The effect of individual, group, and shared organizational identification on job satisfaction and collective actual turnover

Abstract

Drawing on the Social Identity Approach principles, we explored the relationship between organizational identification (individual, group, and shared), job satisfaction, and collective actual turnover. We hypothesize that (a) shared identification moderates the within-person relationship between individual organizational identification and job satisfaction, namely, the effect is stronger for groups in which the level of shared organizational identification is higher; (b) group job satisfaction mediates the relationship between group organizational identification and collective actual turnover. This study was conducted in a large Italian firm (N = 1090; sale locations = 91). Data were collected using both surveys (e.g., job satisfaction) and archive data (collective actual turnover). By means of Bayesian Multilevel Structural Equation Models, we supported the moderating role played by shared organizational identification in the relationship between individual organizational identification and job satisfaction, while no evidence was found for the mediational hypothesis. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications for management.