The Influence of Workplace Friendship, Job Involvement, and Organizational Identification on Job Performance: Administrative Staffs of Private Science and Technology Universities in South Taiwan as an Example

Abstract

Due to Taiwan’s lower birth rate resulting in fewer children, the widespread prevalence of higher education, as well as pressure from international competition and limited resources, higher education institutions are now encountering severe challenges, particularly for private science and technology universities. Administrative staffs of private science and technology universities play critical roles in the development of school affairs, and therefore their job performance is important. Past research findings have noted that workplace friendship influences job performance, yet the reason for this is uncertain. This study treats administrative staff of private science and technology universities as samples and includes job involvement and organizational identification as mediators to explain why workplace friendship can enhance job performance. Based on the empirical findings, workplace friendship does directly influence job performance, while it indirectly influences job performance through job involvement and organizational identification. From the research results, this study proposes specific suggestions as reference for organizational leaders of private science and technology universities as well as for academia.