Exploring the Content and Factorial Validity of Job Embeddedness Through the Lens of a Multigroup Sample

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The purpose of the present research was to provide additional evidence for the construct validity of Mitchell, Holtom, Lee, Sablynski, and Erez’s Job Embeddedness Questionnaire (JEQ). While most studies have focused on building the nomological network of job embeddedness with organizationally relevant outcomes, scant research has focused attention on the psychometric properties of the JEQ. To this end, this study explores the meta-analytic relationships of the JEQ with job satisfaction and organizational commitment measures to help build additional evidence for the discriminant validity of the job embeddedness construct. Results revealed that the organizational dimensions of links, fit, and sacrifice and job satisfaction measures have differential relationships with perceived desirability and ease of movement variables thereby lending support to the construct validity of the JEQ. In addition, the content and factorial validity of the JEQ was examined using a cross-industry, multioccupational sample from 542 respondents. Results indicated that while the three-factor model for both organizational and community embeddedness had the best fit to the data, other psychometric properties were somewhat questionable. Recommendations were provided to refine the current operationalization of the JEQ and to expand the nomological network of job embeddedness by exploring predictors and outcomes of individual dimensions of organizational embeddedness and community embeddedness.