Strategic training practices, effective organizational commitment, and turnover intention: the mediating role of psychological contract

Abstract

This paper aims at determining the relationships among psychological contracts, affective organizational commitment, and three dimensions of personal needs assessment in strategic training (that is, motivation to learn, perceived support, and training attitudes). The study sample comprised 301 employees from universities of medical sciences in Iran. Multiple and simple linear regression and path analysis were used to test the direct and mediated relationships among the variables. The survey results further demonstrated that psychological contract is a partial mediator between strategic training practices and effective organizational commitment. This study highlights the importance of strategic need assessment in order to foster affective organizational commitment. These findings have important practical and theoretical implications. Firstly, managers will not be able to foster effective commitment through human resource practices unless they recognize and appreciate which needs are valued by employees. Secondly, the results provide evidence in favor of managerial interventions aimed at enhancing affective organizational commitment and, consequently, minimizing the negative effects of an actual turnover in the universities of medical sciences in Iran.