On the Association between Perceived Overqualification and Adaptive Behavior
Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to offer an autonomous motivation perspective to explore the relationship between perceived overqualification and adaptive work behavior and examine job autonomy as a factor that may moderate the association. Design/methodology/approach: The hypotheses were test...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
| Published: |
Emerald
2016
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/45966 |
| _version_ | 1848757430439116800 |
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| author | Wu, C.-H. Tian, Amy Luksyte, A. Spitzmueller, C. |
| author_facet | Wu, C.-H. Tian, Amy Luksyte, A. Spitzmueller, C. |
| author_sort | Wu, C.-H. |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to offer an autonomous motivation perspective to explore the relationship between perceived overqualification and adaptive work behavior and examine job autonomy as a factor that may moderate the association. Design/methodology/approach: The hypotheses were tested in two culturally, demographically, and functionally diverse samples: sample 1 was based on North American community college employees (n=215); sample 2 was based on full-time workers, employed in a Chinese state-owned enterprise specializing in shipping (n=148). Findings: In study 1, perceived overqualification was negatively related to self-rated adaptive behavior. A follow-up study 2 extended these findings by demonstrating that perceived overqualification was negatively related to supervisor-rated adaptive work behavior when job autonomy was low, rather than high. Research limitations/implications: The results of this research offer an autonomous motivation perspective to explain why perceived overqualification relates to adaptive behavior and suggests a job design approach to encourage adaptive behaviors of people who feel overqualified – a sizable segment of the current workforce. Originality/value: This is one of the first studies to explore adaptive behavior of workers who feel overqualified – an outcome that has not been examined in this domain. The findings further point out what can be done to encourage adaptive behaviors among overqualified employees. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T09:27:58Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-45966 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T09:27:58Z |
| publishDate | 2016 |
| publisher | Emerald |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-459662018-01-15T00:19:52Z On the Association between Perceived Overqualification and Adaptive Behavior Wu, C.-H. Tian, Amy Luksyte, A. Spitzmueller, C. Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to offer an autonomous motivation perspective to explore the relationship between perceived overqualification and adaptive work behavior and examine job autonomy as a factor that may moderate the association. Design/methodology/approach: The hypotheses were tested in two culturally, demographically, and functionally diverse samples: sample 1 was based on North American community college employees (n=215); sample 2 was based on full-time workers, employed in a Chinese state-owned enterprise specializing in shipping (n=148). Findings: In study 1, perceived overqualification was negatively related to self-rated adaptive behavior. A follow-up study 2 extended these findings by demonstrating that perceived overqualification was negatively related to supervisor-rated adaptive work behavior when job autonomy was low, rather than high. Research limitations/implications: The results of this research offer an autonomous motivation perspective to explain why perceived overqualification relates to adaptive behavior and suggests a job design approach to encourage adaptive behaviors of people who feel overqualified – a sizable segment of the current workforce. Originality/value: This is one of the first studies to explore adaptive behavior of workers who feel overqualified – an outcome that has not been examined in this domain. The findings further point out what can be done to encourage adaptive behaviors among overqualified employees. 2016 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/45966 10.1108/PR-05-2015-0134 Emerald fulltext |
| spellingShingle | Wu, C.-H. Tian, Amy Luksyte, A. Spitzmueller, C. On the Association between Perceived Overqualification and Adaptive Behavior |
| title | On the Association between Perceived Overqualification and Adaptive Behavior |
| title_full | On the Association between Perceived Overqualification and Adaptive Behavior |
| title_fullStr | On the Association between Perceived Overqualification and Adaptive Behavior |
| title_full_unstemmed | On the Association between Perceived Overqualification and Adaptive Behavior |
| title_short | On the Association between Perceived Overqualification and Adaptive Behavior |
| title_sort | on the association between perceived overqualification and adaptive behavior |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/45966 |