Despite extensive research on core job characteristics and organizational commitment (ocm), important gaps persist in educational institutions. specifically, how job characteristics translate into commitment through psychological mechanisms remains unclear. moreover, the threshold-based conditions under which these relationships emerge are poorly understood. this study addresses these gaps by integrating partial least squares structural equation modeling and necessary condition analysis (nca) within the stimulus-organism-response framework. the analysis includes 697 Vietnamese educators. Results indicate that core job characteristics are strongly associated with workplace satisfaction (β=0.69) and job satisfaction (β=0.62). core job characteristics also show a smaller but statistically significant association with ocm (β = 0.24). Workplace satisfaction appears to be the primary statistical pathway linking core job characteristics to ocm, whereas job satisfaction does not show a significant mediating role. the workplace satisfaction-ocm association appears stronger at higher person-organization fit levels. nca identifies minimum threshold conditions for skill variety, task identity, task significance, and feedback. these conditions must reach minimum levels for high ocm to occur. By showing that ocm depends on both linear net effects and threshold conditions, this study advances job design theory and provides practical strategies for managing commitment in professionalized educational settings.