Work meaningfulness motivates university teachers' organizational citizenship behavior - A moderated mediation model

Oct 15, 2026

This study integrates dual mediators and a moderator within the self-determination theory (SDT) framework to explain organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) among university faculty. It examines how autonomy moderates the links between work meaningfulness, proactive behavior, and perceived organizational support (POS). Based on structural equation modeling using data from a three-stage tracking study of 427 teachers across 12 undergraduate institutions in Guizhou Province, results show meaningfulness predicts OCB, and the effect is strongest under high autonomy and high proactive behavior. The model explains substantial OCB variance and supports SDT’s motivation-cognition-environment mechanism, offering a practical pathway to enhance OCB.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

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Pages13

Reading Time33 min

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Abstract

Introduction

African Educational Research Journal Vol. 13(2), pp. 211-223, May 2025 DOI: 10. 30918/AERJ.132.25.025 ISSN: 2354-2160 Full Length Research Paper Work meaningfulness motivates university teachers'organizational citizenship behavior: A moderated mediation model Xuqing Zhang and Hongxia Li* Rattanakosin International College of Creative Entrepreneurship, Rajamangala University of Technology Rattanakosi, Salaya, Nakhon Pathom, 73170, Thailand. Accepted 16 May, 2025 | ABSTRACT
This study addresses a gap in the literature by integrating dual mediators and a moderator into the self-determination theory (SDT) framework to explain organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) among university faculty. The study also investigates the moderating role of autonomy. Structural equation modeling (SEM) results, derived from a three-stage tracking study of 427 teachers across 12 undergraduate institutions in Guizhou Province, revealed that: (1) perceived work meaningfulness significantly and positively predicted OCB, with proactive behavior and perceived organizational support (POS) jointly explaining 40.9% of the variance; (2) self-determination enhances the effect of work meaningfulness on POS and strengthens its relationship with proactive behaviors; (3) the effect of work meaningfulness on OCB is strongest when teachers experience both high autonomy and high proactive behavior. The study concludes that OCB in university teachers stems from the dynamic interaction between psychological needs (autonomy) and organizational resources, confirming the applicability of SDT's three-stage mechanism (motivation-cognition-environment) in higher education. The study also proposes a practical pathway,“meaning empowerment-autonomy space-support response,” offering theoretical and practical insights into enhancing OCB in higher education. The model explained a substantial proportion of variance in OCB in contexts of high autonomy. These findings contribute theoretically to self-determination research and practically to faculty development policies.
Keywords: Self-determination theory, work meaningfulness, organizational citizenship behavior, moderated mediation model, university teachers. | | --- | | *Corresponding author. E-mail: [hongxia.li@rmutr.ac.th](hongxia.li@rmutr.ac.th). | INTRODUCTION This study aims to explore how work meaningfulness influences university faculty members' OCB, highlighting significant theoretical value and practical implications by examining the mediating roles of proactive behavior and POS, as well as the moderating role of autonomy. In the loosely coupled governance structure of higher education, systematic explanations for behavioral drivers of OCB remain limited, despite OCB serving as a critical informal coordination mechanism for organizational effectiveness. Through the framework of SDT, this study translates the core psychological need for meaningful work into observable manifestations of OCB, thereby revealing the psychological factors driving behavioral differentiation within the same institutional environment. The study provides not only a micro-psychological explanation for informal collaborative behaviors in higher education, but Afr Educ Res J 212 also constructs a theoretical model for differentiated interventions by identifying the interactive effects of the dual pathway of “perceived support-autonomy”. In the context of China's strategy of building a strong education nation, this study will provide a scientific approach to addressing the classical problem of“motivating knowledge workers to transcend utilitarian behaviors," resolving the contradiction between institutional looseness and efficacy requirements and the motivation dilemma among knowledge workers. Academics have extensively explored OCB, with existing literature primarily focusing on research subjects, spatial scales, and related dimensions. Prior research indicates that at the individual level, factors such as psycholo

FAQs

What research gap does the study address?

The study addresses limited explanations for OCB behavioral drivers by integrating dual mediators and a moderator into the SDT framework, focusing on university faculty rather than single-factor accounts.

How does work meaningfulness influence organizational citizenship behavior (OCB)?

Perceived work meaningfulness positively predicts OCB, with proactive behavior and perceived organizational support jointly explaining a meaningful proportion of OCB variance.

When is the effect of work meaningfulness on OCB strongest?

The effect is strongest when teachers experience both high autonomy and high proactive behavior, indicating autonomy and proactive behavior jointly amplify the meaningfulness-to-OCB pathway.

Oct 15, 2026

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