Relationship between Psychological Contract Breach and Affective Commitment among Public University Academicians in Tanzania: The Mediating Role of Job Satisfaction

Abstract

This study examined the effect of two job attitudes – perceived psychological contract breach and job satisfaction on affective commitment as well as whether job satisfaction mediates the relationship between psychological contract breach and affective commitment. A cross-sectional explanatory research design was used involving a sample of 223 academicians drawn from five public universities in Tanzania. Multiple regression analysis techniques were used to examine the effect of psychological contract breach and job satisfaction on academicians’ affective commitment to their respective universities. The mediation role of job satisfaction was tested using Andrew Hayes’ Process Macro 4.0. The results show that the two predictors explained about 62 percent of the variance in affective commitment where psychological contract breach and jobs satisfaction have, respectively, statistically significant negative and positive effects. Job satisfaction, in addition to being the most influential predictor, mediates significantly, but partially, the relationship between psychological contract breach and affective commitment. The study concludes that while psychological contract breach negatively affects the academicians’ affective commitment, part of this effect is indirect through job satisfaction. It, therefore, recommends that honoring psychological contracts is important for cultivating affection and identification of academicians with their universities, and that these outcomes would be enhanced if job satisfaction-enhancing measures are also stepped up.