How Adult Attachment Styles Relate to Perceived Psychological Contract Breach and Affective Organizational Commitment

The current study examines the relationship between adult attachment style and both perceived psychological contract breach and affective organizational commitment in a sample of college students with employment experience. Attachment style is argued to be an individual difference factor that affects how an individual perceives organizational events based on theory and existing empirical research related to adult attachment style. Individuals with insecure attachment styles were predicted to perceive more psychological contract breach and have lower levels of affective organizational commitment. The results reveal that individuals with higher levels of preoccupied and dismissive attachment styles perceived higher levels of psychological contract breach, and preoccupied attachment style significantly and negatively relates to affective organizational commitment. The relationship between attachment style and psychological contract dimensions was stronger for relational than transactional contract dimensions. Evidence is also found that perceived psychological contract breach mediates the relationship between preoccupied attachment style and affective commitment. Future potential research directions are described. The implications of these findings for managerial practice is discussed.     

Psychological contracts and reciprocity: a study in a Finnish context

Existing research has demonstrated how the norm of reciprocity operates as a general principle in exchange relationships. However, limited explicit theoretical and empirical attention has been paid to its role in the functioning of the psychological contract. Using a sample of Finnish public sector employees, this study investigated the impact of perceived employer fulfilment of psychological contract on employee perceptions of the form of reciprocity underlying the exchange relationship. The potential mediating role of the reciprocity perceptions between perceived contract fulfilment and its outcomes (affective commitment, continuance commitment and intention to leave) was also examined. The results show that perceived employer fulfilment is positively associated with employee perceptions of the generalized form of reciprocity, and negatively with perceptions of the balanced form of reciprocity. Further, perceptions of generalized reciprocity were found to mediate the relationship between perceived contract fulfilment and affective commitment and intentions to leave the organization. Results and implications are discussed.     

A study of employee affective organizational commitment and retention in Pakistan: the roles of psychological contract breach and norms of reciprocity

Abstract

Social exchange theory and notions of reciprocity have long been assumed to explain the relationship between psychological contract breach and important employee outcomes. To date, however, there has been no explicit testing of these assumptions. This research, therefore, explores the mediating role of negative, generalized, and balanced reciprocity, in the relationships between psychological contract breach and employees’ affective organizational commitment and turnover intentions. A survey of 247 Pakistani employees of a large public university was analyzed using structural equation modeling and bootstrapping techniques, and provided excellent support for our model. As predicted, psychological contract breach was positively related to negative reciprocity norms and negatively related to generalized and balanced reciprocity norms. Negative and generalized (but not balanced) reciprocity were negatively and positively (respectively) related to employees’ affective organizational commitment and fully mediated the relationship between psychological contract breach and affective organizational commitment. Moreover, affective organizational commitment fully mediated the relationship between generalized and negative reciprocity and employees’ turnover intentions. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.     

The role of organizational culture in the relationship between leadership and organizational commitment: an empirical study in a Greek organization

The aim of this paper is to explore the nature of relationships between organizational culture and leadership behaviours in affecting employees' commitment to their work organization. Building on organizational commitment literature, this study used a survey methodology. Empirical evidence was obtained from 300 employees working in a large Greek service company. The analyses indicated that the culture orientations examined served as mediators in the relationship between leader behaviour and followers' affective and normative commitment to the organization. The findings also indicated that continuance commitment is a two-dimensional construct; the ‘personal sacrifices’ dimension was found to be related to organizational culture and transactional contingent reward. This research paper has key messages for practitioners contributing to the fields of commitment, organizational culture, leadership and human resource management.     

Linking job insecurity to well-being and organizational attitudes in Belgian workers: the role of security expectations and fairness

The aim of this study was to investigate how perceptions of job insecurity and fairness associate with individual well-being (job satisfaction and general health) and organizational attitudes (organizational commitment and turnover intention), under the condition that the psychological contract as perceived by the employee includes a promise on job security, or not. More specifically, we suggest that (H1) job insecurity is negatively related to individual well-being and organizational commitment and positively related to turnover intentions when job security is expected as part of the psychological contract, (H2) that job insecurity is negatively related to fairness perceptions when job security is expected as part of the psychological contract, (H3) that fairness associates positively with individual well-being and organizational commitment and negatively with turnover intentions and (H4) that the association between job insecurity, individual well-being and organizational outcomes is mediated by fairness under the condition that job security is expected as part of the psychological contract. Thus, we propose a model of mediated moderation. Results based on a sample of Belgian employees (N = 559) supported our hypotheses for organizational outcomes. For individual well-being, the mediation framework was not conditional upon a perceived promise of job security as part of the psychological contract. We conclude that employees' perceptions of job insecurity and fairness are important factors in employees' well-being and their attitudes towards the organization. More importantly, these perceptions can in part be shaped by organizational agents such as managers and supervisors. Additionally, the active utilization of the psychological contract in management strategies seems to have favourable results for the fostering of pro-organizational attitudes among employees.     

The difference a manager can make: organizational justice and knowledge worker commitment

The quality of the employment relationship is argued to be central to knowledge workers' commitment, which in turn supports knowledge creation. Given the high levels of discretion enjoyed by knowledge workers, managers' decisions over work distribution, content and resources become more critical for commitment and knowledge creation. However, little research has explored how justice perceptions shape the quality of the employment relationship and the consequences for commitment. Using a sample of 429 R&D workers from across six science and technology-based firms this paper explores the three-way interaction of procedural and interactional justice with the psychological contract to predict knowledge worker commitment. We found that when employees simultaneously perceived high levels of procedural and interactional justice this moderated the relationship between psychological contract breach and knowledge worker commitment. Furthermore, where there was contract breach, positive perceptions of procedural justice moderated the relationship with commitment. However, in the context of contract fulfilment, low perceived levels of interactional justice predicted lower comparative levels of commitment, regardless of the level of procedural justice.

The results suggest that the perceived quality of the relationship between knowledge workers and their manager can make a positive difference in the context of breach of the psychological contract and this in turn can help maintain levels of commitment important for knowledge creation.     

How German employees of different ages conserve resources: perceived age discrimination and affective organizational commitment

The literature claims that perceived age discrimination functions as a stressor. Using conservation of resources theory, this paper examines the moderating effect of employees' age on the relationship between employees' perceived age discrimination and affective organizational commitment. We collected survey data from 1255 German employees. Results show a negative relationship between perceived age discrimination and affective organizational commitment. This relationship was stronger for older employees than for younger employees. Older employees appear to be more vulnerable to the stressor of perceived age discrimination and more motivated to conserve resources by reducing their affective organizational commitment than their younger colleagues. These findings have important implications for organizations' retention management in times of demographic change.     

The moderating effect of leadership on perceived organizational justice and affective commitment: a study in China

While western literature proves the importance of procedural justice, interactional justice is found to have a greater impact on employees in China. This study investigates the effect of employees’ perceptions of organizational justice on affective commitment, and the moderating effect of leadership style in the relationship. The authors proposed that the positive association of interactional justice with affective commitment is stronger than the positive association of procedural and distributive justices with affective commitment. In addition, the authors hypothesized that leadership style in teams moderates the relationship between interactional justice and affective commitment. Data were collected from 10 companies in Shenzhen, Shanghai, Beijing, Wenzhou, Wuhan, and Qingdao, China. The results support the hypotheses stating that interactional justice has a robust impact on affective commitment and that leadership in teams moderates the relationship. These findings have important implications for human resource management. When setting up HR policy in China, putting the right HR procedures in place is essential. Employees’ affective commitment relies heavily on interactional justice and whether or not employees perceive that they are being treated fairly by their managers. We discuss the implications of these findings.     

The relationship between career plateauing,employee commitment and psychological distress: the role of organizational and supervisor support

This research examines the role played by an employee's supervisor and organization in the relationship between structural and content plateauing, affective commitment to the organization, and psychological distress. Our analyses, based on data taken from a sample of 575 hospital employees, reveal that there is a significant relationship between the two forms of plateauing and perceived supervisor support, whereas only hierarchical plateauing is related to perceived organizational support. Our results also highlight the mediating effect of perceived organizational support in the relationship between hierarchical plateauing, perceived supervisor support, and the consequences examined.     

Relational quality and innovative performance in R&D based science and technology firms

The knowledge‐based view of the firm implies that the innovative performance of R&D based organisations is strongly influenced by the quality of their relational capital. However, the quality of the employment relationship has been underplayed in this perspective. A model is developed that tests the quality of three dimensions of the employment relationship – the psychological contract, affective commitment and knowledge‐sharing behaviours – and their consequences for innovative performance amongst 429 R&D employees in six different science and technology based firms. Analysis found that affective commitment plays an important role in mediating psychological contract fulfilment on knowledge‐sharing behaviour, which in turn is strongly related to innovative performance. More specifically, fulfilment of the job design dimension of the psychological contract has an independent positive association with innovative performance, whereas fulfilment of the performance pay dimension is negatively associated.     

The mediating role of organizational justice on the relationship between administrative performance appraisal practices and organizational commitment

This study investigates the relationships among administrative performance appraisal (PA) practices, perception of organizational justice and organizational commitment. The results obtained from 395 employees who work in manufacturing companies in Taiwan show that the implementation of administrative PA activities is highly associated with employee perception of organizational justice and that the level of perceived organizational justice is highly associated with the level of organizational commitment. The results also demonstrate that perceived organizational justice has a partial mediating effect on the relationship between administrative PA practices and organizational commitment. Theoretical and practical implications of these results are discussed.     

Programme knowledge and value of work-family practices and organizational commitment

This study examined the relationship between the programme knowledge and value of work-family practices and organizational commitment. Employee programme knowledge of work-family policies was significantly related to affective commitment. This finding suggests that organizations should pay attention to how much their employees know about work-family benefits and how practices can be accessed. While the value of paid parental leave was positively related to normative commitment, the perceived value of childcare policy was negatively associated with both affective and normative commitment. These findings suggest that organizations must be aware that how employees perceive work-family practices can influence their commitment towards the organization. Specifically, practices that are viewed as having minimal value might actually lead to a reduction in commitment.     

组织文化、上下级沟通及组织承诺的相互关系探究

组织文化、上下级沟通、组织承诺都是近年来组织领域研究的热点问题,已有的研究表明,领导与成员关系、组织文化对组织承诺都有影响,但探讨三者关系的研究较为罕见。本研究通过对企业员工的访谈和问卷调查,揭示了上下级沟通、组织文化、组织承诺的相互关系。研究发现：参与性的组织文化对上下级沟通、组织承诺均有显著影响;组织文化对组织承诺的影响也可以通过上下级沟通来实现;上下级沟通是组织文化和组织承诺的中介变量。     

Relationships between organizational justice,organizational trust and organizational commitment: a cross-cultural study of China,South Korea and Australia

In an increasingly globalized world, organizations that operate in more than one country are a substantial part of the world economy. It is therefore beneficial to understand the attitudes of employees in different countries and their impact on the organization. One important area is organizational justice and its relationships with organizational trust (OT) and organizational commitment. This empirical study collected survey data from university employees across China, South Korea and Australia. We proposed that OT would mediate the relationships between affective organizational commitment (AOC) and both distributive justice (DJ) and procedural justice (PJ) in all three countries. In Australia, we found that PJ and AOC were significantly related, and OT fully mediated the PJ-AOC relationship. In China and South Korea, both DJ and PJ were significantly related to AOC, and OT fully mediated the PJ-AOC relationship. OT partially mediated the DJ-AOC relationship in China but fully mediated this relationship in South Korea. Implications for theory and for management practitioners are discussed, and areas for future investigation are identified.     

Perceived organizational support and expatriate performance: understanding a mediated model

What are the mechanisms by which multinational corporations (MNCs) can facilitate the effective performance of their expatriate staff in foreign countries? There is a substantial literature on expatriation, yet few studies have addressed how perceived organizational support (POS) may impact upon expatriates' work adjustment and affective commitment, and then on their job performance. We use data on 118 expatriates working at the German subsidiaries of Japanese MNCs, and demonstrate that career POS has a direct positive influence on work adjustment and affective commitment. Our results indicate that work adjustment fully mediated the relationship between career POS and task performance. We further discovered that both work adjustment and affective commitment play a pivotal role in mediating the impact of career POS on contextual performance. We discuss the practical implications of these findings and provide suggestions for future research.     

The power of goal internalization: studying psychological empowerment in a Venezuelan plant

This study, based in a manufacturing plant in Venezuela, examines the relationship between perceived task characteristics, psychological empowerment and commitment, using a questionnaire survey of 313 employees. The objective of the study was to assess the effects of an organizational intervention at the plant aimed at increasing productivity by providing performance feedback on key aspects of its daily operations. It was hypothesized that perceived characteristics of the task environment, such as task meaningfulness and task feedback, will enhance psychological empowerment, which in turn will have a positive impact on employee commitment. Test of a structural model revealed that the relationship of task meaningfulness and task feedback with affective commitment was partially mediated by the empowerment dimensions of perceived control and goal internalization. The results highlight the role of goal internalization as a key mediating mechanism between job characteristics and affective commitment. The study also validates a Spanish-language version of the psychological empowerment scale by Menon (2001).     

Linking organizational support to employee commitment: evidence from hotel industry of China

Employee commitment is an important issue for both practitioners and academicians. Although antecedents of employee commitment have been examined in previous literature, organizational support, which is an important organizational characteristic to be developed by managers, and its relationship with employee commitment have not attracted enough academic attention nowadays. Meanwhile, enough empirical evidence of relationship between various dimensions of employee commitment, such as affective and normative commitments is not there. This article focuses on exploring the relationships among organizational support, affective commitment, and normative commitment, based on the data from the hotel industry of China. The results indicate that affective commitment has significant positive effect on normative commitment. Among the three dimensions of organizational support, i.e. managerial support, coworker relationship, and role ambiguity, managerial support has the greatest influence on employee commitment. Theoretical discussions and practical implications have also been provided.     

Enhancing firm performance through internal market orientation and employee organizational commitment

Considering the importance of retaining key staff and managing the negative impact of high labor turnover on firm performance, this study investigates the notion of internal market orientation (IMO) as an employee management tool for helping companies retain employees and leverage performance via their organizational commitment. Drawing on data from three different managerial respondents in 275 companies based in China, the findings demonstrate the precedential effect of IMO on corporate performance through employees’ organizational commitment and retention. Interdepartmental relationship and interdepartmental communication, together with ownership types are identified as potential moderating variables, which may vary IMO’s effectiveness in the framework. This study provides scholars and practitioners with empirical evidence of IMO’s contribution to different industries and markets. Building on a western perspective, this study extends the literature in an emerging market context and specifically has implications for managing Chinese employees.     

Employee ownership and affective organizational commitment: employees’ perceptions of fairness and their preference for company shares over cash

Interest in profit-sharing and employee ownership is growing among both practitioners and researchers. This study examines the relationship between the preferences and perceptions of employees regarding an ongoing share ownership plan on the one hand, and the employees’ affective organizational commitment on the other. After controlling for various personal and work-environment characteristics and for size of the financial contribution it was found that preference for ownership and the perceived fairness of the employee ownership plan were significant predictors of affective commitment. These findings support the notion that employee ownership may have intrinsic motivating effects on employees by way of a mediating mechanism, whereby the effects of ownership on organizational commitment depend on how employees evaluate and perceive formal ownership plans.     

Serving two organizations: Exploring the employment relationship of contracted employees

Although growth has occurred in contract employment arrangements both in the public and private sectors, scant research has been conducted on the organizations and employees affected by these arrangements.This study examines the employment relationship of long‐term contracted employees using a social exchange framework. Specifically, we examine the effects of employee perceptions of organizational support from contracting and client organizations on their (a) affective commitment to each organization and (b) service‐oriented citizenship behavior. We also examine whether felt obligation toward each organization mediates this relationship. Our sample consists of 99 long‐term contracted employees working for four contracting organizations that provide services to the public on behalf of a municipal government. Results indicate that the antecedents of affective commitment are similar for the client and contracting organization. Employee perceptions of client organizational supportiveness were positively related to felt obligation and commitment to the client organization. Client felt obligation mediated the effects of client perceived organizational support (POS) on the participation dimension of citizenship behavior. Our study provides additional support for the generalizability of social exchange processes to nontraditional employment relationships. Implications for managing long‐term contracted employees are discussed. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.