The Development of Regulatory Foci Characters and Moderation Effects on Satisfaction and Commitment

Regulatory Focus Theory is used to derive specific predictions regarding the differential relationships between regulatory focus and commit ment. This study develops - for the first time - a conceptual framework based on Regulatory Focus Theory and its two underlying traits of pro motion focus and prevention focus. This framework proposes four regula- tory focus characters: "Achiever", "Conservative", "Rat ionalist" and "Indifferent". As well as constructing four distin- guishable personality characters, it also proposes how these characters moderate the relationship between two pro minent work-related attitudes: job satisfaction and organizat ional co mmit ment; and in particular extrinsic satisfaction, normative commit ment, and continuance commit ment. Regression analyses and regression lines are constructed in order to examine the research hypotheses, in the private sector and public sector. The statistical analyses support the hypothesized relationships that regulatory focus moderates differently the relat ion between satisfaction and commit ment according to the type of em- ployment, i.e., there is a dual moderat ion: one based on self-regulation and another based on the economic sector. As far as, the development and examination of the four regulatory focus characters, only "Conservatives" exhib it a stronger relation- ship between extrinsic satisfaction and continuance commit ment(for the private sector) and between extrinsic satisfaction and normative co mmit ment(for the public sector). The paper concludes with a discussion of the managerial imp lications of this approach to regulatory focus, imp licat ions of these findings are d iscussed concerning the functioning of the regulatory foci characters, and suggestions for further research are proposed.