| The purpose of this study was to replicate and expand the extant literature on the relationship between task characteristics and contextual performance and to explore the role of attitudinal and situational antecedents as moderators of contextual performance and to a lesser extent, task performance. Specifically, this study examined the extent to which affective commitment, continuance commitment and perceived supervisor support moderated the relationship between task characteristics and employee self-ratings of contextual performance and task characteristics and self-ratings of task performance. Using an online survey, the study gathered data from 324 employees from a municipal government organization in California. Two hundred and ninety respondents constituted the final sample, equally divided between female and male employees.; Task characteristics resulted in significant correlations with contextual performance (task routinization, r = -.13, p < .05; task significance, r = .18, p < .01; r = .24, p < .01) and between task autonomy and task performance (r = .13, p < .05). Correlations between task routinization and task significance and task performance were found to be insignificant. Furthermore, both antecedents examined in this study predicted contextual performance: Affective commitment and perceived supervisor support, with affective commitment being the stronger predictor. The results indicated that affective commitment significantly moderated the relationship between task characteristics and contextual performance, task routinization (beta = .63, p = .01) and task autonomy (beta = -.78, p = .02). However, hypothesis 2A3 was only partially supported as the direction of the prediction was not anticipated. Affective commitment failed to moderate the relationship between task significance and contextual performance and task routinization and task performance. Perceived supervisor support also significantly moderated the relationship between task routinization and contextual performance (beta = .75, p = .01), but failed to moderate the relationship between task significance, task autonomy and contextual performance and task routinization and task performance. The implications of these findings along with recommendations for future research and suggested management practices relating to workplace factors contributing to improvements in performance are presented. |
