The relationships between amotivation, employee engagement, introjected regulation, and intrinsic motivation: A double-layered moderated-mediation model

Abstract

The objective of this research is to examine the amotivation-turnover intention relationship through self-determination theory (SDT). A double-layered moderated-mediation model was developed to investigate the influence of three components: affective, continuance, and normative commitment on turnover intention. The data collected from 771 faculty members from higher educational institutions (HEI) in southern India were analyzed to test the hypothesized relationships. After testing the psychometric properties of the survey instrument through LISREL software of structural equation modeling, Hayes's PROCESS was used to test the structural model. The results indicate that (i) amotivation was negatively related to normative commitment, (ii) normative commitment was negatively related to turnover intentions, and (iii) normative commitment mediated the relationship between amotivation and turnover intentions. The findings also suggest that affective commitment (first moderator) and continuance commitment (second moderator) interact with amotivation to influence normative commitment. Further, the three-way interaction between normative commitment, intrinsic motivation, and introjected regulation to decrease turnover intention was significant. The double-layered moderated-mediation model is a novel concept that contributes to the literature on commitment and motivation. The theoretical and practical implications are discussed.