Antecedents And Consequences Of Organizational Commitment Among Russian University Teachers

The aim of this study is to examine the specific antecedents and consequences of the commitment of university teachers to their university. Academia has specific features that distinguish universities from other types of organizations: universities have the opportunity to hire their own graduates (academic inbreeding); university teachers are able to work in several higher education institutions or combine teaching with work in business; university teachers have the opportunity to combine several professional roles (teaching, administrative work, research, etc.); university teachers have several options to change their job; publication activity is an important indicator of the efficiency and competitiveness of university teachers. This study is an online survey of 317 teachers of different disciplines from several types of state higher education institutions from different regions of Russia. The results of the regression analysis show that antecedents of affective commitment include belonging to a group of insiders (working in university from which they graduated), having an additional administrative position, role clarity, and role conflict. Structural equation modelling shows that an additional administrative position had a direct positive effect and an indirect negative effect (through role conflict) on the affective commitment to the university. Having work experience at another university predicts only a normative commitment to the university. The affective component of commitment to the university was a better negative predictor of the intention to leave the position, profession and institution. No components of the commitment predict publication activity.