title: A Proposed Model of Individual-Organisation Congruence in a Knowledge-Intensive Context
Creators: name: Southcombe, Amie
Publisher: name: Griffith University
Year: 2009
Subjects: subject: individual-organisation congruence
subject: knowledge-intensive context
subject: self-efficacy
subject: employment
subject: learning style
subject: learning climate
subject: employee attitudes
subject: academics

description: The purpose of this research is to develop a new model of individual-organisation congruence, which incorporates a unique set of constructs that have not been used to operationalise congruence in a knowledge-intensive context. More specifically, this research investigates the relationships between learning style, learning climate congruence, current and preferred learning climate congruence (subjective congruence), perceived congruence and the self-efficacy and affective commitment of employees in a knowledge-intensive context, while taking into consideration various demographic attributes. In addition, this research aims to generate hypotheses for future researchers to examine. Although, various content dimensions have been used to operationalise individual-organisation congruence, learning style and learning climate have not been used to operationalise individual-organisation congruence in a knowledge-intensive context. However, there are distinct implications in the learning style literature with regard to the importance of achieving congruence between learning style and various elements in the learning environment. Furthermore, although individual-organisation congruence has been operationalised in a diverse range of contexts, few researchers have specifically targeted employees in a knowledge-intensive context. Additionally, empirical research on individual-organisation congruence indicates that even in a diverse range of contexts, using various content dimensions, congruence is significantly related to positive employee attitudes, such as job satisfaction, organisational commitment, turnover intentions and job performance. Such positive outcomes are key issues for organisations in a knowledge-intensive context where their competitive advantage lies in the knowledge and skills of their employees. The proposed model, developed from this thesis, used two types of employee attitudes that are particularly relevant in a knowledge-intensive context. First, self-efficacy relates to the confidence and competence to perform a given task. Employee competence is viewed as the most significant dimension in a knowledge-intensive context. Second, affective commitment, the extent to which employees want to remain with the organisation, is also particularly important for organisations operating in a knowledge-intensive context. For example, employees are their most valuable resource, and their replacement can be very costly for the organisation, particularly for those in high levels of employment. Various demographic attributes were also included in the proposed model, as the investigation of demographic attributes is crucial to gaining an understanding of individual differences, as well as the likely high level of demographic diversity that exists amongst employees in a knowledge-intensive context. The paradigm of this research is postpositivism. The strategy of inquiry for this research is quantitative, involving a non-experimental design for the survey research. The research survey investigated the relationships between the six constructs used in the proposed model. A non-probability sample of 900 academics from a large Australian university was selected to represent the population of employees in a knowledge-intensive context. Five major conclusions were found from the study. First, learning styles were related to certain learning climates. Second, the subjective congruence between learning styles and learning climate was related to the self-efficacy and the affective commitment of academics. Third, the subjective congruence between the current and preferred learning climate factor was related to academics' affective commitment. Fourth, perceived congruence was related to the self-efficacy and affective commitment of academics. Finally, certain relationships were discovered between demographic attributes, congruence and employee attitudes. The most convincing results were the relationship between the subjective congruence between learning styles and learning climate, and academic's intention to stay with the university, and the relationship between affective commitment and academics' promotional occurrences. Overall, this study confirmed the importance of understanding the interplay between the individual and the organisation in order to enhance the competence and commitment of employees in a knowledge-intensive context.