The moderating role of affective commitment on the influence of job satisfaction on intent to stay: Variations across categorical variables

Background Organizations in the iron and steel sector, face a challenge in retaining employees. However, given their nature of operations, these organizations need to focus on the role of affective commitment. Objectives The study proposes to address two objectives: (a) investigate the influence of affective commitment on the relationship between job satisfaction and intent to stay; and (b) to examine whether the moderating role of affective commitment varies across position of the firm in the product value chain and senior management involvement in operational affairs. Methods The study uses a quantitative, survey based approach and is based on primary self-reported data. SPSS has been used to calculate the descriptive, AMOS has been used to analyses the measurement model and Process Macro (model 3) has been used to analyses the moderated moderation effect. Results The study confirmed a statistically significant association of job satisfaction with intent to stay. Additionally, the moderating influence of affective commitment also stands confirmed statistically. However, the moderating role of affective commitment does not statistically vary across position of the firm in the product value chain and senior management involvement in operational affairs. Conclusion Organizations need to pay attention to strengthen mechanisms to enhance affective commitment of its employees. HR systems and practices need to be aligned in order to enhance the impact of job satisfaction on intent to stay.