Impact of Perceived Overqualification on Employee Development through Peer Social Comparison (Abilities and Opinions) and Moderating Effect of Work-group Inclusion

Humera Abdul Hakeem; Tariq Hameed Alvi; Samia Tariq

doi:10.58921/jobams.7.1.184

Humera Abdul Hakeem COMSAT, LAHORE
Tariq Hameed Alvi, Mr School of Management, Forman Christian College (A Chartered University), Lahore, Pakistan https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0001-3739
Samia Tariq Institute of Administrative Sciences, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6505-7655

DOI: https://doi.org/10.58921/jobams.7.1.184

Keywords: Perceived overqualification, peer social comparison, perceived investment in employee development, work-group inclusion, social cognitive career theory

Abstract

This study examines the paradoxical nature of perceived overqualification through peer social comparison in relation to the investment in employee development. Specifically, it compares abilities (a positive mechanism) and opinions (a negative mechanism) in peer comparisons using social cognitive career theory. We also investigate whether work-group inclusion moderates the relationship between perceived overqualification and peer social comparison. Pakistan software houses’ employees were the population of the study and used a time-lagged design to collect a total of 202 questionnaires. PLS-SEM (Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling) version 8 was employed to analyze the data.

The study's findings showed that peer social comparison has a dual mediating effect. Perceived overqualification increases the likelihood of investment in employee development through ability comparison. But when opinion comparison is made, overqualified employees’ cognition leads them to think that employer didn’t invest in employee development. Additionally, work-group inclusion moderately weakens the perceived overqualification’s positive impacts on peer social opinion comparison. Meanwhile, work-group inclusion had an insignificant positive moderation on POQ and ability comparison relationship.