Future Time Perspective as a Moderator for the Social Exchange-Affective Commitment Relation

Abstract

This paper examines the role of employees’ future time perspective (FTP) in the association between employees’ social exchange perceptions and affective organizational commitment. Drawing on socioemotional selectivity theory, we hypothesize a main effects of workers’ social exchange perceptions on affective organizational commitment and a moderating effect of future time perspective on this relationship, such that social exchange relates more strongly to affective commitment for workers with limited future time perspective. The results of a multilevel study comprising 240 employees in 44 business units provide support for the hypothesized main effect and interaction between social exchange and future time perspective on affective commitment. We discuss the results, theoretical contributions, and practical implications of the study, as well as future research directions.