Personality and organizational commitment: the mediating role of job satisfaction during socialization

Purpose: In this study the mediating role of work satisfaction aspects, such as satisfaction with the work itself and satisfaction with human resource practices, on the relationship between the Big Five and organisational commitment was tested. Design/methodology/approach: Data from 190 new Portuguese police officers in a three-wave longitudinal survey were analysed by Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). Findings: Results showed that: satisfaction with human resource practices completely mediated the relationship between openness to experience and normative commitment; satisfaction with the work itself completely mediated the relationship between conscientiousness and normative commitment, but only partially mediated the relationship between extroversion and affective commitment. Research limitation/implication: This study is focused on the police context. Future studies should investigate other contexts for comparison. Practical implications: The predictive effect of personality on both job satisfaction and organisational commitment has some practical utility with regard to selection practices. During the organisational entry process, organisations should monitor different aspects of job satisfaction in order to foster a positive environment for employees. Originality/value: To our knowledge, this is the first study that investigates the process linking personality to job satisfaction and organisational commitment in a longitudinal model during the organisational socialisation process.