The Moderating Effect of Contextual Factors on the Impact of Competitive Behavior on Community Pharmacists’ Performance in Nigeria

Abstract

Extant literature suggests that competitive behavior (CB) tends to positively enhance job performance (JP). There is scarce empirical evidence to justify this assertion under socio-behavioral contexts influencing the work environment among community pharmacists. Intuitively, community pharmacies are knowledge-based organizations, and the right environment needs to be nurtured to support collective performance among pharmacists. To fill this gap, the model of interpersonal behavior was applied as a theoretical framework to evaluate the moderating effects of contextual factors-professionalism (PFN), group associations (GA), collaborative behavior (CTB), and professional training (PT) on the relationship between CB and JP. A quantitative cross-sectional study with a self-reported questionnaire was administered to 654 randomly selected community pharmacists in Southwest Nigeria. To align theory with model specification, formative or emergent constructs were specified as moderator variables- P_PF [PFN & PT] and G_CB [GA & CCB] using structural equation modeling in WarpPLS. The structural model had acceptable fit and validity. CB positively and significantly influenced JP. Findings showed that high G_CB significantly weakened the relationship between CB and JP compared to the insignificant effect of P_PT. Invariably, group-linked collaboration weakens the effect of CB on JP. The study asserts that professional groups have a role to play in appropriating competitiveness for enhanced performance. The study recommends educational training for pharmacists at the undergraduate and graduate levels and a shift from an individualistic to a group paradigm in practice