(The) effects of perceived underqualification on job attitudes

Abstract

Although perceived overqualification has been argued to be an important antecedent of negative work outcomes, previous research has not examined the impact of perceived underqualification. Conceptualizing perceived underqualification as a type of person-job (P-J) misfit and introducing two possible individual responses to perceived underqualification (i.e., responding in a reactive manner and responding in a proactive manner), this study delineates hitherto unknown work outcomes of employees who perceive themselves as underqualified. Using data from a sample of 188 Korean employees, the current study tested two hypotheses

transformational leadership weakens the relationships between perceived underqualification and job attitudes including job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and turnover intention, and organization-based self-esteem (OBSE) mediates the moderating effect of transformational leadership on the relationships between perceived underqualification and job attitudes. Empirical evidence of this study supports these hypotheses and the theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.