Satisfaction of Learning, Performance and Relatedness needs at Work and Employees' Organizational Identification

TLDR: In this paper, the authors collected data from 365 professionals representing diverse work backgrounds and analyzed it using structural equation modelling approach to test if satisfaction of learning, performance, and relatedness needs at workplace could influence employees' identification with the organization.

Abstract: Purpose – In today’s scenario when loyalty can no longer be demanded from employees, the extent of organizational identification (OID) of employees predicts outcomes of organizational interest. It is therefore essential for organizations to foster the sense of oneness in employees. Since, need satisfaction lies at the core of human motivation, the purpose of this paper is to test if satisfaction of learning, performance, and relatedness needs at workplace could influence employees’ identification with the organization. Design/methodology/approach – For this study, the authors collected data from 365 professionals representing diverse work backgrounds and analysed it using structural equation modelling approach. Findings – Results suggest that OID is positively influenced by satisfaction of these three needs and about 45 per cent of its variance is explained by these needs. Originality/value – The study corroborates the relevance of the three needs in organizational context. Although not a part of design o...

Figures

Table 3 Structural Model Tests

Figure 1 Structural Model

Table 2 Descriptive Statistics and Correlations

Table 1 Results of the Model Tests

Full text

IIMK/WPS/166/OBHR/2015/02
SATISFACTION OF LEARNING, PERFORMANCE
AND RELATEDNESS NEEDS AT WORK
AND EMPLOYEES' ORGANIZATIONAL
IDENTIFICATION
Manish Kumar
Hemang Jauhari

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1
SATISFACTION OF LEARNING, PERFORMANCE, AND RELATEDNESS NEEDS
AT WORK AND (03/2<((6¶ORGANIZATIONAL IDENTIFICATION
MANISH KUMAR
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR
ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR AND HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
INDIAN INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT KOZHIKODE
EMAIL ID: colamanish@gmail.com
HEMANG JAUHARI
DOCTORAL STUDENT
ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR AND HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
INDIAN INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT LUCKNOW
EMAIL ID: hemang.jauhari@gmail.com

2
SATISFACTION OF LEARNING, PERFORMANCE, AND RELATEDNESS NEEDS
AT WORK AND (03/2<((6¶ORGANIZATIONAL IDENTIFICATION
ABSTRACT
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organizational identification of employees predicts outcomes of organizational interest. It is
therefore essential for organizations to foster the sense of oneness in employees. Since, need
satisfaction lies at the core of human motivation, our purpose is to test if satisfaction of learning,
performance, and relatedness needs at workplace could LQIOXHQFH HPSOR\HHV¶ LGHQWLILFDWLRQ
with the organization. For this purpose, we collected data from 365 professionals representing
diverse work backgrounds and analysed it using structural equation modelling approach.
Results suggest that organizational identification is positively influenced by satisfaction of
these three needs and about 45% of its variance is explained by these needs. Implications of
these results and limitations are discussed in the paper.

3
INTRODUCTION
Organizational identification (OID) concerns the perception of psychological oneness with an
organization, of which the person is a member (Ashforth & Mael, 1989). It is believed that
identification is a process in which an employee comprehends the signals sent by the
organization and establishes a link with the organization after becoming aware of various
similarities between self and the organization (e.g., 2¶5HLOO\DQG&KDWPDQ Cheney and
Tompkins, 1987). In opinion of Ashforth, Harrison, and Corley (2008), identification with the
organization reflects a fundamental connection that other attachment constructs lack.
In past research, important implications of OID for organizations have been highlighted
(Pratt, 1998; Kreiner & Ashforth, 2004). It has been found that OID is positively associated
with retention, job performance, job satisfaction, organizational citizenship behaviour, and
cooperative behaviour (e.g., Bhattacharya, Rao, and Glynn, 1995; Mael and Ashforth, 1995;
van Knippenberg, 2000; Ashforth, 2001; Kreiner and Ashforth, 2004; van Dick et al., 2006;
Ashforth et al., 2008; Bartels et al., 2010; Kumar and Singh, 2012;
Shen et al., 2014). Due to
its valuable outcomes, OID has become an important research topic. Scholars and practitioners
are increasingly interested in understanding the ways of fostering OID.
Ashforth et al. (2008) advocate the role of needs in fostering OID. In agreement with
Pratt (1998), they state that many of the motivations cited by researchers as reasons for
individuals to identify actually touch on fairly basic human needs for safety, affiliation, and
uncertainty reduction. However, only a handful of empirical investigations on the role of needs
in fostering OID have been done (e.g., Glynn, 1998; Kreiner and Ashforth, 2004; Mayhew,
2007; Wiesenfeld et al., 2001). Our purpose is to contribute in development of a wider
understanding of how satisfaction of various needs can influence OID of employees.
Given that researchers have identified many types of needs and addressing them all in
one study is not possible, our selection of relevant needs was guided by the ERG theory

Frequently asked questions

Q1. What are the contributions in "Satisfaction of learning, performance and relatedness needs at work and employees' organizational identification" ?

For this purpose, the authors collected data from 365 professionals representing diverse work backgrounds and analysed it using structural equation modelling approach. Implications of these results and limitations are discussed in the paper. Results suggest that organizational identification is positively influenced by satisfaction of these three needs and about 45 % of its variance is explained by these needs. 

Q2. What are the future works mentioned in the paper "Satisfaction of learning, performance and relatedness needs at work and employees' organizational identification" ?

Future research needs to consider foci of identification as OID is very likely to give different results than other foci of identification ( for e. g., see Das et al., 2008 ; Oldham et al., 1986 ; Ullrich et al., 2007 ). Thus, the authors suggest that future studies may adopt experimental designs as useful extension of this study. Future studies can consider other needs for building a more comprehensive understanding. Also, in a suitable context, it would be interesting to study the differential effect of existence, growth, and relatedness need satisfaction on OID. 

Q3. What are the main types of needs that can be considered as existence needs?

Needs such as physiological needs (Maslow, 1943), safety needs (Maslow, 1943), predictability and order needs (Hogan and Warremfeltz, 2003), and need for control (Williams, 1997) can be broadly considered as existence needs. 

Q4. What is the importance of treating all individuals equally?

Sensitizing people, especially managers, to treat all individuals equally and provide a discrimination free work environment, is very important for satisfying relatedness needs of individuals. 

Q5. What is the importance of the extraction of status-related cues?

The extraction of status-related cues is central to the identification process (Pratt, 1998).rning is high, one is more likely to focuson the acquisition of knowledge and the perfecting of competence. 

Q6. What are the main types of needs that can be considered as relatedness needs?

Needs such as belongingness needs (Maslow, 1943; Williams, 1997; Vignoles et al., 2006), need for affiliation (McClelland et al., 1953; Atkinson and Raynor, 1974), and need for acceptance and approval (Hogan and Warremfeltz, 2003) can be broadly considered as relatedness needs. 

Q7. What is the reason why the paths from LNS and PNS to OID were insignificant?

The insignificant paths from LNS and PNS to OID despite high correlations amongthem could be attributed to the high covariance between the three need factors. 

Q8. What is the effect of competition for limited resources on OID?

Competition for limited resources could provide a powerful stimulus to forminginterpersonal connections (Baumeister and Leary, 1995). 

Q9. What is the possibility of a second order factor in the model?

As LNS and PNS measures were based on the Goal Orientation Instrument (VandeWalle, 1997) in which these two needs are treated as first order factors of the overall goal orientation construct, the authors checked for the possibility of a second order factor in their model. 

Q10. What is the effect of growth need satisfaction on OID?

In view of the literature wherein goal orientation has been represented by dimensions of learning and performance orientations (Dweck, 1986), when second order factor (growth need satisfaction) of LNS and PNS was specified, the overall effect of growth need satisfaction became salient along with RNS. 

Q11. What were the indicators used to assess fit to the data?

Model fit was assessed using indicators, like overall model chi-10square measure, Non-Normed Fit Index (NNFI), Comparative Fit Index (CFI), Standardized Root Mean Square Residual (SRMR) and Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA) (Hooper, Coughlan, and Mullen, 2008 less than 0.08; CFI greater than 0.95; SRMR less than 0.08; and NNFI greater than 0.95 were taken as acceptable threshold levels (Hooper et al., 2008; Kline, 2005). 

Q12. What are the main types of needs that can be considered as growth needs?

esteem needs (Maslow, 1943; Williams, 1997; Vignoles et al., 2006), need for achievement (McClelland et al., 1953; Atkinson and Raynor, 1974), efficacy needs (Vignoles et al., 2006), and distinctiveness needs (Vignoles et al., 2006) can be broadly considered as growth needs. 

Q13. What are the main characteristics of growth needs?

For this study, among various types of growth needs, the authors considered satisfaction of learning needs and satisfaction of performance needs as representatives of satisfaction of growth needs.