Satisfaction and Performance of the International Faculty: To What Extent Emotional Reactions and Conflict Matter?

Abstract

Guided by affective events theory (AET), our inquiry aims at examining the relationships among affective work events, affective states, affect-driven behaviors, and attitudes of international faculty working in the Malaysian institutions of higher learning. Specifically, the impacts of interpersonal conflict, as a work event, on international faculty’s affective states were in focus. In addition, the mediating role of job performance, as an affect-driven behavior, on the relationship between affective states and job satisfaction, as an attitude, was examined. Data were collected from 152 respondents and partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was applied to estimate the proposed theoretical model. Our model was examined from an explanatory-predictive perspective and exhibited a high level of out-of-sample predictive power. In addition, the results of the analysis highlighted the role of interpersonal conflict in causing affective states and affective states in causing job satisfaction. However, empirical evidence was not provided for the mediating role of job performance within the proposed model. Finally, given the fluctuating nature of the affective states, a robustness check verified the nonlinear relationship between positive affect and job performance. Implications of the findings, limitations, and recommendations were elaborated.