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International Journal of Nursing Studies 45 (2008) 1625–1635

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The mediating effect of job satisfaction between emotional

intelligence and organisational commitment of nurses:
A questionnaire survey
Güldal Güleryüz a,*, Semra Güney b, Eren Miski Aydın b, Öznur Aşan b
a
Hacettepe University, Department of Industrial Engineering, 06800 Ankara, Turkey
b
Hacettepe University, Department of Business Administration, Turkey
Received 23 May 2007; received in revised form 30 January 2008; accepted 1 February 2008

Abstract

Background: The effect of emotional intelligence and its dimensions on job satisfaction and organisational commitment of
nurses has been investigated in this study.
Objectives: This paper examines the relations among emotional intelligence, job satisfaction and organisational commitment of
nurses and the mediating effect of job satisfaction between emotional intelligence and organisational commitment.
Design: A questionnaire survey was carried out to explore the relations between emotional intelligence, job satisfaction and
organisational commitment.
Setting: Teaching hospital in Ankara, Turkey.
Participants: Questionnaires were distributed by Nursing Services Administration to 550 nurses working at different
departments of the hospital and 267 questionnaires were analyzed.
Methods: A 45-item questionnaire which consists of emotional intelligence, job satisfaction and organisational commitment
parts was carried out to investigate the relations among these variables. Some basic socio-demographic questions were included.
Results: Emotional intelligence was significantly and positively related to job satisfaction ðr ¼ 0:236; p  0:01Þ and
organisational commitment ðr ¼ 0:229; p  0:01Þ. The positive relation between job satisfaction and organisational commit-
ment was also significant ðr ¼ 0:667; p  0:01Þ. Job satisfaction was found to be related with ‘‘regulation of emotion (ROE)’’
ðr ¼ 0:228; p  0:01Þ and ‘‘use of emotion (UOE)’’ ðr ¼ 0:155; p  0:01Þ but not with other dimensions of emotional
intelligence. ‘‘Others’s emotional appraisal’’ did not have any relations with job satisfaction or organisational commitment and
‘‘self-emotional appraisal (SEA)’’ was found to be a suppressor.
Conclusion: It was found that job satisfaction is a mediator between emotional intelligence and organisational commitment.
The other finding of the study was that ‘‘SEA’’ and ‘‘UOE’’ have direct effects on organisational commitment whereas job
satisfaction is a mediator between ‘‘regulation of emotion’’ and organisational commitment.
# 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Emotional intelligence; Job satisfaction; Organisational commitment; Mediating effect; Nursing

What is already known about the topic?

 Emotional intelligence is an important concept for nursing.

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +90 312 2978705.  Organisational commitment is a variable affecting orga-
E-mail address: guldal@hacettepe.edu.tr (G. Güleryüz). nisational effectiveness and efficiency.

0020-7489/$ – see front matter # 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2008.02.004
1626 G. Güleryüz et al. / International Journal of Nursing Studies 45 (2008) 1625–1635
 Job satisfaction and organisational commitment of nurses
are positively correlated.
What this paper adds?
 The relations among emotional intelligence, job satisfac-
tion and organisational commitment have been analyzed
simultaneously.
 Job satisfaction was found to be a mediator between
emotional intelligence and organisational commitment.
 ‘‘Self-emotional appraisal’’ and ‘‘use of emotion (UOE)’’
dimensions of emotional intelligence have direct effects
on organisational commitment, whereas ‘‘regulation of
emotion (ROE)’’ dimension has effect through job satis-
faction.
1. Introduction
Emotional intelligence, job satisfaction and organisa-
tional commitment are of particular importance to health-
care organisations. Employees in turbulent environments are
struggling to maintain high quality patient care with fewer
resources (Laschinger et al., 2001). Since hospitals are a
major pillar of an effective health care system and nurses
provide a crucial primary-care-giver function within hospi-
tals, the attraction and retention of nurses to hospital envir-
onments remain a critical research issue (Tallman and
Bruning, 2005). The focus of this research is to investigate
the relations among emotional intelligence, job satisfaction,
organisational commitment and the mediating effect of job
satisfaction between emotional intelligence and organisa-
tional commitment. These three concepts are thought to
affect organisational effectiveness and efficiency.
One of the most provocative ideas to emerge from recent
discussions of management concerns the possibility that a
new form of intelligence pertaining to emotions is related to
the performance of organisation members. According to this
idea, some organisation members may perform effectively
because they have high emotional intelligence (Cote and
Miners, 2006). The recent years have seen a growing interest
in emotional intelligence (Mayer et al., 2003). The notion of
emotional intelligence was first introduced by Salovey and
Mayer in 1990 and since then has become increasingly
popular within industrial and organisational psychology as
a psychological determinant of occupational success (Pal-
mer et al., 2003; Ciarrochi et al., 2000). Salovey and Mayer
(1990) defined it as ‘‘the subset of social intelligence that
involves the ability to monitor one’s and others’ feelings and
emotions, to discriminate among them and to use this
information to guide one’s thinking and actions’’ which is
perhaps the most widely accepted scientific definition of
emotional intelligence (Zeidner et al., 2004). Emotional
intelligence is conceptualized as composed of four distinct
dimensions (Wong and Law, 2002)
(1) Appraisal and expression of emotion in the self (self-
emotional appraisal, SEA): This relates to the indivi-
dual’s ability to understand their deep emotions and be
able to express these emotions naturally. People who
have great ability in this area will sense and acknowl-
edge their emotions better than most people (e.g., ‘‘I
have a good sense of why I have certain feelings’’).
(2) Appraisal and recognition of emotion in others (others’
emotional appraisal, OEA): This relates to peoples’
ability to perceive and understand the emotions of those
people around them. People who are high in this ability
will be much more sensitive to the feelings and emotions
of others as well as reading their minds (e.g., ‘‘I always
know my friends’ emotions from their behavior’’).
(3) Regulation of emotion in the self (regulation of emotion,
ROE): This relates to the ability of people to regulate
their emotions which will enable a more rapid recovery
from psychological distress. (e.g., ‘‘I am able to control
my temper and handle difficulties rationally’’).
(4) Use of emotion to facilitate performance (use of emo-
tion, UOE): This relates to the ability of individuals to
make use of their emotions by directing them towards
constructive activities and personal performance (e.g.,
‘‘I would always encourage myself to try my best’’).
Emotional intelligence affects a wide array of work
behaviors, including teamwork, development of talent, inno-
vation, quality of service and customer loyalty (Zeidner
et al., 2004). It can also predict crucial work related out-
comes such as job satisfaction (Prati et al., 2003; Abraham,
2000) and organisational commitment (Gardner, 2003).
The second variable of the study, job satisfaction, is the
degree to which employees have a positive affective orienta-
tion toward employment by the organisation. Herzberg
(1968) who is a well known contributor to the theory of
motivation, introduced the ‘‘two factor theory’’, one refers to
‘‘hygiene’’ factors that are extrinsic to the job (company
policy and administration, supervision, relationship with
supervisor, work conditions, salary, relationship with peers,
personal life, relationship with subordinates, status, security)
and the other one is known as ‘‘motivators’’ that are intrinsic
to the job (growth, advancement, responsibility, work itself,
recognition, achievement). According to Herzberg (1968),
extrinsic factors cause job dissatisfaction whereas intrinsic
factors cause job satisfaction, in other words the opposite of
job satisfaction is not job dissatisfaction but no job satisfac-
tion. To increase job satisfaction, a central platform of
contemporary job design is the concept of job enrichment.
An assumption that employees desire an enriched job has
underpinnings in the pioneering work of Herzberg. Building
on the conceptions of these earlier researcher Hackman and
Lawler and later Hackman and Oldham presented an influ-
ential statement about job enrichment (Pearson and Chong,
1997). Despite its considerable merit, according to Hackman
and Oldham (1980) there are several difficulties with Herz-
berg’s two factor theory that compromise its usefulness.
In nursing literature, job satisfaction has been recognized
as one of the important factors influencing nurses’ desire to
 G. Güleryüz et al. / International Journal of Nursing Studies 45 (2008) 1625–1635
remain in nursing (Wu and Norman, 2006) which can be
defined as significant, therapeutic interpersonal process
(Cadman and Brewer, 2001). A number of nursing research
studies are devoted to nurse job satisfaction as it relates to a
wide range of issues in the work environment (Williams,
2005). The study of nursing job satisfaction has focused on
both outcomes and antecedents of job satisfaction (Laschin-
ger et al., 2001). Blegan (1993) identified 13 predictors of
nursing satisfaction which are the personal attribute vari-
ables or personality traits such as age, education, years of
experience and locus of control, and organisational variables
such as supervisor communication, commitment, stress,
autonomy, recognition, routinization, peer communication,
fairness and professionalism. The meta-analysis of nurse
satisfaction concluded that job satisfaction and organisa-
tional commitment are positively correlated with organisa-
tional variables such as communication with supervisors, job
recognition, communication and fairness among others.
Other studies mention that job satisfaction has a mediating
effect on nurse burnout in stressful work environments
(Williams, 2005; Kalliath and Morris, 2002).
The third variable, organisational commitment, can be
defined as ‘‘the strength of an individual’s identification with
an involvement in a particular organisation’’ (Porter et al.,
1974). It is an affective response to the whole organisation
and the degree of attachment or loyalty employees feel
towards the organisation. Job satisfaction and organisational
commitment are both reflecting a positive evaluation of the
job (Udo et al., 1997). Lack of organisational commitment
has detrimental effects such as increase in turnover rate and
turnover intention; higher absenteeism and tardiness; poorer
performance which are affecting organisational efficiency
and effectiveness negatively (Lum et al., 1998; Cohen and
Hudacek, 1998; Becker et al., 1996). According to
McNeese-Smith (2001) lack of organisational commitment
for nurses creates conflict with personal needs, family needs,
lack of learning, lack of appreciation and fairness, inade-
quate monetary benefits, overload and stress, poor relations
with coworkers and lack of job security in addition to
undesirable employee behaviors mentioned above.
The relations between emotional intelligence–job satis-
faction and emotional intelligence–organisational commit-
ment are limitedly investigated in the literature (Gardner,
2003). Sy et al. (2006) found that employees with high
emotional intelligence are more likely to have higher levels
of job satisfaction because they are more adept at appraising
and regulating their own emotions than are employees with
low emotional intelligence. However Abraham (2000) found
that emotional intelligence showed a stronger relationship
with organisational commitment than job satisfaction did.
The relationship between job satisfaction and organisational
commitment has been researched both in management and
nursing literature. It was suggested that satisfaction and
organizational commitment were related but distinguishable
attitudes, in that commitment is an effective response to the
entire organisation, whereas job satisfaction represents an
1627
affective response to specific aspects of the job (Udo et al.,
1997; Lum et al., 1998). Martin and Bennett (1996) men-
tioned the four alternative models of the job satisfaction–
organisational commitment relation. (1) Job satisfaction is
antecedent to organizational commitment: Some research
suggests that job satisfaction is a determinant of organiza-
tional commitment (Porter et al., 1974; Decotiis and Sum-
mers, 1987). Mowday et al. (1982) pointed out that job
satisfaction is an antecedent variable for organisational
commitment. Yang and Chang (2007) found that job satis-
faction has an intervening effect on deep acting and orga-
nizational commitment. (2) Organizational commitment is
antecedent to job satisfaction: Some other research suggests
that organisational commitment is a determinant of job
satisfaction (Curry et al., 1986; Bateman and Strasser,
1984; Drafke and Kossen, 1998). (3) Organizational com-
mitment and job satisfaction are reciprocally related: A
number of studies found out that job satisfaction and orga-
nisational commitment are positively related (Martin and
Bennett, 1996; Schwepker, 2001). (4) Organizational com-
mitment and job satisfaction are independent: The results of
Martin and Bennett’s study (1996) have revealed that when
the justice judgements are considered, satisfaction and
commitment are causally independent.
Job satisfaction and organisational commitment are of
particular importance to health-care organisations as they
are found to influence hospital performance and productiv-
ity. Nurses have regularly been regarded as people who
obtain their satisfaction from caring for patients (Savery,
1989). Satisfied nurses are more committed to their jobs and
productive whereas dissatisfied ones experience absentee-
ism, grievances and turnover (Al-Aameri, 2000).
The main hypotheses of the study are the followings:
Hypothesis 1. Job satisfaction is a mediator between emo-
tional intelligence and organisational commitment.
Hypothesis 2. Job satisfaction is a mediator between the
dimensions of emotional intelligence and organisational
commitment.
Hypothesis 3. Aspects of job satisfaction are mediators
between the dimensions of emotional intelligence and orga-
nisational commitment.
In this study, structural equation modeling (SEM) was
used to investigate the impact of emotional intelligence and
job satisfaction on organisational commitment. SEM is a
family of statistical techniques which incorporates and
integrates path analysis and factor analysis. It is usually
viewed as a confirmatory rather than exploratory procedure,
using one of three approaches: strictly confirmatory
approach, alternative models approach and model develop-
ment approach (Garson, 2007). SEM can handle a large
number of endogenous and exogenous variables, as well as
1628 G. Güleryüz et al. / International Journal of Nursing Studies 45 (2008) 1625–1635
latent variables specified as linear combinations of the
observed variables. It has been widely used in number of
disciplines, including banking, healthcare, information man-
agement, logistics, marketing, psychology, and tourism
management (Lu et al., 2007)
2. Methods
2.1. Study setting
There are total of seven university hospitals in Ankara,
Turkey. Since Hacettepe University hospital has more nur-
sing staff (550) than the other university hospitals, it was
chosen as the site for the questionnaire survey. The nurses
were informed by the Nursing Services Administration of
the university about the objective of the survey and that their
participation was voluntary and confidential. All the nursing
staff was invited to participate without any obligations to do
so. The data was gathered between April and June 2006.
2.2. The questionnaire survey
A total of 550 questionnaires were submitted to the
Nursing Services Administration to collect data, and 275
questionnaires were returned. Incomplete questionnaires
(n ¼ 8) were excluded from analysis and 267 fully com-
pleted questionnaires were included, with net response rate
48.5%.
The structured questionnaire consisting of 3 separate
surveys was back-and-forward translated by two different
bilingual researches following Brislin (1976)’s guidelines.
Back and forward translated questionnaire was reviewed by
experts and no changes or adaptations were recommended.
The response format was a 7-point Likert-type scale ranging
from ‘‘I strongly disagree’’ to ‘‘I strongly agree’’.
Emotional intelligence was assessed by ‘‘Emotional
Intelligence Questionnaire’’ developed by Wong and Law
(2002). The 16-item ‘‘Emotional Intelligence Question-
naire’’ was grouped into 4 of 4 questions to measure the
different dimensions of emotional intelligence: SEA; OEA;
ROE; UOE.
Hackman and Oldham (1975) developed the ‘‘Job Diag-
nostic Survey’’ which includes 80 questions grouped in eight
sections. The ‘‘Job Satisfaction Questionnaire’’ used in this
study contains all 14 questions of Section 4 of ‘‘Job Diag-
nostic Survey’’. The questionnaire contains questions to
measure both motivation and hygiene factors. Hackman
and Oldham (1980) classifies these 14 questions, and accord-
ing to Herzberg’s theory, 10 of these questions fall under
extrinsic whereas 4 questions fall under intrinsic factors. For
the current study, the questions were grouped accordingly.
The third part of the questionnaire was Mowday et al.
(1979)’s‘‘Organizational Commitment Questionnaire’’. It is
accepted as the most widely used unidimensional measure of
organisational commitment (Meyer et al., 2002).
2.3. Data analysis
Data analysis was carried out by using the statistical
program package SPSS and AMOS 5.0. p-Values equal or
lower than 0.05 were considered statistically significant.
Exploratory factor analysis was performed on all 16 of the
emotional intelligence items. Both principle component ana-
lysis (PCA) and principle axis factoring (PAF) concluded four
factors, representing the dimensions of emotional intelli-
gence, each indicator loading significantly to its hypothesized
construct. For further analysis, mean scores were calculated to
represent the dimensions of emotional intelligence (SEA,
OEA, UOE, ROE) as indicators. Second, a confirmatory factor
analysis (CFA) was performed on the dimensions of emotional
intelligence. A single factor (EI) emerged with significant
loadings of all indicators. Exploratory factor analysis on all 14
items of job satisfaction pointed out two factors, internal job
satisfaction and external job satisfaction, consistently with
hypothesized items. Each indicator item loadings were sig-
nificant on their hypothesized construct. For further analysis,
the mean of the respective items were used as a summary score
to represent the aspects of job satisfaction (IJS and EJS) as
indicators. Furthermore, factor analysis on the aspects of job
satisfaction indicated a single factor, job satisfaction, with
equal and significant loadings. Organisational commitment
items were also subjected to exploratory factor analysis. A
single factor emerged with significant item loadings. Mean
value of the indicator items was used to represent organisa-
tional commitment (OC), throughout this study. Overall,
exploratory factor analysis presented that, each indicator item
was associated with its hypothesized construct. Items load on
their hypothesized constructs not cross-loading altogether on
another construct along with the fact that, uncorrelated items
load on different constructs.
To evaluate convergent validity, confirmatory factor
analysis was used on AMOS 5.0. The measurement model
with two latent variables (emotional intelligence and job
satisfaction) and a simple variable (organisational commit-
ment) was assessed. Several indices were calculated to
evaluate the fit of the model to the data: chi-square statistic
ðx2 Þ, x2 =d:f:, root mean square error of approximation
(RMSEA), goodness of fit index (GFI), normed fit index
(NFI). Throughout the study, a model was considered to have
a good fit if all the path coefficients were significant at 0.05
level, x2 insignificant, x2 =d:f: < 2, RMSEA was below 0.05
(PClose  0.05) and NFI, GFI were greater than 0.9 (Lu
et al., 2007). The measurement model exhibited a good fit to
data, with the following indices: x2 ¼ 17:579, p ¼ 0:092;
x2 =d:f: ¼ 1:464; RMSEA ¼ 0:047, PClose ¼ 0:493;
GFI ¼ 0:982, NFI ¼ 0:970. All the loadings of the indica-
tors to their constructs were significant at 0.01 level, sug-
gesting convergent validity. None of the correlation
coefficients between the indicators of the constructs (emo-
tional intelligence, job satisfaction and organisational com-
mitment) was greater than 0.7 and indicator items for each
construct were highly correlated with each other.
 G. Güleryüz et al. / International Journal of Nursing Studies 45 (2008) 1625–1635 1629

Table 1
Correlation matrix and reliability results for study variables (N ¼ 267)
Variables a EI SEA OEA UOE ROE JS EJS IJS OC
EI 1
SEA 0.496** 1
OEA 0.487** 0.319** 1
UOE 0.675** 0.295** 0.322** 1
ROE 0.793** 0.345** 0.375** 0.537** 1
JS 0.236** 0.025 0.008 0.155* 0.228**
EJS 0.057 0.058 0.014 0.1 0.158** 0.957** 1
IJS 0.239** 0.025 0.033 0.182** 0.253** 0.917** 0.761** 1
OC 0.229** 0.091 0.05 0.175** 0.186** 0.667** 0.599** 0.564** 1
Cronbach’s a 0.888 0.748 0.723 0.783 0.890 0.906 0.840 0.839 0.903
a
Notes—EI: emotional intelligence; EA: self-emotional appraisal; OEA: others’ emotional appraisal; UOE: use of emotion; ROE: regulation
of emotion; JS: job satisfaction; EJS: external job satisfaction; IJS: internal job satisfaction; OC: organisational commitment.
*
p  0:05.
**
p  0:01.

Discriminant validity was assessed by two methods. 3. Results

First, for each construct, the average variance extracted
(AVE) should exceed the constructs shared variance with
every other construct (Hult et al., 2000). For adequate
discriminant validity, square root of AVE should be greater
than correlations between that construct and all other con-
structs. Square root of AVE values for each construct were
greater than correlations between that construct and other
constructs. Second, discriminant validity was demonstrated
by constraining the correlation between constructs one at a
time to be equal to 1, and comparing this model to the model
with no correlation constraint, in terms of x2 . Dx2 was
significant for each pair, indicating discriminant validity.
Reliability analysis were conducted for all the study
variables in terms of Cronbach’s a and composite reliabilities.
Cronbach’s a coefficients exceeded 0.7 for all cases. Table 1
summarizes the results of the reliability analysis for emotional
intelligence and its dimensions, job satisfaction and its aspects
and organisational commitment. Composite reliabilities
which were considered satisfactory for each construct, were
calculated as greater than 0.75 (Lu et al., 2007).
Since each of the questionnaires was completed by a
single respondent, it was next examined whether common
method variance might be a problem. All items in the
questionnaire were included in a principle components
factor analysis. The analysis produced 10 factors, with the
first factor explaining 24% of the variance, an evidence that
common method variance was not present. Furthermore, to
control for method variance, the measurement model was
reassessed with the addition of a latent common method
variance factor (Podsakoff et al., 2003). All indicator vari-
ables in the measurement model was loaded on this factor.
Addition of the common variance factor did not improve the
fit over the measurement model without that factor. The
loading of a single indicator was reduced to insignificance,
with all others remaining significant. On the basis of the
results, it could be concluded that common method variance
was not a major problem of the study.
3.1. A profile of the nurses
The participants were female with a mean age of 31.38
ranging from 21 to 63. All of them are four years university
graduate and have been working at Hacettepe University
Hospital on an average of 8.25 years. The sample of the
nurses in this study are all registered nurses. 50.6% of the
nurses were married, and 39.7% of them have at least one
child.
3.2. Correlation analysis
The correlation coefficients for the study variables are
given in Table 1. Emotional intelligence is correlated with
job satisfaction and organisational commitment. When job
satisfaction is controlled, the partial correlation between
emotional intelligence and organisational commitment
becomes insignificant ð p  0:1Þ. A closer look on the dimen-
sions of emotional intelligence revealed that, not all the
dimensions have significant correlations with job satisfac-
tion and/or organisational commitment. There was evidence
in Table 1 that SEA and/or others’ emotions appraisal could
be suppressors (there is negative correlation between the
pairs OEA–EJS, SEA–OC, SEA–JS, SEA–EJS while OEA
and SEA are significantly positively correlated with UOE
and ROE). Partial correlation analysis supported that sug-
gestion for SEA but not for OEA. When all other dimensions
of emotional intelligence were controlled, the partial corre-
lation between SEA and organisational commitment was
negative and significant ð p  0:01Þ.
3.3. The mediating effect of job satisfaction
Holmbeck (1997) recommends several methods to assess
the mediating effects of variables using regression and SEM
techniques. The mediating effects in this study were tested
1630 G. Güleryüz et al. / International Journal of Nursing Studies 45 (2008) 1625–1635

Table 2
Direct paths tested for analysis
Model 1: direct path Coefficienta Model 2: direct path Coefficient Model 3: direct path Coefficient
** **
EI ! JS 0.310 SEA ! OC 0.192 SEA ! IJS 0.067
EI ! OC 0.293** OEA ! OC 0.002 OEA ! IJS 0.069
JS ! OC 0.657** ROE ! OC 0.179** ROE ! IJS 0.255**
UOE ! OC 0.134* UOE ! IJS 0.087
SEA ! JS 0.052 SEA ! EJS 0.109
OEA ! JS 0.063 OEA ! EJS 0.065
ROE ! JS 0.240** ROE ! EJS 0.196**
UOE ! JS 0.084 UOE ! EJS 0.05
EJS ! OC 0.44**
IJS ! OC 0.276**
a
Standardized values are presented.
*
p  0:05.
**
p  0:01.

according to the SEM suggestions of Holmbeck (1997).
Models were constructed from the view that emotional
intelligence predicts job satisfaction (Abraham, 2000; Prati
et al., 2003) and job satisfaction is antecedent to organisa-
tional commitment (Mowday et al., 1982). Standardized
direct path coefficients tested for all the models in the study
are given in Table 2. In the figures, indicator variables are
presented with rectangles, error terms are presented with
circles and latent variables are presented with ellipses.
3.3.1. The mediating effect of job satisfaction between
emotional intelligence and organisational commitment
The direct paths between emotional intelligence and
organisational commitment; emotional intelligence and
job satisfaction; job satisfaction and organisational commit-
ment were tested (for example, to test the direct path from
emotional intelligence to organisational commitment the
coefficient of path from job satisfaction to organisational
commitment was constrained to zero). The direct path
coefficients were all significant in the predicted directions
(Table 2). Next, the results of the following was compared:
(a) fit of the model in Fig. 1 when the direct path from
emotional intelligence to organisational commitment is
constrained to zero (full mediational model); (b) fit of the
model in Fig. 1 when direct path from emotional intelligence
to organisational commitment is not constrained.
The results showed that, addition of the direct path
between emotional intelligence and organisational commit-
ment to the model did not improve the overall fit of full
mediational model (Dx2 is insignificant, direct path from
emotional intelligence to organisational commitment is
reduced to insignificance). According to findings, job satis-
faction is a mediator between emotional intelligence and
organisational commitment, confirming the first hypothesis
of this study. The full mediational model in Fig. 1 indicated a
very good fit to the data with significant path coefficients and
appropriate goodness of fit indices.
3.3.2. The mediating effect of job satisfaction between
the dimensions of emotional intelligence and
organisational commitment
To asses the extent to which the dimensions of emotional
intelligence affects organisational commitment, and the
behaviour of job satisfaction as the mediator, the structural
model in Fig. 2 was constructed, according to the findings,
study hypotheses and the literature. Direct paths from each
dimension of emotional intelligence to job satisfaction and
organisational commitment were tested simultaneously by
constraining following to zero (in a similar fashion with

Fig. 1. Structural Model 1. Notes: x2 =19.151, p ¼ 0:085; x2 =d:f: ¼ 1:473; RMSEA ¼ 0:047, PClose ¼ 0:498; NFI ¼ 0:967, GFI ¼ 0:980.
The insignificant path, indicated with a grey line, is not included in the calculations of indices.
 G. Güleryüz et al. / International Journal of Nursing Studies 45 (2008) 1625–1635 1631

Fig. 2. Structural Model 2. Notes: x2 =14.188, p ¼ 0:116; x2 =d:f: ¼ 1:576; RMSEA ¼ 0:047, PClose ¼ 0:496; NFI ¼ 0:976, GFI ¼ 0:985.
The insignificant paths, indicated with grey lines are not included in the calculations of indices.

Sirois (2007)): covariances between each pair of dimensions
of emotional intelligence and path coefficient from job
satisfaction to organisational commitment. All the direct
path coefficients from dimensions of emotional intelligence
to organisational commitment were significant in the pro-
posed directions, except for the path between OEA and
organisational commitment. When the direct paths from
dimensions of emotional intelligence to job satisfaction
are of concern, the only significant path was found to be
between ROEs and job satisfaction. This indicates that, job
satisfaction might only be a mediator between ROE and
organisational commitment.
After eliminating the insignificant paths, the fit of the
model without a direct path from ROE to organisational
commitment was assessed (full mediational model). Accord-
ing to fit indices, the model exhibit a good fit to data (Fig. 2).
Next, to test the mediating effect, previously significant
direct path from ROE to organisational commitment
(ROE ! OC) was added to the model. In the analysis, this
path became insignificant and no significant change in x2

Fig. 3. Structural Model 3. Notes: x2 =8.309, p ¼ 0:404; x2 =d:f: ¼ 1:039; RMSEA ¼ 0:012, PClose ¼ 0:785; NFI ¼ 0:986, GFI ¼ 0:991. The
insignificant paths, indicated with grey lines, are not included in the calculation of indices.
1632 G. Güleryüz et al. / International Journal of Nursing Studies 45 (2008) 1625–1635
over the full mediational model was obtained. As a result,
job satisfaction was a mediator between only one dimension
of emotional intelligence, ROEs and organisational commit-
ment. The second hypothesis of the study was confirmed
only for ROE, rejecting for the other dimensions of emo-
tional intelligence.
3.3.3. The mediating effect of aspects of job satisfaction
between the dimensions of emotional intelligence and
organisational commitment
As the last step of this study, to include the effects of
external and internal job satisfaction to organisational com-
mitment, the model in Fig. 3 was examined. The direct
effects of external and internal job satisfaction to organisa-
tional commitment were tested by constraining the follow-
ing to zero: covariance between internal and external job
satisfaction; all the path coefficients except the paths from
internal and external job satisfaction to organisational com-
mitment. Calculated direct path coefficients were significant
in the predicted directions. Given the statistical significance
of the covariance between external and internal job satisfac-
tion, these path coefficients were also tested by not con-
straining the covariance between them and the results were
still significant.
The direct paths from dimensions of emotional intelli-
gence to external job satisfaction and internal job satisfac-
tion were tested by constraining the following to zero: path
coefficients from dimensions of emotional intelligence to
organisational commitment; path coefficients from internal
and external job satisfaction to organisational commitment
and covariances in the model. All tested path coefficients
were insignificant except for the paths from ROE to external
job satisfaction and internal job satisfaction (ROE ! EJS,
ROE ! IJS). According to the results, external job satisfac-
tion and/or internal job satisfaction can only be mediator(s)
between ROE and organisational commitment.
After eliminating insignificant paths and the significant
path from ROE to organisational commitment, model in
Fig. 3 was analyzed (full mediational model). The model
gave a very good fit to data with significant path coefficients.
Adding the direct path which was previously significant,
from ROE to organisational commitment did not improve
the overall fit of the model (Dx2 is insignificant and
ROE ! OC path becomes insignificant). According to the
findings, both internal job satisfaction and external job
satisfaction are mediators between ROE and organisational
commitment.
Bootstrapping was used to test the significance of the
mediation effects for external job satisfaction and internal
job satisfaction (Shrout and Bolger, 2002). From the data set
(N ¼ 267), using random sampling with replacement, 1000
bootstrap samples were generated. The effects of ROE to
organisational commitment through external job satisfaction
and internal job satisfaction were estimated with maximum
likelihood estimation. With all the bootstrap samples conver-
ging, bootstrapping analysis indicated the effect of ROE to
organisational commitment through external job satisfaction
(b ¼ 0:074, 95% CI: 0.015 and 0.160) and the effect of ROE to
organisational commitment through internal job satisfaction
(b ¼ 0:07, 95% CI: 0.013 and 0.172) were significant.
4. Discussion
According to the literature review, this study is among the
rare studies, besides Gardner’s (2003) that focuses, on
emotional intelligence, job satisfaction and organisational
commitment simultaneously and the only study that focuses
on the mediating effect of job satisfaction between emo-
tional intelligence and organisational commitment. In the
literature there are few studies analyzing the relations
between emotional intelligence–job satisfaction (Prati
et al., 2003; Sy et al., 2006); job satisfaction- organisational
commitment (Schwepker, 2001; Yang and Chang, 2007) and
emotional intelligence–organisational commitment (Abra-
ham, 2000; Gardner, 2003). The current study found a
positive relationship between emotional intelligence and
job satisfaction of the nurses. Nurses with high emotional
intelligence are more likely to have higher levels of job
satisfaction. The results support the findings of Wong and
Law (2002) and Sy et al. (2006) which indicate that employ-
ees with higher emotional intelligence have higher job
satisfaction. As mentioned above, Martin and Bennett
(1996) categorized the relation between job satisfaction
and organisational commitment and the findings of this
study fall under the ‘‘job satisfaction is antecedent to
organisational commitment’’ category. Another study
applied to nurses by Knoop (1995) found that job satisfac-
tion and organisational commitment of nurses are both
statistically and meaningfully related. McNeese-Smith
(2001) mentioned job satisfaction as one of the major factors
contributing to nurse’s commitment to the organisation. This
finding is also supported by Schwepker’s study (2001) in
management literature.
This study supports the existence of a positive relation-
ship between emotional intelligence and organisational
commitment. There are few studies (Abraham, 2000) in
literature that also found a positive relationship between
these two variables. Employees who are high in emotional
intelligence are more likely to be more committed to their
organisations (Abraham, 2000; Gardner, 2003). Abraham’s
(2000) study suggests that employees with high emotional
intelligence would view their relationship with the organisa-
tion as an extension of the relationship they have with co-
workers and managers. The findings of this study shows that
emotional intelligence has effect on organisational commit-
ment but this effect appears purely through job satisfaction.
Therefore first hypothesis of the study has been verified. This
study makes a contribution to the literature on emotional
intelligence and organisational commitment through the
findings on the mediating effect of job satisfaction between
the two variables.
 G. Güleryüz et al. / International Journal of Nursing Studies 45 (2008) 1625–1635
The second hypothesis of the study was about the med-
iating effect of job satisfaction between the dimensions of
emotional intelligence and organisational commitment. As a
result of the analysis, this mediating effect was found only
between the regulation of emotion and organisational com-
mitment. The two other dimensions, self emotional appraisal
and use of emotion are directly related with organisational
commitment whereas others emotional appraisal has no
effect on organisational commitment. The discussion of
emotion regulation of the nurses should specify what aspects
of emotion is being regulated and what the desired endpoint
is. Successful emotion regulation leads to optimal physio-
logical arousal, which facilitates social competence (Gross,
1998b). Emotion regulation refers to the processes by which
individuals influence which emotions they have, when they
have them, and how they experience and express these
emotions (Gross, 1998a). Employees with high emotional
intelligence could be more adept at regulating their emotions
so they experience more confidence and control over the task
requirements of their job, which in turn enables them to be
more proactive and influence work outcomes positively (Sy
et al., 2006). This might explain why the mediating effect of
job satisfaction occurs between only regulation of emotion
dimension of emotional intelligence and organisational
commitment. On the other hand, studies of workplace
emotion regulation are gaining an increasing amount of
attention. Nonetheless, information about whether and
how, emotional intelligence and emotion regulation influ-
ence positive and negative affect at work is still limited
(Kafetsios and Loumakou, 2007). Therefore this study is a
contribution to the literature on emotional intelligence and
emotion regulation influence.
The third hypothesis of the current study was the mediat-
ing effect of aspects of job satisfaction, internal and external,
between the dimensions of emotional intelligence and orga-
nisational commitment. The findings are similar with the
second hypothesis. Internal and external job satisfaction
have mediating effects between regulation of emotion and
organisational commitment. Separating job satisfaction into
two aspects as internal and external, does not create any
difference for nurses.
Overall, this research about Turkish nurses states that there
is an effect of emotional intelligence on job satisfaction as well
as on organisational commitment through job satisfaction.
Although this study is not a cross-cultural one and the con-
cepts and surveys used in this study are western-based ones,
the results are compatible with other studies such as Prati et al.
(2003), Sy et al. (2006), Schwepker (2001), Abraham (2000)
and Gardner (2003). Each culture may answer the survey
questions differently due to cultural impacts. According to
Hofstede (1984), Turkey is a low-individualist (e.g. collectiv-
ity-orientation, emotional dependence of individual on orga-
nisations and institutions, private life is invaded by
organisations to which one belongs, opinions are predeter-
mined) and low-masculine (e.g. belief in group decision,
lower job stress, people prefer shorter working hours to more
1633
salary) country as opposed to western countries. However,
nursing in terms of its job characteristics demand similar
requirements across cultures and this can explain why the
results of the current study are compatible with western based
studies. For example, nurses have direct personal contact with
patients who are demented, emotionally disturbed or intoxi-
cated. They are exposed to a variety of diseases. They have to
deal with family members who are concerned about what is
happening to their loved ones or upset over the delays inherent
in the health system (Tallman and Bruning, 2005). These are
the situations nurses face without any cultural impact.
Emotional intelligence can play an important role in the
work environment and since nursing is considered to be a
significant, therapeutic interpersonal process, emotional
intelligence is important for nursing (Cadman and Brewer,
2001; Law et al., 2004; Wong and Law, 2002). It is a
challenge to improve the emotional intelligence for nurses.
As emotional intelligence is a prerequisite for recruitment in
nursing, courses related to improve emotional intelligence
such as self-management and communication, ethics, psy-
chology and sociology have to be added to the curriculum of
nursing schools and measures of emotional intelligence
should be used in the recruitment process to select poten-
tially effective job applicants (Palmer et al., 2003; Cadman
and Brewer, 2001). Emotional intelligence can be learned or
taught therefore employee training and development pro-
grams have to designed accordingly. Nurses can be helped to
work on self-awareness and understanding their own beha-
vior and that of others. In other words, nurses with good
emotional capacity, would be aware of their own feelings,
good at controlling their feelings, understanding other’s
feelings and dealing with other’s feelings effectively. For
this reason, programs about anger management, stress man-
agement, counseling, coaching, conflict management and
time management can help nurses to improve their emo-
tional capacity. Emotionally intelligent employees are hap-
pier and more committed therefore organisations should
seek to recruit and retain such individuals (Abraham, 2000).
4.1. Study limitations
One of the limitations of the study is that emotional
intelligence, job satisfaction and organisational commitment
were measured by self-report. There was some evidence that
common method variance was not a problem, but, as with all
self-reports, common method variance, social desirability
biases and response distortion due to ego defense tendencies
were a concern (Sy et al., 2006).
The study focuses on the relations among emotional
intelligence, job satisfaction and organisational commitment.
It is a limitation that all other factors affecting these variables
were excluded. In addition, because of the nature of the job,
cultural impacts were thought not to affect the results dra-
matically. Therefore the cross cultural differences among the
relations were not investigated and possible outcomes of
cultural impacts, if there are any, were neglected.
1634 G. Güleryüz et al. / International Journal of Nursing Studies 45 (2008) 1625–1635
There was no other study to guide the theoretical frame-
work of the current study. The relationships between emo-
tional intelligence, job satisfaction and organisational
commitment were rarely investigated in the literature, but
the pairwise relations were widely considered. Hypothesized
relations and causality between the variables of the study
were based on the pairwise relations. In the literature, there
were no other studies that can be compared with the results
of this study.
The generalizability of the findings is potentially limited
by the fact that all the respondents belong to Hacettepe
University Hospital and the results cannot be generalized to
all hospitals. The net response rate was 48.5% which can be
perceived as low. Nurses with heavy burden of job require-
ments and stress have no time to complete the question-
naires. The questionnaires in this study was sent to fill on
will and no obligations were associated. However the net
response rate is still not far from the general rates in the
literature. Because of the heavy traffic in the hospital,
Nursing Services Administration was pointed to distribute
the questionnaires by university authorities and arms-length
approach was absent. It is also a limitation that no pilot study
was performed.
Overall, the above limitations of the study constrain its
generalizability to other organisations. For these reasons, a
future study has to be repeated in different hospitals.
5. Conclusion
Job satisfaction is found to be a mediator between
emotional intelligence and organisational commitment.
When the dimensions of emotional intelligence was taken
into account, job satisfaction was still found to be a mediator
between the ROE dimension of emotional intelligence and
organisational commitment. Finally when the aspects of job
satisfaction was analysed, both internal and external along
with job satisfaction in total, was found to have mediating
effect between emotional intelligence and organisational
commitment. Although further research is needed to make
a generalization, this study fills an important gap both in
management and nursing literature.
Acknowledgments
The authors gratefully acknowledge the assistance of
Nursing Services Administration of Hacettepe University,
in the collection of data for this study.
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