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. 2018 Jul 25:11:267-278.
doi: 10.2147/PRBM.S168542. eCollection 2018.

Affective commitment foci as parallel mediators of the relationship between workplace romance and employee job performance: a cross-cultural comparison of the People's Republic of China and Pakistan

Muhammad Aamir Shafique Khan  1 , Du Jianguo  1 , Ahmed Abdul Hameed  2 , Tehseen Ul Mushtaq  2 , Muhammad Usman  2
Affiliations

Affective commitment foci as parallel mediators of the relationship between workplace romance and employee job performance: a cross-cultural comparison of the People's Republic of China and Pakistan

Muhammad Aamir Shafique Khan et al. Psychol Res Behav Manag. .

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of the present study is twofold. First, we examined the relationship between workplace romance and employee job performance and tested the role of affective commitment foci - namely, affective coworker commitment, affective supervisor commitment, and affective organizational commitment - as parallel mediators in the relationship between workplace romance and employee job performance. Second, we tested the moderating role of culture on the interrelationships between workplace romance, affective commitment foci, and employee job performance.

Methods: A two-wave (3-month interval) survey data were collected from 312 paramedics - 162 and 150 from Pakistani and Chinese public-sector hospitals, respectively. The first and second waves of data collection took place in January and May 2017, respectively. Structural equation modeling (SEM), bootstrapping technique, and multigroup analysis were used to test the interrelationships between workplace romance, affective commitment foci, and employee job performance and to examine the cross-cultural differences in these interrelations.

Results: Results obtained using SEM show that workplace romance positively influences employee performance. Importantly, the study revealed that the three foci of affective commitment - namely, coworker affective commitment, supervisor affective commitment, and organizational affective commitment - as parallel mediators fully mediate the relationship between workplace romance and employee performance. Moreover, national culture moderates the indirect relationship between workplace romance and employee job performance, where workplace romance is stronger for the Chinese data sample.

Conclusion: It is concluded that workplace romance is positively related to employee job performance and that affective commitment foci fully mediate the positive relationship between workplace romance and employee job performance. Moreover, culture moderates the indirect relationship between workplace romance and employee job performance. The study contributes to theory and practice by studying an essential but largely ignored aspect of the workplace and portraying it as a constructive influence on employee job performance and their affective commitment to coworkers, supervisor, and organization.

Keywords: Pakistan; People’s Republic of China; affective commitment; cross-cultural comparison; health sector; job performance; paramedical staff; workplace romance.

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Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Structural Model 2 – Mediation model: this model shows the mediation of the relationship between work romance and employee job performance through three foci of affective commitment. Abbreviations: WR, workplace romance; ACC, affective colleague commitment; ASC, affective supervisor commitment; AOC, affective organizational commitment; JP, job performance.
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