The relationship between objective overqualification, perceived overqualification and job satisfaction: employment opportunity matters
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to investigate the boundary conditions between objective overqualification and perceived overqualification. In addition, we aim to investigate the mediation patterns between objective overqualification, perceived overqualification and job satisfaction.
Design/methodology/approach
A two-wave survey was conducted with 382 new entrants of job market. Data was analyzed with Process 3.5 in SPSS 26.0 to test the hypothesized moderated mediation model.
Findings
Results indicated that perceived overqualification fully mediated the relationship between objective overqualification and job satisfaction. In addition, the relationship between objective overqualification and perceived overqualification was significant unless employees perceived high internal employment opportunities but low external employment opportunities at the same time. Same moderating pattern was also evident in the indirect effect of objective overqualification? Perceived overqualification? Job satisfaction.
Research limitations/implications
This study has theoretical and practical implications for personnel management. Theoretically, this study contributed to the understanding of the relationship between objective overqualification and perceived overqualification. Practically, this study found that offering internal employment opportunities can mitigate the perception of overqualification when employees perceive limited external employment opportunities.
Originality/value
This is one of few studies that stressed the boundary conditions between objective overqualification and perceived overqualification under the framework of relative deprivation theory. In addition, this study provided time-lagged evidence of the relationship between objective overqualification, perceived overqualification and job satisfaction.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
Competing interests: The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.
Funding: This work was supported by the Student Financial Aid Management Center of China’s Gansu province and China Development Bank Gansu Branch. Funding was granted to Zhijin Hou under the project of “The Influence of Impoverished Family Background on Students’ Mental Development”.
Availability of data and material: Data is available upon reasonable request.
Ethics approval: All participants gave their informed consents for inclusion before they participated in this study. This study was carried out in accordance with the recommendations of the World Medical Association’s Declaration of Helsinki. The protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee of Beijing Normal University.
Citation
Pan, R. and Hou, Z. (2024), "The relationship between objective overqualification, perceived overqualification and job satisfaction: employment opportunity matters", Personnel Review, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-02-2023-0080
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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