Understanding job involvement through person–environment fit: the roles of prosocial motivation, living a calling and salary satisfaction in long-term care

Hsien-Chun Chen, Naiyi Wu, Szu-Yin Lin and Chin Tung Stewart Ng

Evidence-based HRM, 2026, 1-16

Abstract: PurposeThis study investigates the relationship between prosocial motivation and job involvement among long-term care (LTC) workers, and how this relationship varies with the interplay between psychological and material needs, framed within person–environment (PE) fit theory.Design/methodology/approachA survey was conducted among 328 Taiwanese care workers in LTC settings. Hypotheses were tested using Hayes' PROCESS macro (Model 3) to examine a moderated moderation model.FindingsResults showed that prosocial motivation was positively associated with job involvement. However, living a calling was positively associated with job involvement only when salary satisfaction was high. A significant three-way interaction revealed that the relationship between prosocial motivation and job involvement was not significant when living a calling was high but salary satisfaction was low, but remained significant under all other combinations, highlighting the enabling role of material adequacy.Originality/valueBy integrating supplementary and complementary fit perspectives within a single interactive model, this study offers a context-based, integrative account of when psychological fulfillment translates into job involvement, highlighting that living a calling alone may not suffice to sustain job involvement without adequate material support.

Keywords: Prosocial motivation; Living a calling; Salary satisfaction; Job involvement; Person–environment fit (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eme:ebhrmp:ebhrm-03-2026-0183

DOI: 10.1108/EBHRM-03-2026-0183

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