How Organizational Identification Affects Employees’ Well-Being and Performance

My dissertation examines organizational identification from two neglected perspectives: (1) as a dynamic state-like phenomenon with daily fluctuations that affects employees’ well-being and performance, and (2) through its dual-pathway mechanisms on employees’ well-being over time. While previous research has treated organizational identification as stable and predominantly positive, this dissertation challenges both assumptions.
Study 1 utilized a 10-day diary design with two daily measurement points (during and right after work) to examine fluctuations in two levels of organizational identification (organization and team) and their effects. Using multilevel structural equation modeling, data (N = 161, n = 882 workdays) revealed daily fluctuations in both levels of organizational identification. These predicted employees’ well-being (reduced emotional exhaustion, increased work engagement, increased job satisfaction) and performance (increased in-role performance, increased extra-role performance, reduced turnover intention), which were mediated strongly through global psychological need satisfaction and, to a lesser extent, through perceived social support.
Study 2 investigated longer-term mechanisms through which organizational identification affects employees’ well-being, collecting data at three measurement points with 6-week retest intervals (N = 642 at T1; N = 561 at T2; N = 469 at T3). Results showed that perceived social support is a robust mediator at the between-person level, positively affecting employees’ well-being (reduced emotional exhaustion, increased work engagement, increased job satisfaction). The study simultaneously revealed stronger organizational identification associated with increased emotional exhaustion mediated by reduced detachment from work
during leisure time (weak but statistically significant relationship), as employees who identify more strongly with their organization tend to continue thinking about work-related matters even outside of work (but no meaningful association with job satisfaction; no effect on work engagement). However, the positive effects of perceived social support outweighed these negative effects.
These findings contribute to a more nuanced understanding of organizational identification as a dynamic, daily fluctuating phenomenon with dual-pathway mechanisms, necessitating multilevel research designs across varied time scales to draw meaningful theoretical and practical conclusions.