How Can Employers Benefit Most From Developmental Job Experiences? The Needs-Supplies Fit Perspective

While previous empirical research showed that developmental job experiences (DJE) lead to positive work-related outcomes, recent studies have also pointed out their downsides. With an aim to reconcile these findings, this study explores how the fit between personal needs and organizational supplies of DJE influences affective organizational commitment and voluntary turnover, and the moderating role of career identity salience. Multiwave and multisource data on Chinese employees indicate that affective organizational commitment was higher as needs of DJE matched supplies and lower in the case of a mismatch. Affective organizational commitment was higher when needs and supplies were both high than when both were low. These relationships were stronger when career identity salience was high. Furthermore, the relationship between needs-supplies fit and voluntary turnover was mediated by affective organizational commitment. These findings imply that rather than providing universally high levels of DJE, employers should match these experiences to employees' needs.