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ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT OF MANAGERIAL EMPLOYEES: A UNIFIED THEORY AND ANTECEDENTS
A dissertation submitted by Abdul M Baksh, PhD, MSc In partial fulfillment of the award of Doctor of business Administration Faculty of Business, University of Southern Queensland
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ABSTRACT
Much has been written about organizational commitment in the past twenty five
years and these studies have significantly contributed to the extant understanding of
the concept. However, these efforts have also contributed to the confusion,
inconsistencies, and disagreements about the meaning of the concept that seem to
characterize the organizational commitment literature. This milieu required, as a
matter of necessity, that the disparate conceptualizations of organizational
commitment be reconciled and synthesized to form a unified, comprehensive
theory. This situation and the apparent need to focus on those organizational factors
that function as antecedents of managerial commitment to organizations provided
the impetus for the present study.
In keeping with the above purpose, this study has developed a comprehensive
unified theory of organizational commitment that was tested using structural
equation modeling. The study shows that the theory of organizational commitment
is based on six separate parent theories, including attitudes, psychological
ownership, psychological contract, values, certain aspects of the three-component
model of Meyer and Allen (1991), and social exchange, which makes it a multi-
disciplinary theory. The theories of attitudes and psychological ownership
constitute the psychological ingredient of the affection employees manifest to their
organization and provide the theoretical foundation of the affective dimension of
organizational commitment. Similarly, the theories of psychological contract,
values and organizational culture provide the corner stone for the feelings of moral
obligation employees display toward the organization, and concomitantly, the moral
dimension of organizational commitment. Finally, social exchange theory and labor
market forces define a socio-economic relationship between each individual and the
organization and provide the basis for the continuance dimension of organizational
commitment.
The research problem identified for this study was the lack of a unified theory of
organizational commitment that is needed to identify the antecedents of managerial
commitment to organizations. Thus, the purpose of the study was to examine the
state of the theory of organizational commitment and propose a unified socio-
psychological theory that provided the theoretical foundation to identify the
antecedents and dimensions of the organizational commitment of managerial
employees. Therefore, the research question that the study answered is: what are the
antecedents and dimensions of managerial commitment in organizations? In
addition to this, the study investigated six related issues: (a) the socio-psychological
theories providing the theoretical foundations of a unified theory of organizational
commitment, (b) the principal dimensions of a new unified theory of organizational
commitment, (c) the predictors and causes of managerial commitment, (d) the
degree to which perceived pay equity, socialization tactics, opportunities for
development, organizational trust, and job satisfaction act as predictors of
organizational commitment, (e) the variable or variables which moderate and/or
mediate the impact of the predictors of organizational commitment and, (f) the
relationships among the five predictors named above.
The study was justified on the basis of its potential to make significant contributions
to both management practice and theory. From the perspective of management
practice, the study has provided evidence that should enhance the ability of
organizations to: (a) promote feelings of assonance and minimize feelings of The
study was justified on the basis of its potential to make significant contributions to
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both management practice and theory. From the perspective of management
practice, the study has provided evidence that should enhance the ability of
organizations to: (a) promote feelings of assonance and minimize feelings of
dissonance among their managerial employees through equitable pay, (b) increase
the level of managerial job satisfaction and concomitantly elevate the trust levels of
managers, (c) integrate the interests of managers with those of the organization
through effective socialization tactics and provide managerial employees with
opportunities for development in order to enhance their moral obligations to the
organization. Moreover, the study provides evidence and tools which organizations
may use to engender in their managerial employees strong feelings of ownership for
their organizations, enhance managers‟ trust levels, and minimize their inclinations
to leave their organizations. Theoretically, the study has analyzed and evaluated the extant theories of
organizational commitment, reconciled differences among the various models,
synthesized the multitude of disparate theories, models, concepts and definitions
found in the literature of organizational commitment as a means of conceptualizing
a new theoretical socio-psychological model of organizational commitment. In
essence this effort should make a solid contribution to knowledge in the field and
provide the foundation for future research in managerial commitment.
Methodologically, the data used in this study were collected from four different
organizations at two different time periods of three months apart. Both descriptive
statistical analysis using SPSS 12 and structural equation modeling using AMOS 16
were used to analyze the data. The SEM analysis determined the predictive strength
of the selected independent variables/antecedents, and Barron and Kenny‟s
moderator and mediator analysis identified the moderator and mediator effects of
the independent variables on the dependent variable. The outcome from these
analyses is a model which fits the two sets of data. Apart from other fit indices, the
computations indicated insignificant Chi-sq. values of 16.113, p=.065 and 8.037,
p=.442 for the two sets of data respectively. This particular finding confirms that
the model is theoretically sound and is perhaps a unique development in the field of
organizational commitment.
The results of the study confirm that organizational commitment is a multi-
dimensional theory with three major domains-affective, continuance, and moral
commitment, each of which has a distinct conceptual foundation. The study also
confirms that: (a) affective commitment is based predominantly on psychological
factors; (b) moral commitment is founded on philosophical, ethical and sociological
factors; and (c) continuance commitment which is socio-economic by nature
focuses predominantly on risk, economic losses, economic gains and labor market
conditions that indicate the availability/non-availability of suitable alternative
employment. Additionally, the study indicates that pay equity, developmental
opportunities and socialization tactics act as both moderators and mediators of job
satisfaction and organizational trust which in turn are the two independent variables
predicting the three dimensions of organizational commitment.
In the final analysis, the findings of this study should: (a) be significantly beneficial
to future research in the field of organizational commitment, (b) provide
organizations with critical information for human resource policy formulation and,
(c) contribute meaningfully to knowledge in the field. No other known study in
organizational commitment has gone through such indepth analysis, particularly the
elaborate process of theory building.
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CERTIFICATION OF DESERTATION
I certify that this dissertation is entirely my own effort, except where
otherwise acknowledged. I also certify that the ideas, research, results,
analyses, software and conclusions reported are original and have not been
previously submitted for any award, except where otherwise acknowledged.
__________________ _____________________
Signature of Candidate Date
ENDORSEMENT
_______________ ____________________
Signature of Principal Supervisor Date
___________________________ _______________________
Signature of Associate Supervisor Date
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I am very pleased to express my sincere gratitude to several people who have
contributed to the completion of this research project. First, I am profoundly
grateful to my Supervisor, Dr. Ray Gordon who has provided very incisive
criticisms, highly relevant and useful recommendations, and above all, patience
with my tendency to delve into excessive details. Indeed, the quality of this
document owes much to Dr. Gordon‟s very insightful and valuable contribution.
I also wish to express my gratitude to Professor Erwee who, particularly in the
early stage in the development of this document provided me with very useful
insights and guidance.
I must also thank the four organizations that greatly assisted me in gathering the
data used in this study. Without their willingness to let me have access to their
managerial employees as participants of this project, this document may still be
in its developmental stages.
Finally, I want to express my gratitude to the Examiners who undoubtedly spent
hours pouring over this document from which they ably provided me with
valuable recommendations for its improvement.
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Table of Contents
Abstract
Certification of the Dissertation
Acknowledgements
Table of Contents
List if Figures
List of Tables
List of Appendices
CHAPTER ONE--INTRODUCTION 1
Background to the study 1
Research problem, purpose and issues 7
Justification for the study 8
1 Contribution to Management Practice 9
2 Contribution to Theory 11
Research design and methodology 14
Outline of this dissertation 16
Definitions 17
Delimitations and scope 18
Conclusion 18
CHAPTER TWO--LITERATURE REVIEW 19 Theoretical foundations 19
Parent theories of organizational commitment 23
1. Attitude-Behavior Theory 24
2. Psychological Ownership Theory 28
3. Psychological Contract Theory 32
4. Theory of values and commitment conflict 37
5. The Three-Component Model 43
6. Social Exchange Theory 52
Dimensions of organizational commitment 58
Several versus one comprehensive theory of organizational commitment 58
Theoretical framework 60
Antecedents of organizational commitment 63
1. Perceived Pay Equity 63
2 Socialization Tactics 67
3 Organizational Trust 76
4 Opportunities for Development 79
5 Jobsatisfaction 83
Chapter Summary 90
CHAPTER THREE--RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 92 Overview Of The Study Design 92
Methodology 92
1. Population 92
2. Data collection and analysis 93
3. Sampling design and strategy 93
4. Level and unit of analyses 94
5. Scales 94
5.1 Organizational commitment of managerial employees 95
5.2 Perceived pay equity 96
5.3 Opportunities for development 97
5.4 Socialization tactics 98
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5.5 Organizational trust 99
5.6 Jobsatisfaction 100
Data Screening 102
1. Reliability 102
2. Validity 105
3. Other Issues 106
Procedures 109
1. Ethical Clearance 109
2. Piloting the Questionnaire 109
3. Sampling Strategies and Procedure 109
4. Security and Safety of Completed Questionnaires 110
Data Analysis 110
1. Structural Equation Modeling 110
1.1.The Measurement Model 111
1.2.The Structural Model 112
2. The moderator/mediator research model 112
3. Model fit criteria and model fit indexes 116
4. Testing model fit 120
5. Alternative Models 121
6. The Four-step Process 121
7. Parameter Estimates 122
8. Model Specification 123
9. Model Identification 124
10.Model Assessment 128
Scope and Limitations 128
CHAPTER FOUR: RESULTS 130 Demographics 130
1. Population 130
2. Response rate 130
3. Age distribution of respondents 130
4. Educational attainments of respondents 131
5. Gender distribution of respondents 131
Data Screening 131
1. Reliability 132
2. Validity 132
3. Non-normality Issues 134
4. Resolving missing data 134
5. Resolving Outlier Problems 134
6. Resolving multicollinearity issues 134
Findings: Sample 1 136
1.The structural equation model 136
2.Goodness-of-fit indices 137
3.Alternative models: Sample 1 data 138
4.Parameters estimates 139
Findings: Sample 2 140
1.Structural equation model 141
2.Goodness-of-fit indices 141
3.Alternative models: Sample 2 data 142
4.Parameter estimates 142
Model Specification 144
1.Factor loadings 144
2.The independent clusters basis 145
Model Identification 145
1.Identifiability of the measurement model 146
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2.Identifiability of the path model 146
3.Identifiability and scaling 146
4.Other measures 147
Summary of Results 147
CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION 149
Introduction 149
Research problem 150
Research purpose 152
Research question 154
Research issues and implications for theory 162
1.Theoretical Foundations 162
1.1.Commitment as a manifestation of attitudes 162
1.2.Commitment as an expression of ownership 164
1.3.Commitment as fulfillment of psychological contract 166
1.4.Commitment as a manifestation of values 168
1.5.Commitment as social exchange 169
1.6.Commitment as Culture 171
2.Dimensions of organizational commitment 172
3.Predictors of organizational commitment 173
3.1.Perceived pay equity 174
3.2.Socialization tactics 175
3.3.Organizational trust 177
3.4.Opportunities for development 178
3.5.Jobsatisfaction 179
4.Correlates of the three commitment dimensions 181
5.Moderators and mediators 183
6.Relatiionships among the predictor variables 185
Implications for policy 187
1.Perceived pay equity 187
2.Socialization tactics 188
3.Organizational trust 189
4. Opportunities for development 191
5.Jobsatisfaction 192
Implications for management practice 193
Limitations 197
Implications for future research 199
REFERENCES 204
APPENDICES 231
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List of Figures
Figure 2.1 Relationships between cognitions, feelings and behavior 25
Figure 2.2 Theoretical model for the theory of relational cohesion 55
Figure 2.3 Unified theoretical framework of managerial commitment to organizations 60
Figure 2.4 The dynamic nature of organizational commitment 62
Figure 2.5 A model of organizational socialization 75
Figure 3.1 The moderator model 112
Figure 3.2 Application of the moderator model 113
Figure 3.3 The mediator model 114
Figure 3.4 Path diagram combining mediation and moderation 115
Figure 3.5 Approach to performing SEM analysis 122
Figure 3.6 Recursive CFA model relating independent and dependent variables 127
Figure 4.1 Recursive SEM model showing relationships between independent and 136
dependent variables
Figure 4.2 Recursive SEM model showing relationships between independent and 146
dependent variables
Figure 5.1 Framework for the new unified theory of organizational commitment 186
List of Tables
Table 1.1 Partial list of studies 2
Table 2.1 Partial list of studies indicating inconsistencies 20
Table 2.2 Typology of psychological contracts 34
Table 2.3 Comparison of four decision types on levels of motive forces and avoidability 51
Table 2.4 Categorization of socialization tactics 68
Table 2.5 Results of regression analysis of socialization outcomes 69
Table 2.6 The five-factor personality model and job satisfaction 86
Table 3.1 Comparison of alpha coefficients of socialization tactics 99
Table 3.2 Composite reliabilities by dimension and response mode 100
Table 3.3 Relationships between expectations, experiences and met-expectations 101
Table 3.4 Burnham and Anderson‟s scale for interpreting the BCC AND AIC 121
Table 4.1 Age distribution of participants 130
Table 4.2 Respondents‟ Educational level 131
Table 4.3 Gender distribution 131
Table 4.4 Reliability statistics of sample 1 participants 132
Table 4.5 Reliability statistics of sample 2 participants 132
Table 4.6 Results of factor analysis for sample 1 data 133
Table 4.7 Results of factor analysis for sample 2 data 133
Table 4.8 Means, standard deviations, and correlations of sample 1 factors 135
Table 4.9 Means, standard deviations, and correlations of sample 2 factors 135
Table 4.10 Goodness-of-fit statistics: sample 1 data 138
Table 4.11 Alternative models generated by AMOS: sample 1 data 138
Table 4.12 Estimated loadings: sample 1 data 139
Table 4.13 Regression weights, standard errors, critical ratios and P labels: sample 1 139
Table 4.14 Standard covariances and correlations: sample 1 data 139
Table 4.15 Variances: sample 1 140
Table 4.16 Goodness-of-fit statistics for sample 2 data 142
Table 4.17 Alternative models generated by AMOS for sample 2 data 142
Table 4.18 Estimated loadings: sample 2 143
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Table 4.19 Regression weights, standard errors, critical ratios and P labels: sample 2 143
Table 4.20 Standard covariances and correlations: sample 2 data 143
Table 4.21 Variances: sample 2 144
Table4.22 Ratio of chi-square to degrees of freedom 147
Table 5.1 Moderator/mediator effects of job satisfaction shown in Figures 4.1 and 4.2 183
Table 5.2 Moderator/mediator effects of organizational trust shown Figures 4.1 and 4.2 184
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List of Appendices
1. Appendix A: Questionnaire: Survey of Managerial Employees
2. Appendix B: Results of factor analysis for sample 1 and sample 2 data