Does self-efficacy matter for the affective organizational commitment of remote working employees in Turkey? A moderated mediation case

Abstract

In response to the COVID-19 outbreak, organizations initially adopted remote work practices out of necessity; however, many have since recognized and embraced it as a practical and preferred operational model. With the growing adoption of remote work practices where employees are physically distanced from their organizations and colleagues, the organizational commitment of remote workers becomes increasingly significant for organizations. Recent studies have focused on identifying factors that enhance organizational commitment in remote working environments. This study contributes to the existing literature by identifying the specific role of self-efficacy in shaping affective organizational commitment while also analyzing the mediating effect of servant leadership and the moderating influence of Herzberg's intrinsic motivation within this relationship. An online survey was conducted to collect data from remote employees across various industries in Turkey. The model was analyzed using SPSS 26.0 and Amos 23.0, and Hayes PROCESS Macro was applied to test the hypotheses. A total of 487 remote employees from Turkey participated in the study, evaluating their superior's leadership, work-related self-efficacy, and affective organizational commitment. The findings disclose a positive relationship between self-efficacy and servant leadership and a positive and significant relationship between servant leadership and affective organizational commitment. Moreover, servant leadership partially mediates the association between self-efficacy and affective organizational commitment, and intrinsic motivation significantly moderates the relationship between self-efficacy and servant leadership.