The Relationship between Knowledge Characteristics’ Fit and Job Satisfaction and Job Performance: The Mediating Role of Work Engagement

Jaime Andrés Bayona,Amparo Caballer,José María Peiró

doi:10.3390/su12062336

Jaime Andrés Bayona, Amparo Caballer + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/su12062336

Copy DOI

Abstract

Knowledge workers are highly valued by organizations, but there is a lack of evidence about the role of work engagement in the satisfaction and performance of these workers. Harmonization and Person–Job Fit theory state that workers who have similar characteristics to those present in the context (i.e., give similar importance to the characteristics present in the context) perform better. The aim of this paper is twofold: to test the congruence effect between five knowledge characteristics and their rated influence on job satisfaction and job performance; and test the mediational role of work engagement between the knowledge characteristics’ fit and job performance. Using a time-lagged design, 531 Colombian employees from 20 economic sectors answered questionnaires about work engagement (i.e., UWES-9), knowledge characteristics (i.e., WDQ), importance given to knowledge characteristics, job satisfaction, and job performance. Using polynomial regression, surface response methodology, and ordinary least squares path analyses, we found a congruence effect of the relationship between knowledge characteristics and their levels of importance on job performance in four out of five comparisons (i.e., job complexity, information processing, problem solving, and specialization). In addition, we found that knowledge characteristics’ fit indirectly influenced job satisfaction and performance through its effect on work engagement.

Highlights

The effective management of knowledge workers is crucial for organizational success because these workers are generally responsible for a higher level of productivity in their organizations [1] and key performance indicators [2]
Considering the meta-analytical evidence presented far, we propose that the congruence between knowledge characteristics and their importance would be positively related to work engagement because the notion of fit between the context and the person is the basis of the work engagement concept
We used an observational repeated-measures design with two moments; in the first moment, the job incumbent responded to the knowledge characteristic items and provided demographic information; in the second moment, the job incumbent responded to the criterion variables

Summary

Introduction

The effective management of knowledge workers is crucial for organizational success because these workers are generally responsible for a higher level of productivity in their organizations [1] and key performance indicators [2]. These workers are likely to leave organizations if they find that their competences or interests do not match their jobs. To retain these workers, talent management has moved from external to internal motivation, focusing on training in personal variables such as knowledge, skills, abilities, or values, and redesigning contextual variables such as work characteristics [3]. Our research analyzes the effect of this harmony on job satisfaction and job performance, with work engagement as a mediator

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion