Perceptions of Teaching, Research, and Service Expertise, Workload, Organizational Support, and Satisfaction among U.S. Faculty Members’ Intent to Stay in Tier 1 or Tier 2 Organizations: A Structural Equation Model

All faculties in higher education are expected to be effective in their teaching and service activities. However, faculty in Tier 1 and Tier 2 academic organizations are further pressed to demonstrate productivity as researchers. The diverse demands of these faculty call attention to how they really view their work lives. Thus, we investigated the influence of perceptions of organizational processes and organizational support on work related factors among a national sample of faculty from different disciplines in Tier 1 and Tier 2 academic organizations. Participants were 539 faculty employees at academic organizations across the U.S. We used structural equation modeling to examine the direct effects of the aforementioned exogenous latent variables on various aspects of the academe and faculty members’ intent to stay in the academic organization. Further, we explored whether characteristics of the organization mediated the structural relations among organizational processes and support and intent to stay. Results revealed organizational support and processes to have direct effects on several of the factors within the academe, including intent to stay. Additionally, research expertise, workload, and satisfaction with work partially mediated the structural relations among organizational processes and support and intent to stay. Implications for organizational behavior and practice are also discussed.