communication with the management without having the fear of being
misunderstood. They should also encourage employees to find a personal fit with the
organization’s culture.

Limitations and future research

All possible efforts have been made to maintain objectivity, validity and reliability of the
study, yet certain limitations need to be kept in mind whenever its findings are considered for
implementation or future research. The present study is confined to government degree
colleges only. In the future, the same relationships can be studied in other industrial sectors
for generalizability. The element of subjectivity might not have been checked completely as
teachers have responded on the basis of their own experience and perceptions regarding the
items in the questionnaire. The study’s data have been taken at a specific point of time, that is
cross sectional in nature. For future research, repeated observations of the same variable over
a long period of time have been conducted. More outcomes can be taken into account, for
instance, job satisfaction, career satisfaction, work ethics, job performance, etc. for better
understanding of the concept. The present study has been conducted using P–J fit. Therefore,
future research can be taken up by using other types of fit like person–group fit and person–
person fit.

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Further reading
Lu, C., Wang, H., Lu, J., Du, D. and Bakker, A.B. (2014), “Does work engagement increase person–job
fit? The role of job crafting and job insecurity”, Journal of Vocational Behavior, Vol. 84 No. 2,
pp. 142-152.

Corresponding author
Jeevan Jyoti can be contacted at: jyotigupta64@rediffmail.com

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