The Mediating Role of Job Satisfaction in the Relationship Between Organizational Considerations and Organizational Effectiveness: Evidence from College Counselors in Chongqing, China

Abstract

As key actors in fulfilling the fundamental mission of moral education in Chinese higher education, university counselors' job satisfaction and its relationship with organizational effectiveness have garnered increasing academic attention. However, current research on counselors’ organizational behavior remains limited, particularly lacking systematic empirical analysis of the relationships among perceived organizational justice, job satisfaction, and organizational effectiveness. This study focuses on counselors at undergraduate universities in Chongqing and based on organizational effectiveness theory, constructs a structural equation model (SEM) in which organizational considerations (distributive, procedural, interactional, and informational) serve as independent variables, job satisfaction as the mediating variable, and organizational effectiveness as the dependent variable. Based on empirical analysis of 443 valid survey responses, the study reveals that: 1) all four types of organizational considerations significantly and positively predict counselors' job satisfaction, with procedural consideration having the strongest impact; 2) job satisfaction significantly and positively influences organizational effectiveness, serving as a key psychological mechanism for effective university governance; 3) job satisfaction exerts a significant mediating effect between organizational considerations and organizational effectiveness, uncovering the underlying pathways to organizational efficiency; 4) significant differences were observed across gender, marital status, age, and income in relation to certain variables, indicating the need for individualized management strategies. These findings enrich the application of organizational effectiveness and organizational justice theories in the higher education context and provide both theoretical support and practical recommendations for improving counselor management systems, enhancing satisfaction, and boosting organizational performance in universities.