Academic self-efficacy and organisational commitment among academics in mainland China: the mediating role of job crafting

Abstract

This study aimed to examine the mediating role of job crafting in the relationship between self-efficacy in teaching and research (termed ‘academic self-efficacy’) and organisational commitment among academics. Three hundred and thirty-two academics from nine higher educational institutions in Zhejiang Province and Shanghai, mainland China, participated in this study through responding to three self-report inventories: the Research-Teaching Efficacy Inventory, the Job Crafting Inventory, and the Organisational Commitment Inventory. Results suggested that academic self-efficacy predicted organisational commitment both directly and indirectly through job crafting (especially increasing structural and social job resources) after controlling for age, gender, academic rank, and academic disciplines taught. The findings enrich the literature on self-efficacy, job crafting, and organisational commitment. Furthermore, this study has practical implications for academics and university senior managers in their respective efforts to develop academics’ adaptive organisational commitment and enhance the quality of university teaching and research.