Upload
madiha246
View
222
Download
0
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
8/3/2019 The Influence of Cultural And
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-influence-of-cultural-and 1/24
Employee organizational commitment: the influence of cultural and
organizational factors in the Australian manufacturing industry
Sophia Su*, Kevin Baird and Bill Blair
Department of Accounting and Finance, EFS, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
The importance of enhancing employee organizational commitment (EOC) ishighlighted by the extensive literature revealing its positive impact on employees’ jobperformance, reducing absenteeism and turnover rates, and improving employees’adaptability to organizational change. This study provides an insight into how EOClevels can be enhanced by examining the contextual factors that can influenceEOC. Specifically, the study examines the association between cultural, organizational,and demographic factors with the level of EOC in the Australian manufacturingindustry. Data were collected by a survey questionnaire from a random sample of 500managers with the results revealing that two cultural factors (outcome orientation andstability) and three organizational factors (organizational size, perceived organizationalsupport and job satisfaction) were found to be significantly associated with the level of EOC. Further analysis provides a preliminary insight into how to enhance the EOC of specific managers with different cultural and organizational factors found to beassociated with the EOC of managers at different levels in the organizational hierarchy.The findings have important implications for practitioners attempting to improve thelevel of EOC of their employees with the subsequent enhancements in the level of EOClikely to contribute to improvements in productivity and growth in the Australianmanufacturing industry.
Keywords: employee organizational commitment (EOC); job satisfaction; manufac-turing industry; organizational culture; perceived organizational support
Introduction
Employee organizational commitment (EOC) reflects employees’ identification with the
organization’s goals and values; their willingness to exert a great effort on behalf of the
organization; and their intention to stay with the organization (Porter, Steers, Mowday
and Boulian 1974). The importance of EOC is highlighted by the extensive literature
which has focused on EOC as a potential determinant of employee motivation, and staff
absenteeism and turnover rates (Porter et al. 1974; Mathieu and Zajac 1990; Hackett,Peter and Hausdorf 1994; Ko, Price and Mueller 1997; Agarwala 2003; Meyer, Becker
and Vandenberghe 2004; Smeenk, Eisinga, Teelken and Doorewaard 2006; Bhatnagar
2007). For example, Pool and Pool (2007) maintain that EOC plays a significant role in
creating an organizational environment that promotes motivation and job satisfaction in
the workplace. In addition, Gellatly (1995) suggested that EOC is a powerful predictor of
absenteeism while Stallworth (2004) found that there is a negative correlation between
the level of EOC and an employee’s intention to search for job alternatives and to leave
one’s job.
ISSN 0958 5192 i /ISSN 1466 4399 li
*Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]
The International Journal of Human Resource Management ,
Vol. 20, No. 12, December 2009, 2494–2516
8/3/2019 The Influence of Cultural And
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-influence-of-cultural-and 2/24
Given the importance of EOC, the overall objective of this study is to provide
practitioners with an insight into how they can enhance the level of EOC within their
organization. The study aims to achieve this objective by extending the literature
examining the contextual factors that can influence EOC. Accordingly, this study’s overall
objective is categorized into three main objectives: to examine the association between (i)cultural, (ii) organizational and (iii) demographic factors with the level of EOC in the
Australian manufacturing industry.
The first objective is to examine the association between cultural factors with the
level of EOC. Despite the claim that critical outcomes such as EOC and employee
performance are affected by an organization’s prevailing culture (Nystrom 1993), only a
few studies (Nystrom 1993; Lok and Crawford 1999, 2001; McKinnon, Harrison, Chow
and Wu 2003; McMurray, Scott and Pace 2004) have examined the association between
organizational culture and the level of EOC, with McMurray et al. (2004) the only
study conducted within the Australian manufacturing industry. Each of these studies
incorporated small sample sizes (maximum of 13 organizations). Accordingly, themotivation for examining the association between organizational culture and EOC is
the dearth of studies examining this relationship. Furthermore, the study aims to contribute
to the literature by examining this association using a large sample size and by focusing on
the Australian manufacturing industry. Specifically, the study will explore the association
between EOC with the six dimensions of culture attributed to O’Reilly, Chatham and
Caldwell’s (1991) Organizational Culture Profile (OCP) measure: team work; respect for
people; outcome orientation; innovation; stability; and attention to detail.
The second objective of the study is to examine the association between organizational
factors with the level of EOC. Specifically, the study hypothesizes the association between
five organizational factors (organizational size, training, link to rewards, perceived
organizational support, and job satisfaction) with the level of EOC. While the five
organizational factors examined do not represent an exhaustive list of factors associated with
the level of EOC, they are chosen as examples of the factors that have been examined in past
studies. Previous studies have produced mixed findings in respect to the association between
three of these factors (organizational size, training, and job satisfaction) and the level of EOC.
It is hoped that the current study can contribute to resolving such conflicts. In addition, the
study will contribute to the literature by examining the association between organizational
factors and the level of EOC for employees possessing specific demographic characteristics.
A third objective of the study is to assess the association between specific demographic
factors with the level of EOC. Consistent with previous research the study examines if there
is any association between gender, age, education, salary, duration of employment, and
position level1 with the level of EOC. While these relationships are examined they are
not the primary focus of the study and hence no formal hypotheses are developed. The
motivation for incorporating these demographic details in the study is two-fold. First,
the results should prove to be interesting and assist organizations by making them aware
of the manner in which EOC levels may differ amongst their managers based on the specific
demographic characteristics of individual employees. Second, the findings will facilitate a
more extensive examination of the association between the cultural and organizational
factors with the level of EOC. Specifically, it is intended that any identified divergences in
respect to the level of EOC based on demographics will be further explored by examining
the association between the cultural and organizational factors with the level of EOC foremployees with differing demographic characteristics. Such findings will assist
The International Journal of Human Resource Management 2495
8/3/2019 The Influence of Cultural And
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-influence-of-cultural-and 3/24
This paper is organized as follows. The next section defines EOC and outlines the
benefits of higher levels of EOC for organizations. This is followed by a discussion of
the association between the cultural and organizational factors with the level of EOC.
We then discuss the use of the survey method to gather data, and provide details
concerning the measurement of each of the variables. The results are then presented and,finally, the conclusions, limitations and future directions for research are discussed.
Employee organizational commitment (EOC)
There are various definitions of EOC in the literature. Some studies define EOC from
an attitude perspective (Mowday, Porter and Steers 1982; O’Reilly 1989), while other
studies define EOC from a behavioral perspective (Meyer and Allen 1997). In this study, the
definition of EOC is adopted from Porter et al. (1974) who defined EOC as an employee’s
identification with the organization’s goals and values; their willingness to exert a great effort
on behalf of the organization; and their intention to stay with the organization. This definition
is preferred as it defines EOC from both the attitudinal and behavioural perspectives.Meyer and Allen (1991) provide a more in-depth analysis of EOC classifying it into
three components: affective; continuance; and normative commitment. Affective
commitment is defined as an employee’s emotional attachment to a particular organization
which makes them willing to assist in the achievement of the organization’s goals.
Continuance commitment refers to an employee’s awareness of the costs related to leaving
an organization, while normative commitment is defined as a feeling of obligation to
continue employment in the organization. Employees with a high level of normative
commitment feel that they ought to stay with the organization as it is the moral thing to do
(Meyer and Allen 1991).
Two of these three components are beyond the control of management. First, in regardto continuance commitment, employees who live closer to the company would be
expected to have a higher level of continuance commitment compared with those who live
further away from the company. Second, normative commitment may result from
employees’ internalization of normative pressures before they enter into the organization
such as familial socialization. For example, employees may have been told by their family
members that to be loyal to their organization is important. Hence, continuous
commitment and normative commitment are both beyond the control of management and
therefore outside the scope of the current study. Alternatively, the degree of an employee’s
affective commitment is dependent upon their attitude towards the organization which
may be influenced by their organizational environment. Accordingly, this study focuses on
the association between specific cultural and organizational factors with the level of EOC
as assessed by the level of affective commitment.
Benefits of EOC
From a broad perspective, a high level of EOC can benefit society because of the decrease
in job movement and the increase in national productivity and/or work quality (Mathieu
and Zajac 1990; Chow 1994). From a narrower perspective, EOC remains important for
organizations because of its potential impact on employees’ job performance (Mathieu and
Zajac 1990; MacKenzie, Podsakoff and Aheame 1998; Ketchand and Strawser 2001;
Riketta 2002), employee turnover (Mathieu and Zajac 1990; Ketchand and Strawser 1998;
Stallworth 2004) and acceptance of organizational change by employees (Lau and
S. Su et al.2496
8/3/2019 The Influence of Cultural And
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-influence-of-cultural-and 4/24
According to Porter et al. (1974) employees who exhibit a higher level of EOC are
more likely to exert effort on behalf of their organization, thereby resulting in better
performance. This positive link between EOC and job performance has been supported by
a number of prior studies (Meyer, Paunonen, Cellatly, Goffin and Jackson 1989; Meyer,
Allen and Smith 1993; Hackett et al. 1994; Jaramillo, Mulki and Marshall 2005).Studies have consistently shown a strong negative relationship between EOC and
employee turnover (Ketchand and Strawser 1998; Meyer and Allen 1997; Iverson and
Buttigieg 1999; Stallworth 2004). Specifically, employees with a higher level of
organizational commitment are less likely to consider alternative job opportunities and are
less likely to actually leave their organization for other employment (Mathieu and Zajac
1990). Chow (1994) found that highly committed employees have greater loyalty and are
more likely to remain in their organizations. Given the high costs related to hiring and
training new staff and the low productivity and staff morale which tends to be associated
with employee turnover (Koh and Boo 2004), organizations should focus on EOC as a
means of reducing employee turnover rates.
In addition to the impact on employees’ job performance and turnover, EOC has been
found to play an important role in employees’ acceptance of organizational change.
In Australia, employees are experiencing various organizational changes such as
downsizing, the introduction of new plant and technology, and internationalization of
businesses (Savery and Luks 2000). The costs associated with organizational change
include the costs resulting from an employee’s resistance to change. Specifically,
employees’ uncertainty and fear in dealing with new situations can lower organizations’
productivity and morale (Mack, Nelson and Quick 1998; Nikolaou and Vakola 2005). As a
result, employees’ acceptance of organizational change becomes extremely important for
organizations to manage. Iverson (1996) suggested that EOC is one of the most important
determinants of employees’ attitudes towards organizational change. Similarly, Lau andWoodman (1995) argued that highly committed employees are more likely to accept
organizational change as they are more willing to expend more effort to adapt to new
situations.
Factors affecting the level of EOC
Organizational culture
Organizational culture refers to ‘a system of shared values and norms that define
appropriate attitudes and behaviours for organizational members’ (O’Reilly and Chatman
1996, p. 160). It is one of the fundamental factors in developing and maintaining a highlevel of organizational commitment among employees (O’Reilly 1989). However, few
studies have investigated the effect of organizational culture on the level of EOC (Nystrom
1993; Lok and Crawford 1999, 2001; McKinnon et al. 2003; McMurray et al. 2004).
Australian studies are limited to Lok and Crawford (1999, 2001) who tested the link
between organizational culture and the level of EOC in an Australian hospital context, and
McMurray et al. (2004) who conducted their study in three South Australian manufacturing
companies. Given that McMurray et al. (2004) is the only study conducted within the
Australian manufacturing industry, a gap exists in the literature in respect to studies
examining EOC in this industry in Australia.
In addition, prior studies examining the link between organizational culture and the level
of EOC have incorporated relatively small sample sizes (13 organizations in Nystrom
(1993); seven organizations in Lok and Crawford (1999, 2001); one organization in
The International Journal of Human Resource Management 2497
8/3/2019 The Influence of Cultural And
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-influence-of-cultural-and 5/24
Mathieu and Zajac (1990) there is little or no variance in employees’ perceptions of
organizational characteristics such as culture if employees are sampled from a single or a
limited number of settings. Therefore, this study seeks to overcome the limitations of prior
studies by examining the association between cultural factors and the level of EOC in the
Australian manufacturing industry using a large sample size (500 organizations).O’Reilly et al.’s (1991) Organizational Culture Profile (OCP) instrument is used as the
measure of organizational culture in the present study. This measure consists of 26 items
and has been used extensively (Sheridan 1992; Windsor and Ashkanasy 1996; McKinnon
et al. 2003; Baird, Harrison and Reeve 2004, 2007) with similar findings in regard to the
dimensions of culture: team work; respect for people; outcome orientation; innovation;
stability; and attention to detail.
Team work refers to the extent to which employees within a firm cooperate with each
other and work in unison towards overall organizational goals. The importance of teams
has been emphasized in the modern economy as they can increase employees’ flexibility
and productivity which are both essential components for organizational success(Cohen and Bailey 1997; Bishop, Scott and Burroughs 2000). Gil, Alcover and Peiro
(2005) suggested that teams empower greater responsibility to team members thereby
increasing their involvement and commitment to work. A positive association between
team work and the level of EOC was found by both Becker (1992) and Hayes (1997) and
hence, the level of EOC is expected to be higher in organizations where team work is
more prevalent.
Respect for people refers to the extent to which business units focus on fairness,
respect for the rights of the individual, and tolerance (Windsor and Ashkanasy 1996).
Being respected by the organization can increase employees’ commitment to their
organization (Tyler 1999). Specifically, employees who are treated with genuine respect
and fairness are more likely to behave with loyalty and hard work. McKinnon et al. (2003)
found a positive association between respect for people and the level of EOC in a Taiwan
organization. It is expected that a similar result will be found in Australia as the
importance of value and respect is universal (Bond 1991).
Outcome orientation refers to the extent to which business units emphasize action and
results, have high expectations for performance, and are competitive (O’Reilly et al. 1991,
p. 505). Nystrom (1993) argued that employees feel more committed in organizations that
focus on pragmatic values where results are more important than processes. Hofstede
(1998) also suggested that employees in organizations with a process-oriented culture
perceive themselves as risk-averse and only exert the minimum amount of effort on their
work, while in outcome oriented organizations, employees perceive that everyday can
bring new challenges and exert maximum effort into their work. McKinnon et al. (2003)
treated the link between outcome orientation and the level of EOC as an empirical question
with the results demonstrating a positive relationship. Similar findings are expected in the
current study.
Innovation represents a business unit’s receptivity and adaptability to change, and its
willingness to experiment (O’Reilly et al. 1991, p. 505). Innovative organizations are more
likely to experiment with new practices and their employees are more likely to respond
positively to new techniques (Baird et al. 2004, 2007). Drucker (1998) argues that
innovation requires focused and hard work everyday rather than just genius, and therefore
employees in innovative organizations will exhibit higher levels of EOC. A strong positiverelationship between the culture dimension ‘innovation’ and the level of EOC was found
S. Su et al.2498
8/3/2019 The Influence of Cultural And
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-influence-of-cultural-and 6/24
Stability refers to security of employment (Windsor and Ashkanasy 1996). It
represents the extent to which an organization provides stable employment for
employees (Windsor and Ashkanasy 1996) and employees’ perceptions that the
employment will continue as long as they exert the appropriate effort in their job
(Valletta 1999). In terms of Armknecht and Early’s (1972) study, employees’ attitudes to job security are contingent on the behaviour of the labour market. Morris, Lydka and
O’Creevy (1993) argue that job security will only exhibit a strong positive relationship
with employees’ commitment to organizations during recessionary economic conditions.
Hence, given the study was conducted prior to the global financial crisis, economic
conditions in Australia were stable and job security was not expected to be related to the
level of EOC.
Attention to detail is defined as a strict compliance with detailed rules and procedures
in terms of precision and accuracy (O’Reilly et al. 1991). The phrase ‘initiation of
structure’ refers to the degree to which managers define the roles of their subordinates in
job-related activities, specify procedures, and assign tasks (Kohli 1989). Hence,
organizations with a high degree of initiation of structure are indicative of a culture which
emphasizes ‘attention to detail’. Agarwal, Decarlo and Vyas (1999) and Lok and Crawford
(2001) suggest that there is no direct relationship between initiation of structure and the
level of EOC. Similarly, Johnston, Parasuraman, Futrell and Black (1990) found that
the extent of specific information given by supervisors has no direct impact on employees’
commitment to their organization. As a result, attention to detail is not expected to be
associated with the level of EOC.
The above discussion leads to the development of the following hypothesis:
Hypothesis 1: Organizations that value the organizational culture dimensions of team
work, respect for people, outcome orientation, and innovation to agreater extent are more likely to exhibit higher levels of EOC.
Organizational factors
This section discusses the association between five organizational factors (organizational
size, training, link to rewards, perceived organizational support and job satisfaction) and
the level of EOC.
Stevens, Beyer and Trice (1978) suggested that larger organizations have increased
opportunities for promotions and interpersonal interactions, thereby resulting in more
committed employees. Alternatively, Hodson and Sullivan (1985) argued that largerorganizations are perceived to be less personable and harder to identify with, thereby
resulting in lower levels of EOC. Employees working in smaller organizations feel
stronger personal relationships with their employers and co-workers, and are therefore
more committed to their organization. Given these inconsistent findings, the hypothesis
examining the association between organizational size and the level of EOC is stated in the
null form:
Hypothesis 2: The size of the organization does not affect the level of EOC.
Prior literature maintains that training plays a significant role in enhancing the level of
EOC. For instance, Taormina (1999) found that employees who felt they had received
good training exhibited a higher level of commitment to their organization. Similarly,
Lambooij, Flache, Sanders and Siegers (2007) suggested that employees are more willing
The International Journal of Human Resource Management 2499
8/3/2019 The Influence of Cultural And
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-influence-of-cultural-and 7/24
McGunnigle and Jameson’s (2000) study in UK hotels found little evidence to support
the relationship between training and the level of EOC. Such findings were consistent
with Davies, Taylor and Savery (2001) who found training was linked to improvements
in productivity and reduced employee turnover, but was not linked to increased levels
of EOC. Furthermore, there is concern that employees who are given significant levels of training may become more competent and consequently more likely to look for alternative
employment (Lermont-Pape 2002). Given these mixed findings, the hypothesis
concerning the relationship between training and the level of EOC is stated in the
null form:
Hypothesis 3: The level of training does not affect the level of EOC.
Phoenix (2006) argued that the extent of commitment to an employer is determined by
employees’ perceptions of how their performance is linked to their rewards. Employees
who are rewarded for their performances are more likely to be motivated to excel and
increase their commitment. In terms of path-goal theory, subordinates choose their level of
effort to be applied once leaders define the paths they must trace in order to receive
rewards for their performance (House 1996). Therefore, the provision of the mutual
benefits between performance and rewards can encourage employees’ extra effort and
involvement within their organization. Hence, employees whose rewards are contingent
on their performance are more likely to commit to their organization (Densten 2006). The
above discussion leads to the development of the following hypothesis:
Hypothesis 4: Organizations with stronger links to rewards are more likely to exhibit
higher levels of EOC.
Social exchange theory treats commitment as an exchange commodity (Fuller, Barnett,
Hester and Relyea 2003) and suggests that employees will be more likely to commit to anorganization when they feel that the organization commits to them (Shore and Tetrick
1991; Guzzo, Noonan and Elron 1994; Tsui, Pearce, Porter and Tripoli 1997; Aube,
Rousseau and Morin 2007). Eisenberger, Fasolo and Valerie (1990) found that there is a
positive relationship between employees’ perceived organizational support and their
affective commitment to the organization. Employees experiencing higher perceived
organizational support will exhibit greater effort and will be less likely to leave. This
positive relationship was also found in Rhoades, Eisenberger and Armeil (2000). The
above discussion leads to the development of the following hypothesis:
Hypothesis 5: Organizations that are perceived to provide a higher level of
organizational support are more likely to exhibit higher levels of EOC.
Many studies have examined the relationship between job satisfaction and EOC. Bateman
and Strasser (1984) found that job satisfaction was an outcome of EOC rather than a
predictor. They argued that employees’ job satisfaction was developed based on their
existing level of EOC. This result was supported by Paik, Parboteeah and Shim (2007).
Alternatively, Johnston et al. (1990) argued that job satisfaction was a direct determinant
of EOC rather than an outcome of organizational commitment. Similar results were found
in Koh and Boo (2004), Lok and Crawford (2001), MacKenzie et al. (1998), and
Mannheim, Baruch and Tai (1997). Alternatively, Shore, Barksdale and Shore (1995)
investigated the link between job satisfaction and the level of EOC, with the results
indicating that job satisfaction was not associated with the level of affective or continuous
commitment. In addition, Rayton (2006) argued that there is an interdependent correlation
S. Su et al.2500
8/3/2019 The Influence of Cultural And
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-influence-of-cultural-and 8/24
relationship between job satisfaction and the level of EOC, the hypothesis is stated in the
null form:
Hypothesis 6 : The level of job satisfaction does not affect the level of EOC.
Method
A survey questionnaire was mailed to the managers from a random sample of 500
Australian manufacturing organizations chosen from the Kompass Australia database
(2006). The survey was administered using the Dillman Tailored Design Method (2007)
which provides guidelines in relation to the design and distribution of the questionnaire
and has been shown to improve response rates to mail survey questionnaires.
Variable measurement
The level of EOC
This study applies Cook and Wall’s (1980) nine-item scale to measure the level of
EOC. It has been shown to be a reliable measure of EOC in prior studies (Jaramillo
et al. 2005; Karami, Boojke and Sainfort 2005; Varona 1996). The scale consists of
three components (organizational identification, organizational involvement, and
organizational loyalty) with respondents required to indicate the extent to which they
agree with each of the statements using a five-point scale with anchors of ‘strongly
disagree’ and ‘strongly agree’ (see Appendix). The level of EOC was measured as the
combined score for the nine items (ranging from 9 to 45), with higher (lower) scores
representing a greater (lower) level of EOC. Reverse scoring was applied for the three
items that were negatively stated.
Organizational culture
There are two main perspectives in relation to the measurement of organizational culture,
the quantitative and qualitative approaches. The quantitative approach maintains that
‘culture can be objectively determined and measured’ (Goddard 1997) with numerous
instruments having been developed to examine organizational culture (including the
Culture Gap Survey (Kilmann and Saxton 1983), the Corporate Culture Survey (Glaser
1983), the Organizational Beliefs Questionnaire (Sashkin 1984), the Organizational
Culture Inventory (Cooke and Lafferty 1989), and the Organizational Culture Profile
(O’Reilly et al. 1991)). The qualitative approach assesses organizational culture throughobservation thereby facilitating a more detailed insight into the prevailing culture.
The quantitative approach has been criticized by advocates of the qualitative
approach who maintain that the measures used fail to represent observed reality and
inhibit the ‘depth and breadth of cultural understanding’ (Martin 2002; Martin, Frost and
O’Neill 2006; Schein 1996). In addition, Alvesson (2002) argues that this approach
prevents the careful and detailed observation warranted to clear up ambiguities
concerning organizational culture. However, while the qualitative approach provides a
more detailed insight into the prevailing culture, the obtained data does not permit
systematic comparisons to be made (Siehl and Martin 1988). Quantitative approaches
overcome this problem by requiring respondents to evaluate organizational culture based
on the dimensions included in the questionnaire, thereby facilitating the comparison of
cultural attributes between organizations and across time (Hofstede, Neuijen, Ohayv and
The International Journal of Human Resource Management 2501
8/3/2019 The Influence of Cultural And
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-influence-of-cultural-and 9/24
differences in culture may affect the level of EOC, a quantitative approach was
considered appropriate.
Accordingly, organizational culture was measured using the 26 item version of
O’Reilly et al.’s (1991) Organizational Culture Profile (OCP) instrument. This instrument
was chosen as it has been widely used in many prior studies including Windsor andAshkanasy (1996), Sheridan (1992), McKinnon et al. (2003) and Baird et al. (2004, 2007).
The OCP measure required respondents to indicate the extent to which each item
was valued within their organization on a five-point Likert scale with anchors of ‘not at all’
and ‘to a great extent’. Factor analysis of the 26-item measure was performed with
five cultural dimensions obtained (67.2% of the total variance): team work/respect
for people,2 innovation, attention to detail, stability and outcome orientation. Scores for
each of these dimensions were calculated as the sum of the cultural value items
which loaded on those dimensions (see Appendix), with higher (lower) scores indicating
that the cultural dimension was valued to a greater (lesser) extent.
Organizational size
Organizational size was measured using the total number of full-time employees in the
organization, with part-time employees being treated as fractions of full-time employees.
Training
Training was measured by a single-item self-developed question. Specifically,
respondents were required to indicate the extent to which adequate training was provided
by their organization with anchors of ‘not at all’ and ‘to a great extent’. The level of adequate training was scored from 1 to 5, with higher (lower) scores representing a higher
(lower) level of adequate training provided by the organization.
Link to rewards
Link to rewards was also measured by a single-item self-developed question. Specifically,
respondents were required to indicate the extent of the link between performance and
rewards, with anchors of ‘not at all’ and ‘to a great extent’. The extent of link to rewards
was scored from 1 to 5, with higher (lower) scores representing a stronger (weaker) link to
rewards.
The level of perceived organizational support
Eisenberger, Armeli, Rexwinkel, Lynch and Rhoades’ (2001) six-item measure was used
to measure the level of perceived organizational support (see Appendix). Respondents
were required to indicate if their organization takes pride in their work accomplishments,
cares about their well-being, values their contribution to the organization’s well-being,
considers their goals and values, shows concern for them, and is willing to help them when
needed. The level of perceived organizational support was measured as the combined
score for the six items (ranging from 6 to 30), with higher (lower) scores representing a
higher (lower) level of perceived organizational support. Reverse scoring was applied for
S. Su et al.2502
8/3/2019 The Influence of Cultural And
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-influence-of-cultural-and 10/24
The level of job satisfaction
Wright and Cropanzano’s (1998) five-item measure was applied to measure the level of
job satisfaction. This measure consists of five dimensions with respondents required to
indicate their degree of satisfaction with the tasks performed, co-workers, supervision,
remuneration and promotional opportunities using a five-point scale with anchors of
‘strongly disagree’ and ‘strongly agree’. The level of job satisfaction was measured as the
combined score for the five items (ranging from 5 to 25), with higher (lower) scores
representing a higher (lower) level of job satisfaction.
Table 1 shows the summary statistics for the independent and dependent variables. Forthe multi-item scales used to measure the level of perceived organizational support, job
satisfaction, EOC, and the five cultural dimensions, the actual range was comparable with
the theoretical range, and the Cronbach alpha (1951) coefficients exceeded the .70
threshold considered acceptable for scale reliability (Nunnally 1978, p. 245).
Results and discussion
The response rate was 45.4% with 227 responses. These comprised 154 (30.8%) from the
initial distribution of the questionnaires and 73 (14.6%) from the follow-up mail-out.
A test for non-response bias was conducted by comparing the responses of early and laterespondents for each of the independent variables and the dependent variable. The results
revealed that were no significant differences between early respondents and late
respondents for any of the variables. Hence, there are no problems regarding non-response
bias for the data obtained.
Factors affecting EOC: cultural and organizational factors
The association between the cultural and organizational factors with the level of EOC was
initially assessed using hierarchical regression. Table 2 presents the results of the
hierarchical regression analysis when the block of cultural factors were entered first and
the block of organizational factors were entered second. The results reveal that both
cultural and organizational factors are significant predictors of the level of EOC in
Table 1. Descriptive statistics of the independent variables and the dependent variable.
Variables N Mean Std dev.
Minimumactual
(theoretical)
Maximumactual
(theoretical)Cronbach’s
alpha
Team work/respectfor people
226 27.29 4.66 7 (7) 35 (35) .90
Outcome orientation 227 19.99 3.30 8 (5) 25 (25) .86Innovation 226 17.11 3.80 5 (5) 25 (25) .82Stability 226 11.00 2.08 5 (3) 15 (15) .77Attention to detail 226 10.97 2.15 4 (3) 15 (15) .79Size 225 1245.54 9222.65 1 (1) 130000 (infinity) –Training 226 3.44 0.96 1 (1) 5 (5) –Link to rewards 225 3.26 1.03 1 (1) 5 (5) –Perceived organizationalsupport
227 23.37 4.62 9 (6) 30 (30) .91
Job satisfaction 227 18.64 3.22 5 (5) 25 (25) .80
EOC 226 36.85 5.87 15 (9) 45 (45) .82
The International Journal of Human Resource Management 2503
8/3/2019 The Influence of Cultural And
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-influence-of-cultural-and 11/24
of EOC explained by the cultural factors was 0.48 (p ¼ 0.00), while organizational factors
explained an additional 0.15 (p ¼ 0.00) of the variation in the level of EOC.
Table 3 shows the results of the hierarchical regression analysis when the block of
organizational factors were entered first and the block of cultural factors were entered
second. The results again suggest that both organizational factors and cultural factors are
significant determinants of the level of EOC. Specifically, the organizational factors
explained 0.58 (p ¼ 0.00) of the total variation in the level of EOC, while the cultural
factors explained an additional 0.04 (p ¼ 0.00) of the total variation in the level of EOC.
Comparison of Tables 2 and 3 show that while the effects of both the cultural factors and
the organizational factors are statistically significant, the effect of the organizational factors
on the level of EOC is stronger both when entered first in the hierarchical regression and in
terms of the unique contribution when entered second. To explore this relationship further,
stepwise regression was performed to identify the specific factors that had the most
significant effect on the level of EOC.
Table 2. Hierarchical regression of cultural factors/organizational factors with the level of EOC(cultural factors entered first).
Block number Independent variables R2 change F change Significance
1 Cultural factors (team work/respectfor people, innovation, attention todetail, stability, and outcomeorientation)
0.48 38.48 0.00**
2 Organizational factors (size, training,link to rewards, perceivedorganizational support and jobsatisfaction)
0.15 16.24 0.00**
F-value 34.24p-value 0.00**R2 0.62Adjusted R2 0.60N 218
**Significant at the 0.01 level.
Table 3. Hierarchical regression of cultural factors/organizational factors with the level of EOC
(organizational factors entered first).
Block number Independent variables R2
change F change Significance
1 Organizational factors (size, training,link to rewards, perceived organizationalsupport and job satisfaction)
0.58 59.91 0.00**
2 Cultural factors (team work/respectfor people, innovation, attention todetail, stability, and outcome orientation)
0.04 4.15 0.00**
F-value 34.24p-value 0.00**R2 0.62
Adjusted R2
0.60N 218
S. Su et al.2504
8/3/2019 The Influence of Cultural And
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-influence-of-cultural-and 12/24
The final model produced by the stepwise regression (Table 4) reveals that two cultural
factors (outcome orientation and stability) and three organizational factors (size, perceived
organizational support and job satisfaction) are significantly related to the level of EOC.
The results indicate that smaller organizations and organizations which have higher levels
of outcome orientation, stability, perceived organizational support and job satisfaction are
more likely to exhibit higher levels of EOC.
Table 4. Results of stepwise regression analysis of the effect of cultural and organizational factorson the level of EOC.
Level of EOC
Variables Coefficient T-statistics SignificanceOutcome orientation 0.126 2.571 0.01*Stability 0.140 2.981 0.00*Size 20.114 22.723 0.01*Perceived organizational support 0.434 6.668 0.00**Job satisfaction 0.250 3.885 0.00**F-value 70.47p-value 0.00**R2 0.62Adjusted R2 0.61N 217
*Significant at the 0.05 level; **Significant at the 0.01 level.
Table 5. Results of one way analysis of variance (ANOVA) comparing the level of EOC based onage.
Level of EOC
Age N Mean St. dev F-statistic Significance
21 – 30 6 29.83 9.1331 – 40 38 35.71 5.8441 – 50 83 36.92 5.80 4.01 0.00**
51 – 60 73 37.03 5.6060þ 26 39.46 4.62
**Significant at the 0.01 level.
Table 6. Results of one way analysis of variance (ANOVA) comparing the level of EOC based onposition levels.
Level of EOC
Position level N a Mean Std dev. F-statistic Significance
1. CEO 44 39.35 5.372. General manager 54 37.78 4.903. Product and IT manager 44 33.95 6.87 7.35 0.00**4. Plant and quality manager 55 36.42 5.33
**Significant at the 0.01 level;a
30 respondents who indicated that their job titles were slightly different from the above categories were excluded
The International Journal of Human Resource Management 2505
8/3/2019 The Influence of Cultural And
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-influence-of-cultural-and 13/24
a b l e 7 .
R e s u l t s o f s t e p w i s e r e g r e s s i o n a n a l y s i s o f t h e e f f e c t o f c u l t u r a l a n d o r g a n i z a t i o n a l f a c t o r s o n t h e l e v e l o f E O C .
L e v e l
1 a
L e v e l 2
b
L e v e l 3 c
L e v e l 4 d
a r i a b l e s
C o - e
f fi c i e n t
T - s t a t ( t - s i g . )
C o - e
f fi c i e n t
T - s t a t ( t - s i g . )
C o - e
f fi c i e n t
T - s
t a t ( t - s i g . )
C o - e
f fi c i e n t
T - s t a t ( t - s i g . )
t t e n t i o n
t o d e t a i l
0 . 5
5
2 . 3 8
( 0 . 0
2 * )
t a b i l i t y
1 . 1
9
3 . 4
8 ( 0 . 0
0 * * )
r a i n i n g
2
1 . 3
6
2 2 .
2 7 ( 0 . 0
3 * )
1 . 6
8
2 . 4 5
( 0 . 0
2 * )
z e
2
0 . 0
1
2
2 . 0
3 ( 0 . 0
4 * )
e r c e i v e d o r g a n i z a t i o n a l
u p p o r t
0 . 3
2
2 . 0
7 ( 0 . 0
4 * )
0 . 7
1
4 .
1 1 ( 0 . 0
0 * * )
0 . 6
9
5 . 5 8
( 0 . 0
0 * * )
o b s a t i s f a c t i o n
0 . 6
8
3 . 1
9 ( 0 . 0
0 * * )
0 . 7
4
3 . 3
1 ( 0 . 0
4 * )
0 . 8
3
3 .
2 1 ( 0 . 0
0 * * )
1 7 . 5
7
1 9 . 1 2
3 7 . 7 8
2 9 . 1
9
s i g .
0 . 0 0
* *
0 . 0
0 * *
0 . 0
0 * *
0 . 0
0 * *
2
0 . 6 8
0 . 5 4
0 . 7
4
0 . 6
3
d j u s t e d
R 2
0 . 4 7
0 . 5 1
0 . 7
2
0 . 6
1
4 1
5 3
4 3
5 4
S i g n i fi c a n t a t t h e 0 . 0
5 l e v e l ; * * S i g n i fi c a n t a t t h
e 0 . 0
1 l e v e l ; a
C E O ;
b
G e n e r a l m a n a g e
r s ; c
P r o d u c t a n d I T m a n a g e r s ;
d
P l a n t
a n d q u a l i t y m a n a g e r s .
S. Su et al.2506
8/3/2019 The Influence of Cultural And
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-influence-of-cultural-and 14/24
These findings support the importance of organizational culture as an explanatory
factor of the level of EOC with two of the five cultural dimensions (outcome orientation
and stability) found to influence the level of EOC. These results provide partial support for
Hypothesis 1. In respect to the organizational factors, it was found that three of the five
factors (organizational size, perceived organizational support and job satisfaction)exhibited a significant relationship with the level of EOC. These results provide support
for Hypothesis 5 (perceived organizational support) and allow for the rejection of the null
hypotheses in respect to Hypothesis 2 (organizational size) and Hypothesis 6 (job
satisfaction). The fact that training had no effect on the level of EOC provides support for
Hypothesis 3 while the insignificant association between link to rewards and the level of
EOC indicates that Hypothesis 4 was not supported.
Factors affecting EOC: demographic factors
The association between gender, age, education, salary, duration of employment and level
of position with the level of EOC was also examined, with the results indicating that only
age and position are significantly related to the level of EOC. Table 5 reveals that the level
of EOC differed based on the age of employees with the post hoc tests revealing that those
respondents aged between 21 and 30 had significantly lower EOC than those respondents
in any of the other age brackets. However, no significant differences in the level of EOC
indicated by respondents in any of the other four age brackets were detected, and given
that only six responding employees were in the 21–30 age bracket no further analysis
of this situation was conducted.
Table 6 reveals that the comparison of the level of EOC based on position level was
significantly different with post hoc tests revealing that product and IT managers (level 3)
recorded a significantly lower level of EOC than all of the other managers. Given thesefindings subsequent data analysis was conducted to examine the association between the
cultural and organizational factors with the level of EOC for each of the four levels of
manager with the results of the stepwise regression analysis provided in Table 7.
Table 7 reveals that all four models were significant with high R2 values recorded
(0.54–0.74). Stability and job satisfaction were found to be positively associated with the
level of EOC of employees at the top of the hierarchical chain (CEOs). At the general
managers’ level, perceived organizational support and job satisfaction were positively
related to the level of EOC while organizational size was negatively related to the level of
EOC. Both perceived organizational support and job satisfaction were also positively
related to the level of EOC for product and IT managers (level 3), while training was foundto be negatively related to the level of EOC for these managers. Finally, in respect to plant
and quality managers (level 4), perceived organizational support, training and attention to
detail were all positively related to the level of EOC.
Conclusion
This study had three objectives, each aimed towards assisting practitioners in identifying
the contextual factors that could contribute to the enhancement of the EOC of their
employees. The first objective was to conduct an analysis of the association between
organizational cultural factors and the level of EOC in the Australian manufacturing
industry. We find that two cultural factors (outcome orientation and stability) were
identified as significant determinants of the level of EOC. These findings support previous
The International Journal of Human Resource Management 2507
8/3/2019 The Influence of Cultural And
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-influence-of-cultural-and 15/24
EOC and suggest that practitioners need to be aware of the prevailing culture within their
organization and its impact on EOC. The positive association between outcome
orientation and the level of EOC is in line with the expectations of Hofstede (1998) and
Nystrom (1993) and reinforces the findings of McKinnon et al. (2003). A clear outcome
orientation can improve employee motivation and commitment to their organization byreducing uncertainty and clarifying what they should achieve (Samson and Daft 2005).
Hence, the findings suggest that employees are more committed to organizations that focus
on results as opposed to processes. Managers should therefore emphasize action,
achievement, and results, and have high expectations for performance and
competitiveness.
The finding of a significant relationship between stability and the level of EOC was not
expected and suggests that employees in Australian manufacturing organizations now
regard job stability to be crucial. This finding while surprising may reflect the increasingly
competitive and changing work environments in which new employer – employee
contracts are based on the concept of employability rather than lifetime employment (Halland Moss 1998). Job insecurity can cause employees to feel more stressed and thereby
lower their commitment and enthusiasm to their organization (Samson and Daft 2005). To
address this situation, managers need to provide stable continuous employment to retain
valued employees and promote their commitment to their organization.
The second objective was to examine the effect of organizational factors on the level of
EOC. The results show a significant relationship between three of the organizational
factors (organizational size, perceived organizational support and job satisfaction) and the
level of EOC.
First, it was found that employees in smaller organizations exhibited higher levels of
EOC. This finding is consistent with Hodson and Sullivan’s (1985) argument that
employees will be more committed in smaller organizations as they are more personable
and it is easier to maintain positive relationships. Employees in smaller organizations are
more likely to develop stronger personal relationships with their employer and co-workers
and consequently exhibit a higher level of EOC. To address this situation, managers in
larger organizations will need to concentrate on implementing mechanisms which reduce
the level of estrangement of employees with their organization.
Consistent with previous studies (Eisenberger et al. 1990; Rhoades et al. 2000), the
level of EOC was found to be higher among employees who indicated that their
organization provided higher levels of perceived organizational support. Therefore, it is of
pragmatic benefit to managers to demonstrate their concerns and support for employees.
Specifically, managers should care about employees’ well-being and value their
contribution to the organizations’ success. Managers also need to consider their
employees’ goals and values, provide assistance when required, and recognize employees’
accomplishments at work.
The results reveal that the level of EOC was higher for employees who reported higher
levels of job satisfaction. This result supports the findings of many studies (Johnston et al.
1990; Mannheim et al. 1997; MacKenzie et al. 1998; Lok and Crawford 2001; Koh and
Boo 2004). This association is plausible, as employees with higher job satisfaction are
more willing to do extra work and they often work long hours because of their high
degree of job satisfaction (Byrne 1998). Accordingly, managers need to ensure that
employees have positive attitudes towards their job. Specifically, tasks given to employeesshould match their abilities and interests and the remuneration provided should be
S. Su et al.2508
8/3/2019 The Influence of Cultural And
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-influence-of-cultural-and 16/24
employees’ relationship with their co-workers and supervisors, and ensure that appropriate
promotional opportunities are provided.
These findings extend the literature examining the association between organizational
factors and the level of EOC and highlight their importance to those practitioners who are
intent on enhancing the level of EOC. In addition, given the mixed findings obtained inprevious studies, the findings in respect to size and job satisfaction provide a further
insight into the nature of their association with EOC. The third objective was to examine
the association between specific demographic factors with the level of EOC. The results
indicate that age and position were the only two factors significantly associated with the
level of EOC. Further analysis was undertaken to identify the specific cultural and
organizational factors which affected the EOC of managers across the four different
position levels with several interesting findings.
The results revealed that stability was significantly associated with the level of EOC
for top managers (CEOs). Samson and Daft (2005) indicated that the achievement of
strategic success needs more than 5 and even up to 10 years’ consistent strategic direction
and policy. Accordingly, the results clearly suggest that organizations need to
acknowledge that outcomes from strategic decisions will take time and provide CEOs
with job stability if they wish to enhance their EOC.
Perceived organizational support was found to have a positive significant effect on the
level of EOC for general, product, IT, plant and quality managers. Organizations today
face increasingly tough global competition, uncertain environments, and massive
worldwide economic, political and social change (Samson and Daft 2005). Hence, lower
level managers are suffering more work stress from task demands3 and role demands4
(Samson and Daft 2005). In this work environment, perceived organizational support
becomes extremely important. Specifically, lower level managers will be more willing to
commit to their organization if they feel that their organization understands their work environment and provides them with assistance in fulfilling their responsibilities.
Organizational size was negatively related to the level of EOC for general managers
indicating that the level of EOC of these managers is higher in smaller organizations. This
finding suggests that CEOs in larger organizations need to concentrate on developing more
personal relationships with these managers in an attempt to improve their EOC.
Further, the results indicate that training was negatively associated with the level of
EOC for product and IT managers (level 3) while positively associated with the level
of EOC for plant and quality managers (level 4). As managers in the lowest level in the
organizational hierarchy, plant and quality managers are more directly responsible for
the production of goods and the provision of services. Therefore, such managers requiremore technical skills that can be improved by training. Providing necessary training can
enable them to succeed on the job and thereby promote their commitment to their
organization (Samson and Daft 2005). However, while managers at lower levels may be
stimulated by training programmes, managers at higher levels have less interest and
enthusiasm towards training. Hence, the findings suggest that training provided to higher
level managers (CEOs and general managers) has no impact on their level of EOC. This
result is also in line with the comments of McMurray et al. (2004) which suggested that
training should be implemented at the lower organizational levels rather than at higher
management levels.
An association between attention to detail and the level of EOC for managers at the
lowest level of the hierarchy (plant and quality managers) was identified. Given that these
managers are normally under the supervision of managers from more than one position
The International Journal of Human Resource Management 2509
8/3/2019 The Influence of Cultural And
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-influence-of-cultural-and 17/24
from different managers are inconsistent. Hence, the provision of sufficient information
about role expectations and minimization of potential confusion about performance
requirements is important in reducing role ambiguity and will have a positive impact on
the level of EOC for these managers (Johnston et al. 1990). This is consistent with
Rayton (2006) suggesting that clear job expectations enhance EOC.Finally, job satisfaction was related to the level of EOC across all position levels
except level 4 (plant and quality managers).5 Job satisfaction refers to a positive attitude
towards one’s job and greater job satisfaction can lead to greater EOC (Johnston et al.
1990; Mannheim et al. 1997; MacKenzie et al. 1998; Lok and Crawford 2001; Koh and
Boo 2004). Therefore, in order to enhance employees’ level of EOC, managers should
create a work environment where employees can work with a positive emotional state.
These findings have important implications for both practitioners and researchers. The
findings highlight the fact that in attempting to enhance EOC, organizations need to be
aware of the usefulness of specific organizational and cultural attributes in enhancing the
EOC of specific employees within their organization. Similarly, researchers need be aware
of the complexities involved in enhancing EOC with future studies considering EOC in
respect to different employee positions.
The study has provided an important insight into the cultural and organizational factors
which can influence the level of employee organizational commitment. Importantly the
findings reveal the association of these factors with the level of employee organizational
commitment for specific types of managers. Hence, the findings will assist organizations
by providing them with an insight into the factors that can enable them to create an
organizational environment conducive to enhancing the EOC of their managers. Such
findings are crucial given improved EOC can lead to better employee performance,
decreased employee absenteeism and turnover rates and result in subsequent
improvements in productivity and growth.
Limitations and suggestions for future research
The study is subject to the usual limitations associated with the use of the survey method.
For instance, due to the inability to eliminate rival explanations, surveys can only find
associations rather than causal relationships between independent variables and dependent
variables (Singleton and Straits 2005). Future studies could combine other methods
such as interviews with surveys to get a deeper insight into the factors that affect the level
of EOC.
In addition, given the self-report survey approach used in the current study, there is apotential threat of measurement error as respondents may answer questions in the direction
of social desirability rather than their real feelings (Singleton and Straits 2005). However,
given that relatively full ranges were obtained for the variables for which data were
gathered suggests that social desirability bias is not a problem.
Another potential problem relates to the fact that the measures of training and link to
rewards were self-developed and both consisted of a single item. Future studies could test
the validity and reliability of these measures, or develop more detailed measures to
examine the association between training and link to rewards with the level of EOC. Future
studies could also explore the association between organizational culture and EOC in
greater detail by adopting a qualitative approach to measure organizational culture.
In addition, the survey questionnaires were only distributed to four levels of managers
in the organizations’ hierarchy. Consequently, the data provided may only represent
S. Su et al.2510
8/3/2019 The Influence of Cultural And
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-influence-of-cultural-and 18/24
the level of EOC. Future studies could improve the generalizability of the results by
collecting data from front-line employees.
Finally, given the current study only investigated the association between cultural and
organizational factors with the level of EOC in the Australian manufacturing industry,
future studies could make a comparison of the factors that affect the level of EOC acrossother industries, or between the manufacturing industry in Australia and manufacturing
industries in other countries.
Notes
1. Position level was operationalized using four levels of management: chief executive officers;general managers; product and information technology (IT) managers; and plant and qualitymanagers.
2. Items relating to the team work and respect for people dimensions loaded onto the samedimension and were therefore treated as one combined dimension in the subsequent analysis.
3. Task demands are stressors arising from the tasks such as time pressure and incompleteinformation.
4. Role demands are challenges associated with a role such as role ambiguity and role conflict.5. The lack of association of this relationship for these managers may be attributed to the routine
tasks performed by such managers.
References
Agarwal, S., Decarlo, T.E., and Vyas, S.B. (1999), ‘Leadership Behaviour and OrganizationalCommitment: A Comparative Study of American and Indian Salespersons,’ Journal of
International Business Studies, 30, 4, 727–743.
Agarwala, T. (2003), ‘Innovative Human Resource Practices and Organizational Commitment: AnEmpirical Investigation,’ International Journal of Human Resource Management , 14, 2,175–197.
Alvesson, M. (2002), Understanding Organizational Culture, London: Sage.Armknecht, P.A., and Early, J.F. (1972), ‘Quits in Manufacturing: A Study of Their Causes,’
Monthly Labor Review, 95, November, 31– 37.Aube, C., Rousseau, V., and Morin, E.M. (2007), ‘Perceived Organizational Support and
Organizational Commitment,’ Journal of Managerial Psychology, 22, 5, 479–495.Baird, K.M., Harrison, G.L., and Reeve, R.C. (2004), ‘Adoption of Activity Management Practices:
A Note on the Extent of Adoption and the Influence of Organizational and Cultural Factors,’ Management Accounting Research, 15, 4, 383–399.
Baird, K., Harrison, G., and Reeve, R. (2007), ‘Success of Activity Management Practices: TheInfluence of Organizational and Cultural Factors,’ Accounting and Finance, 47, 4, 47– 67.
Bateman, T.S., and Strasser, S. (1984), ‘A Longitudinal Analysis of the Antecedents of Organizational Commitment,’ The Academy of Management Journal, 27, 1, 95 –112.
Becker, T.E. (1992), ‘Foci and Bases of Commitment: Are They Distinctions worth Making?,’ Academy of Management Journal, 35, 1, 222–244.
Bhatnagar, J. (2007), ‘Predictors of Organizational Commitment in India: Strategic HM Roles,Organizational Learning Capability and Psychological Empowerment,’ International Journal of
Human Resource Management , 18, 10, 1782–1811.Bishop, J.W., Scott, K.D., and Burroughs, S.M. (2000), ‘Support, Commitment, and Employee
Outcomes in a Team Environment,’ Journal of Management Development , 26, 6, 1113–1132.Bond, M.H. (1991), Beyond the Chinese Face: Insights from Psychology, Hong Kong: Oxford
University Press.Byrne, J.A. (1998), ‘Virtual Management,’ Business Week , 80–82.
Chow, I.H. (1994), ‘Organizational Commitment and Career Development of Chinese Managers inHong Kong and Taiwan,’ The International Journal of Career Management , 6, 4, 3–9.
Cohen, S.G., and Bailey, D.E. (1997), ‘What Makes Teams Work: Group Effectiveness Research
The International Journal of Human Resource Management 2511
8/3/2019 The Influence of Cultural And
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-influence-of-cultural-and 19/24
Cook, J., and Wall, T. (1980), ‘New Work Attitude Measures of Trust, Organizational Commitmentand Personal Need Non-fulfillment,’ Journal of Occupational Psychology, 53, 1, 39– 52.
Cooke, R.A., and Lafferty, J.C. (1989), Organizational Culture Inventory, Plymouth, MI: HumanSynergistics.
Cronbach, L.J. (1951), ‘Coefficient Alpha and the Internal Structure of Tests,’ Psychometrika, 16,
297–334.Davies, D., Taylor, R., and Savery, L. (2001), ‘The Role of Appraisal, Remuneration and Training in
Improving Staff Relations in the Western Australian Accommodation Industry: A ComparativeStudy,’ Journal of European Industrial Training, 25, 7, 366–373.
Densten, I.L. (2006), ‘Negotiating Extra Effort through Contingent Rewards,’ Leadership &
Organization Development Journal, 27, 1, 38– 49.Dillman, D.A. (2007), Mail and Internet Surveys: The Tailored Design Method , New York: John
Wiley and Sons, Inc.Drucker, P.F. (1998), ‘The Discipline of Innovation,’ Harvard Business Review, 76, 6, 149–157.Eisenberger, R., Armeli, S., Rexwinkel, B., Lynch, P.D., and Rhoades, L. (2001), ‘Reciprocation of
Perceived Organizational Support,’ Journal of Applied Psychology, 86, 1, 42– 51.Eisenberger, R., Fasolo, P., and Valerie, D.L. (1990), ‘Perceived Organizational Support and
Employee Diligence, Commitment, and Innovation,’ Journal of Applied Psychology, 75, 1,51–59.Fuller, J.B., Barnett, T., Hester, K., and Relyea, C. (2003), ‘A Social Identity Perspective on the
Relationship Between Perceived Organizational Support and Organizational Commitment,’ Journal of Social Psychology, 143, 6, 789–791.
Gellatly, L. (1995), ‘Individual and Group Determinants of Employee Absenteeism: Test of a CausalModel,’ Journal of Organizational Behaviour , 16, 5, 469–485.
Gil, F., Alcover, C., and Peiro, J. (2005), ‘Work Team Effectiveness in Organizational Contexts,’ Journal of Managerial Psychology, 20, 3/4, 193–218.
Glaser, R. (1983), The Corporate Culture Survey, Bryn Mawr, PA: Organizational Design andDevelopment.
Goddard, A. (1997), ‘Organisational Culture and Budgetary Control in a UK Local GovernmentApplication,’ Accounting and Business Research, 27, 2, 111–123.
Guzzo, R.A., Noonan, K.A., and Elron, E. (1994), ‘Expatriate Managers and the PsychologicalContract,’ Journal of Applied Psychology, 79, 4, 617–626.
Hackett, R.D., Peter, B., and Hausdorf, P.A. (1994), ‘Further Assessments of Meyer and Allen’s1991 Three-component Model of Organizational Commitment,’ Journal of Applied Psychology,79, 1, 15– 23.
Hall, D.T., and Moss, J.E. (1998), ‘The New Protean Career Contract: Helping Organizations andEmployees Adapt,’ Organizational Dynamics, 26, 3, 22– 37.
Hayes, N. (1997), Successful Team Management , London: International Thomson Business Press.Hodson, R., and Sullivan, T.A. (1985), ‘Totem or Tyrant? Monopoly, Regional, and Local Sector
Effects on Work Commitment,’ Social Forces, 63, 7, 716–731.Hofstede, G. (1998), ‘Attitudes, Values and Organizational Culture: Disentangling the Concepts,’
Organization Studies, 19, 3, 477–492.
Hofstede, G., Neuijen, B., Ohayv, D.D., and Sanders, G. (1990), ‘Measuring OrganizationalCultures: A Qualitative and Quantitative Study Across Twenty Cases,’ Administrative ScienceQuarterly, 35, 286–316.
House, R.J. (1996), ‘Path-goal Theory of Leadership Lessons, Legacy, and a Reformulated Theory,’The Leadership Quarterly, 7, 3, 323–352.
Iverson, R.D. (1996), ‘Employee Acceptance of Organizational Change: The Role of Organizational Commitment,’ The International Journal of Human Resource Management ,7, 1, 122–149.
Iverson, R.D., and Buttigieg, D.M. (1999), ‘Affective, Normative and Continuance Commitment:Can the “Right Kind” of Commitment be Managed?’ Journal of Management Studies, 36, 3,307–333.
Jaramillo, F., Mulki, J.P., and Marshall, G.W. (2005), ‘A Meta-analysis of the Relationship between
Organizational Commitment and Salesperson Job Performance: 25 Years Research,’ Journal of Business Research, 58, 6, 705–714.
Johnston, M.W., Parasuraman, A., Futrell, C.M., and Black, W.C. (1990), ‘A Longitudinal
S. Su et al.2512
8/3/2019 The Influence of Cultural And
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-influence-of-cultural-and 20/24
Organizational Commitment During Early Employment,’ Journal of Marketing Research, 27, 3,333–344.
Karami, B., Boojke, C., and Sainfort, F. (2005), ‘Job and Organizational Determinants of NursingHome Employee Commitment, Job Satisfaction and Intention to Turnover,’ Ergonomics, 48, 10,1260–1281.
Ketchand, A.A., and Strawser, J.R. (1998), ‘The Existence of Multiple Measures of OrganizationalCommitment and Experience-related Differences in a Public Accounting Setting,’ Behavioural
Research in Accounting, 10, 109–137.Ketchand, A.A., and Strawser, J.R. (2001), ‘Multiple Dimensions of Organizational Commitment:
Implications for Future Accounting Research,’ Behavioural Research in Accounting, 13,221–251.
Kilmann, R.H., and Saxton, M.J. (1983), The Kilmann-Saxton Culture-Gap Survey, Pittsburgh, PA:Organizational Design Consultants.
Ko, J., Price, J.L., and Mueller, C.W. (1997), ‘Assessment of Meyer and Allen’s Three-componentModel of Organizational Commitment in South Korea,’ Journal of Applied Psychology, 82, 6,961–973.
Koh, H.C., and Boo, E.H.Y. (2004), ‘Organizational Ethics and Employee Satisfaction and
Commitment,’ Management Decision, 42, 5, 677–693.Kohli, A.K. (1989), ‘Effects of Supervisory Behaviour: The Role of Individual Differences amongSalespeople,’ Journal of Marketing Research, 53, October, 275– 290.
Kompass Australia (2006), Victoria: Peter Isaacson Publications.Lambooij, M., Flache, A., Sanders, K., and Siegers, J. (2007), ‘Encouraging Employees to Co-
operate: The Effects of Sponsored Training and Promotion Practices on Employees’ Willingnessto Work Overtime,’ International Journal of Human Resource Management , 18, 10,1748–1767.
Lau, C., and Woodman, R.C. (1995), ‘Understanding Organizational Change: A SchematicPerspective,’ Academy of Management Journal, 38, 2, 537–554.
Lermont-Pape, H. (2002), ‘Getting the Maximum Return,’ Rural Telecommunications, May/June27–30.
Lok, P., and Crawford, J. (1999), ‘The Relationship between Commitment and Organizational
Culture, Subculture, Leadership Style and Job Satisfaction in Organizational Change andDevelopment,’ Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 20, 7, 365–373.
Lok, P., and Crawford, J. (2001), ‘Antecedents of Organizational Commitment and the MediatingRole of Job Satisfaction,’ Journal of Managerial Psychology, 16, 8, 594–613.
Mack, D.A., Nelson, D.L., and Quick, J.C. (1998), ‘The Stress of Organizational Change:A Dynamic Process Model,’ Applied Psychology: An International Review, 47, 2, 219–232.
Mackenzie, S.B., Podsakoff, M., and Aheame, M. (1998), ‘Some Possible Antecedents andConsequences of In-role and Extra-role Salesperson Performance,’ Journal of Marketing, 62, 3,87–98.
Mannheim, B., Baruch, Y., and Tal, J. (1997), ‘Alternative Models for Antecedents and Outcomes of Work Centrality and Job Satisfaction of High-tech Personnel,’ Human Relations, 50, 12,1537–1562.
Martin, J. (2002), Organizational Culture: Mapping the Terrain, London: Sage.Martin, J., Frost, P.J., and O’Neil, O.A. (2006), ‘Organizational Culture: Beyond Struggles for
Intellectual Dominance,’ in The Handbook of Organization Studies (2nd ed.), eds. S.R. Clegg, C.Hardy, T.B. Lawrence and W.R. Nord, Newbury Park, CA: Sage, pp. 725–753.
Mathieu, J.E., and Zajac, D.M. (1990), ‘A Review and Meta-analysis of the Antecedents, Correlates,and Consequences of Organizational Commitment,’ Psychological Bulletin, 108, 2, 171–194.
McGunnigle, P.J., and Jameson, S.M. (2000), ‘HRM in UK Hotels: A Focus on Commitment,’Employee Relations, 22, 4, 403–422.
McKinnon, J.L., Harrison, G.L., Chow, C.W., and Wu, A. (2003), ‘Organizational Culture:Association with Commitment, Job Satisfaction, Propensity to Remain, and Information Sharingin Taiwan,’ International Journal of Business Studies, 11, 1, 25– 44.
McMurray, J.A., Scott, D.R., and Pace, R.W. (2004), ‘The Relationship between Organizational
Commitment and Organizational Climate in Manufacturing,’ Human Resource Development Quarterly, 15, 4, 473–488.Meyer, J.P., and Allen, N.J. (1991), ‘A Three Component Conceptualization of Organizational
The International Journal of Human Resource Management 2513
8/3/2019 The Influence of Cultural And
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-influence-of-cultural-and 21/24
Meyer, J.P., and Allen, N.J. (1997), Commitment in the Workplace, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Meyer, J.P., Allen, N.J., and Smith, C.A. (1993), ‘Commitment to Organizations and Occupations:
Extension and Test of a Three-component Conceptualization,’ Journal of Applied Psychology,78, 4, 538–551.
Meyer, J., Becker, T., and Vandenberghe, C. (2004), ‘Employee Commitment and Motivation:
A Conceptual Analysis and Integrative Model,’ Journal of Applied Psychology, 89, 6,991–1007.
Meyer, J.P., Paunonen, S.V., Cellatly, I.R., Goffin, R.D., and Jackson, D.N. (1989), ‘OrganizationalCommitment and Job Performance: It’s The Nature of the Commitment that Counts,’ Journal of
Applied Psychology, 74, 1, 152–156.Morris, T., Lydka, H., and O’Creevy, M.F. (1993), ‘Can Commitment be Managed? A Longitudinal
Analysis of Employee Commitment and Human Resource Policies,’ Human Resource
Management Journal, 3, 4, 21–42.Mowday, R.T., Porter, L.W., and Steers, R.M. (1982), Employee-organizational Linkages: The
Psychology of Commitment, Absenteeism, and Turnover , New York: Academic Press.Nikolaou, I., and Vakola, M. (2005), ‘Attitudes towards Organizational Change: What is the Role of
Employees’ Stress and Commitment?,’ Employee Relations, 27, 2, 160–174.
Nunnally, J.C. (1978), Psychometric Theory, New York: McGraw-Hill.Nystrom, P.C. (1993), ‘Organizational Cultures, Strategies, and Commitments in Health CareOrganizations,’ Health Care Management Review, 18, 1, 43– 49.
O’Reilly, C.A. (1989), ‘Corporations, Culture, and Commitment: Motivation and Social Control inOrganizations,’ California Management Review, 31, 4, 9–25.
O’Reilly, C.A., and Chatman, J.A. (1996), ‘Culture as Social Control: Corporations, Cults andCommitment,’ Research in Organizational Behaviour , 18, 157–200.
O’Reilly, C., Chatman, J., and Caldwell, D.F. (1991), ‘People and Organizational Culture: A ProfileComparison Approach to Assessing Person– organization Fit,’ Academy of Management
Journal, 34, 3, 487–516.Paik, Y., Parboteeah, K.P., and Shim, W. (2007), ‘The Relationship between Perceived
Compensation, Organizational Commitment and Job Satisfaction: The Case of MexicanWorkers in the Korean Maguiladoras,’ International Journal of Human Resource Management ,
18, 10, 1768– 1781.Phoenix, T. (2006), ‘Benefits Compensation,’ International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans,
43, 9, 11– 14.Pool, S., and Pool, B. (2007), ‘A Management Development Model: Measuring Organizational
Commitment and its Impact on Job Satisfaction among Executives in a Learning Organization,’ Journal of Management Development , 26, 4, 353–369.
Porter, L.W., Steers, R.M., Mowday, R.T., and Boulian, P.V. (1974), ‘Organizational Commitment,Job Satisfaction, and Turnover among Psychiatric Technicians,’ Journal of Applied Psychology,59, 5, 603–609.
Rayton, B.A. (2006), ‘Examining the Interconnection of Job Satisfaction and OrganizationalCommitment: An Application of the Bivariate Probit Model,’ International Journal of Human
Resource Management , 17, 1, 139–154.
Rhoades, L., Eisenberger, R., and Armeil, S. (2000), ‘Affective Commitment to the Organization:The Contribution of Perceived Organizational Support,’ American Psychological Association,86, 5, 825–836.
Riketta, M. (2002), ‘Attitudinal Organizational Commitment and Job Performance: A Meta-analysis,’ Journal of Organizational Behaviour , 23, 3, 257–266.
Samson, D., and Daft, R.L. (2005), Management , Sydney: Thomson.Sashkin, M. (1984), Pillars of Excellence: Organizational Beliefs Questionnaire, Bryn Mawr, PA:
Organizational Design and Development.Savery, L.K., and Luks, J.A. (2000), ‘Organizational Change: The Australian Experience,’ Journal
of Management Development , 19, 4, 309–317.Schein, E.H. (1996), ‘Culture: The Missing Concept in Organization Studies,’ Administrative
Science Quarterly, 41, 2, 229–240.
Sheridan, J.E. (1992), ‘Organizational Culture and Employee Retention,’ Academy of Management Journal, 35, 5, 1036–1056.Shore, L.M., Barksdale, K., and Shore, T.H. (1995), ‘Managerial Perceptions of Employee
S. Su et al.2514
8/3/2019 The Influence of Cultural And
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-influence-of-cultural-and 22/24
Shore, L.M., and Tetrick, L.E. (1991), ‘A Construct Validity Study of the Survey of PerceivedOrganizational Support,’ Journal of Applied Psychology, 76, 5, 637–643.
Siehl, C., and Martin, J. (1988), ‘Mixing Qualitative and Quantitative Methods,’ in InsideOrganizations: Understanding the Human Dimension, eds. M.O. Jones, M.D. Moore andR.C. Snyder, London: Sage, pp. 79–103.
Singleton, R.A., and Straits, B.C. (2005), Approaches to Social Research, New York: OxfordUniversity Press.
Smeenk, S.G.A., Eisinga, R.N., Teelken, J.C., and Doorewaard, J.A.C.M. (2006), ‘The Effects of HRM Practices and Antecedents on Organizational Commitment among University Employ-ees,’ International Journal of Human Resource Management , 17, 12, 2035–2054.
Stallworth, L. (2004), ‘Antecedents and Consequences of Organizational Commitment toAccounting Organizations,’ Managerial Auditing Journal, 19, 7, 945–955.
Stevens, J.M., Beyer, J.M., and Trice, H.M. (1978), ‘Assessing Personal, Role and OrganizationalPredictors of Managerial Commitment,’ Academy of Management Journal, 21, 3, 46– 56.
Taormina, R.J. (1999), ‘Predicting Employee Commitment and Satisfaction: The Relative Effects of Socialization and Demographics,’ International Journal of Human Resource Management , 10,6, 1060– 1076.
Tsui, A.S., Pearce, J.L., Porter, L.W., and Tripoli, A.M. (1997), ‘Alternative Approaches to theEmployee–organization Relationship: Does Investment in Employees Pay Off?,’ Academy of
Management Journal, 40, 5, 1089–1121.Tyler, T.R. (1999), ‘Why People Cooperate with Organizations: An Identity-based Perspective,’
Research in Organizational Behaviour , 21, 201–246.Valletta, R. (1999), ‘Declining Job Security,’ Journal of Labour Economics, 17, 4, S170–S197.Varona, F. (1996), ‘Relationship between Communication Satisfaction and Organizational
Commitment in Three Guatemalan Organizations,’ The Journal of Business Communication,33, 2, 111–140.
Windsor, C.A., and Ashkanasy, N.M. (1996), ‘Auditor Independence Decision Making: The Role of Organizational Culture Perceptions,’ Behavioural Research in Accounting, 8, supplement,80–97.
Wright, T.A., and Cropanzano, R. (1998), ‘Emotional Exhaustion as a Predictor of Job Performance
and Voluntary Turnover,’ Journal of Applied Psychology, 83, 3, 486–493.Yousef, D.A. (2000), ‘Organizational Commitment and Job Satisfaction as Predictors of
Attitudes toward Organizational Change in a Non-Western Setting,’ Personnel Review, 29, 5,567–592.
Appendix
The level of EOC
Please indicate the extent to which you agree with the following statements:
(a) I am quite proud to be able to tell people who it is I work for.(b) I sometimes feel like leaving this employment for good.(c) I am not willing to put myself out just to help the organization.(d) Even if my organization was not doing well financially, I would be reluctant to change to
another employer.(e) I feel that I am a part of the organization.(f) In my work I like to feel I am applying some effort not just for myself but for the
organization as well.(g) The offer of a small increase in remuneration by another employer would not seriously
make me think of changing my job.(h) I would not advise a close friend to join my organization.(i) I am determined to make a contribution for the good of my organization.
Organizational culture
The International Journal of Human Resource Management 2515
8/3/2019 The Influence of Cultural And
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-influence-of-cultural-and 23/24
The level of perceived organizational supportPlease indicate the extent to which you agree with the following statements relating to your current
job.
(a) My organization takes pride in my accomplishments at work.(b) My organization really cares about my well-being.(c) My organization values my contribution to its well-being.(d) My organization strongly considers my goals and values.(e) My organization shows very little concern for me.(f) My organization is willing to help me when I need a special favour.
Team work/respect for people Attention to detailFairness Being carefulRespect for the rights of the individual Paying attention to detailTolerance Being precise
Being socially responsible StabilityBeing people oriented Security of employmentBeing team oriented StabilityWorking in collaboration with others Predictability
Innovation Outcome orientationA willingness to experiment Being competitiveNot being constrained by many rules Being achievement orientedBeing quick to take advantage of opportunities Having high expectation for performanceBeing innovative Being results orientedRisk taking Being action oriented
S. Su et al.2516
8/3/2019 The Influence of Cultural And
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-influence-of-cultural-and 24/24
Copyright of International Journal of Human Resource Management is the property of Routledge and its content
may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express
written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.