Psychological meaningfulness and availability mediate the high potential program–affective commitment relationship

The content and process of administering high potential (HiPo) programs have been found to contribute to employees’ attitudes toward the organizations that employ them. Drawing on social exchange theory, we examined the influence of consensus on the use of HiPo programs on employees’ affective commitment through the mediators of psychological meaningfulness and psychological availability. Using a 2-wave survey, we collected data from 186 full-time employees of Chinese enterprises. We found that both psychological meaningfulness and psychological availability partially mediated the relationship between consensus on the use of HiPo programs and followers’ affective commitment. These findings highlight the importance of managers reaching an agreement about how to use HiPo programs to promote employees’ emotional bond to their organization through the key psychological conditions of meaningfulness and availability.