FACTORS INFLUENCING ON THE JOB COMMITMENT OF EMPLOYEES AT INTERNATIONAL HOTELS IN HANOI: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY

FOREIGN TRADE UNIVERSITY
FACULTY OF ECONOMICS AND INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
======







GRADUATION THESIS
Major: International Business Economics



FACTORS INFLUENCING ON THE JOB
COMMITMENT OF EMPLOYEES AT
INTERNATIONAL HOTELS IN HANOI:
AN EXPLORATORY STUDY




Student’s name : Nguyen Nhu Ngoc
Student ID : 1117150014
Class : A29 – High Quality Program
Intake : 50
Supervisor : Nguyen Hai Ninh, PhD.

Hanoi, May 2015
i

TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF TABLES iv
LIST OF FIGURES vi
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS vii
INTRODUCTION 1
EMERGENCE OF THE STUDY 2
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY 2
SCOPE AND SUBJECTS OF THE STUDY 3
METHODOLOGY 4
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY 4
STRUCTURE OF THE STUDY 5
CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 6
1.1. Hotel – accommodation 6
1.1.1. Definition of hotels 6
1.1.2. Classification of hotels 7
1.1.3. Factors affecting the performance of the hotel industry 9
1.1.3.1. External factors 9
1.1.3.2. Internal factors 11
1.2. Job commitment 12
1.2.1. Definition of job commitment 12
1.2.2. Levels of job commitment 17
1.2.3. Impacts of job commitment on organizational performance 18
1.2.3.1. Negative impacts of job commitment 18

1.2.3.2. Positive impacts of job commitment 19
1.2.4. Factors affecting job commitment 20
1.2.4.1. Leadership 21
1.2.4.2. Employee relations 21
1.2.4.3. Nature of jobs 22
1.2.4.4. Performance management and promotion 22
1.2.4.5. Salary and compensation on performance 22
ii

1.2.4.6. Job satisfaction 23
1.2.4.7. Training and development 24
1.2.4.8. Role ambiguity and role conflict 24
1.2.4.9. Secondary working conditions 25
1.2.4.10. Knowledge sharing and knowledge management 25
1.2.4.11. Organizational culture 26
1.2.4.12. Job security 27
CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS 29
2.1. Overview of employment in the hospitality industry 29
2.1.1. In the world 29
2.1.2. In Vietnam 30
2.2. Proposed research model and hypotheses 32
2.3. Research design 33
2.3.1. Questionnaire design 33
2.3.2. Sampling design 39
2.3.3. Data collection procedure and analysis techniques 39
2.3.3.1. Data collection procedure 39
2.3.3.2. Data analysis techniques 40
2.4. Research results 43
2.4.1. Sample description 43
2.4.2. The overall job commitment level of employees at international hotels in

Hanoi 47
2.4.3. Analysis of the factors influencing on the job commitment of employees at
international hotels in Hanoi 48
2.4.3.1. The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) Measure of Sampling Adequacy and
Bartlett's test of sphericity 48
2.4.3.2. Cronbach’s alpha reliability test 49
2.4.3.3. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) 52
2.4.3.4. Adjusted research model and hypotheses 54
2.4.3.5. Correlation analysis 55
2.4.3.6. Multiple regression analysis 56
iii

2.4.3.7. One-way ANOVA test on demographic factors 59
2.5. Conclusions 60
CHAPTER 3: RECOMMENDATIONS 62
3.1. Recommendations 62
3.2. Future trends of the tourism and hospitality industry 77
CONCLUSION 79
REFERENCES 80
APPENDIX 90
APPENDIX 1: Questionnaire (Vietnamese version) 90
APPENDIX 2: Results of KMO Measure of Sampling Adequacy and Bartlett's test
of sphericity 95
APPENDIX 3: The first two Rotated Component Matrixes 96

iv

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1.1. Comparison between different Organizational Commitment models 16

Table 1.2. List of factors affecting job commitment of employees 20
Table 2.1. Available options for demographic questions in Section A 35
Table 2.2. Measurement of Leadership 36
Table 2.3. Measurement of Employee Relations 36
Table 2.4. Measurement of Nature of jobs 37
Table 2.5. Measurement of Performance management and promotion 37
Table 2.6. Measurement of Salary and compensation on performance 38
Table 2.7. Measurement of Training and development 38
Table 2.8. Cronbach’s alpha reliability coefficient 41
Table 2.9. Distribution of educational level among different departments/divisions
46
Table 2.10. Frequency table of participants’ job position level, type of employment
and length of service 47
Table 2.11. Descriptive statistics of job commitment 47
Table 2.12. Results of KMO Measure of Sampling Adequacy and Bartlett’s test of
sphericity on proposed factors 48
Table 2.13. Item – total statistics of “Leadership” factor 49
Table 2.14. Item – total statistics of “Employee relations” factor 49
Table 2.15. Item – total statistics of “Nature of jobs” factor 50
Table 2.16. Item – total statistics of “Performance management and promotion”
factor 50
Table 2.17. Item – total statistics of “Salary and compensations on performance”
factor 51
Table 2.18. Item – total statistics of “Training and development” factor 51
Table 2.19. Cronbach’s alpha reliability coefficients of variables 52
Table 2.20. Final Rotated Component Matrix 53
Table 2.21. Results of correlation analysis between the dependent and independent
variables 56
v

Table 2.22. Results of the correlation analysis between five independent variables
56
Table 2.23. Model Summary 57
Table 2.23. ANOVA 57
Table 2.24. Coefficients 58
Table 2.25. Summary of the results of multiple regression analysis 58
Table 2.26. Summary of the results of one-way ANOVA test on seven demographic
variables 59
Table 3.1. Possible training topics for several hotel departments 73
Table 3.2. Contents of a typical Orientation session 74



vi

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1.1. Different ways to classify hotels 8
Figure 1.2. Organizational Commitment Model 15
Figure 1.3. Levels of Organizational Commitment 17
Figure 1.4. Characteristics of under-commitment and over-commitment 18
Figure 1.5. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs 23
Figure 1.6. Organizational culture model 27
Figure 2.1. U.S. employee turnover rates by sectors in 2011 30
Figure 2.2. Percentage (%) of three types of international tourists to Vietnam during
2006 – 2013 31
Figure 2.3. Average expenditure of a foreign tourist to Vietnam in 2013 (USD) 31
Figure 2.4. Proposed research model 33
Figure 2.5. The 5-point Likert scale 39
Figure 2.6. Percentage of participants according to gender 43

Figure 2.7. Number of participants according to age 44
Figure 2.8. Number of participants according to highest educational background .
44
Figure 2.9. Number of participants according to departments/divisions 45
Figure 2.10. Frequency of responses to statement JC = "I am committed to this
hotel.” 48
Figure 2.11. Adjusted research model 55
Figure 3.1. Training plan in January 2015 of Sunway Hotel Hanoi 72

vii

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

EFA
Exploratory Factor Analysis
ER
Employee relations
EU
The European Union
JC
Job commitment
KMO
Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin
LS
Leadership
NJ
Nature of jobs
PEST
Political, Economic, Social and Technological analysis
PM

Performance management and promotion
SC
Salary and compensations on performance
SCR
Supportive and cooperative workplace relationships
SPSS
Statistical Package for the Social Sciences
TD
Training and development
USA
The United States of America

1

INTRODUCTION

International hotels have been increasingly developing at a fast pace in
Vietnam since their first emergence. Along with the promising development of the
tourism industry in recent years, hospitality has become a desirable industry to work
for. International hotels provide an international and professional working
environment, as well as other advantages that, to some people, other organizations
do not provide. However, those perks are just the tip of an iceberg. Hospitality is a
labor-intensive industry, which accepts employees from any levels but requires
them to comply with the long working hours and suffer pressure from highly
demanding jobs. After several months, employees may lose their initial excitement
when they realize that the hotels do not meet their expectations. They would be
more willing to leave their current hotels for other places if they do not find any
other reasons to cling onto. Therefore, this study aims at resolving the low
commitment of employees in international hotels, particularly in Hanoi. By
determining which factors significantly contribute to the level of job commitment,

the study could thereafter give out recommendations to make employees stay with
and commit to their hotels.
I hereby wish to express my sincere gratitude and appreciation to Dr. Nguyen
Hai Ninh for his valuable assistance and guidance during the progress.
I also would like to give my most grateful thank to the Faculty of Economics
and International Business for offering me the opportunity to conduct and complete
this study. It has taught me a lot about doing a scientific research that helps me
prepare for higher education in the near future.
Due to the limitation of time and knowledge, this study certainly still
contains shortcomings. All comments to help the study become more complete
would be highly appreciated.

Hanoi, May 2015
Nguyen Nhu Ngoc

2

EMERGENCE OF THE STUDY
Recent years have witnessed a remarkable movement of the hospitality
industry. Until 2014, there were 686 3 – 5 star hotels in Vietnam, 127 of which
located in Hanoi. Ho Chi Minh City had the most 3 – 5 star hotels, 140 in particular.
Da Nang was ranked third, following Hanoi, with the number of 3 – 5 star hotels of
114. The rest were sparsely distributed in popular tourism cities and provinces
throughout the country (Grant Thornton Vietnam, 2014). Still the number is still
increasing by years. As a result, it would become more difficult for the hotel
management to retain their employees while there are more and more open
opportunities. Employee‟s commitment has turned into a real problem among hotels
in Vietnam. When they first come to work at hotels, they expect an international
and professional work setting where they can fully employ their skills and
knowledge as well as further develop themselves. “To the extent that the

organization is perceived as facilitating these ends, organization commitment is
likely to increase.” (Mottaz, 1988)
The commitment issue has been regarded as a popular topic in the literatures
of industrial and organizational psychology and organizational behavior. According
to Mathieu and Zajac, 1990), “the concept has received a great deal of empirical
study both as a consequence and an antecedent of other work-related variables of
interest.” High level of job commitment would be more likely to benefit all parties,
namely the employees, employers and the society. Therefore this study is expected
to find ways to resolve the problem of international hotel employees‟ commitment
so as to form and maintain a stable and highly qualified workforce for the
hospitality industry in general and especially in Hanoi – a well-known tourist
destination of Vietnam.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The ultimate objective of this study is to have better understanding of job
commitment among hotel employees, especially those working in international
hotels in Hanoi, and the factors that could have influence on it. In particular, the
study hopes to achieve the following objectives:
3

 To determine the relationship between international hotel employees‟ job
commitment and six factors, namely Leadership, Employee relations,
Nature of jobs, Performance management and promotion, Salary and
compensations on performance, and Training and development,
 To determine whether the demographic factors also contribute to different
levels of job commitment among international hotel employees.

Based on these objectives, the research questions were proposed as follows:
 Is there a positive relationship between the hotel management‟s
leadership and employees‟ job commitment?

 What kind of relationship is there between employee relations and their
job commitment?
 Does nature of job have any impact on the job commitment of hotel
employees?
 Do the hotel‟s practices in performance management and promotion
positively affect job commitment?
 To what extent do salary and compensations on performance influence on
employees‟ job commitment?
 Does training and development affect the job commitment of employees
at international hotels?
 Is there a difference in the level of job commitment among distinctive
groups of each demographic factor?

SCOPE AND SUBJECTS OF THE STUDY
The study was conducted on employees who are working at international
hotels in Hanoi. The targeted industry was known to employ human resources from
a wide range of backgrounds for various specialized functions, including Front
Office, Housekeeping, Food and Beverages, Kitchen, Engineering, Security, Human
Resources, Finance and Accounting, Sales and Marketing. Printed and online
surveys were distributed to the selected participants and their networks, all within
the designated scope.
4

METHODOLOGY
This study employed the quantitative method to determine the relationship
between job commitment and six independent variables, as well as the relationship
between job commitment and each demographic factor. After being collected,
survey results were analyzed by the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences
(SPSS) Version 20.
A number of tests were performed on the collected data, namely Kaiser-

Meyer-Olkin (KMO) Measure of Sampling Adequacy, Bartlett‟s test of sphericity,
Cronbach‟s alpha reliability test, Exploratory Factor Analysis, Correlation analysis,
Multiple regression analysis and One-way ANOVA test.

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
There have been a number of significant researches on employees‟
commitment in the past. Porter, Steers, Mowday and Boulian (1974) were among
the first to study on organizational commitment, particularly among psychiatric
technicians. The measurement of organizational commitment was then studied by
Mowday, Richard and Porter (1979). Thereafter, the topic on employees‟
commitment has become popular in more researches, including those related to the
hospitality industry. To name a few there would be:
 “Investigating hotel employees’ organizational commitment: The
influence of Human Resource Management practices and perceived
organizational support” by Hemdi (2009),
 “A Study of the Relationship between Manager’s Leadership Style and
Organizational Commitment in Taiwan’ s International Tourist Hotels”
by Wu et al. (2006),
 “Casual Employment and Commitment: A Case Study in the Hospitality
Industry” by Day and Buultjens (2007),
 “The Effect of Psychological Contract and Affective Commitment on
Turnover Intentions of Hotel Managers” by Hemdi and Rahim (2011).


5

STRUCTURE OF THE STUDY
Apart from the Introduction and Conclusion, this study consists of three main
chapters:
 Chapter 1: Literature Review

o Presenting the foundation knowledge on hotels and the hospitality
industry,
o Providing an overview of employees‟ job commitment and previous
studies about the factors influencing on it.
 Chapter 2: Research analysis and findings
o Presenting the proposed research model about the relationship
between job commitment and six independent factors,
o Describing the process of research design, including questionnaire
design, sampling design, data collection procedure and analysis
techniques,
o Reporting the results of data analysis,
o Discussing the findings.
 Chapter 3: Recommendations
o Proposing recommendations according to the achieved findings,
o Discussing future trends of the tourism and hospitality industry.

6

CHAPTER I
LITERATURE REVIEW

1.1. Hotel - accommodation:
1.1.1. Definition of hotels:
According to Nguyen Van Minh and Hoang Thi Lan Huong (2008), the word
“hotel” originates from French. During the medieval, it was used to call luxurious
houses of landlords. It was not until the late seventeenth century that “hotel” started
to be widely known in France with its modern meaning and not until the late
nineteenth century that it began to get popular in other countries.
Chon and Sparrowe (1995), cited by Nguyen Van Minh and Hoang Thi Lan
Huong (2008), defined “hotel” as an accommodation where anyone could pay to

stay the night. They also stated that each guestroom must have at least one
bathroom and one bedroom, where there should be a bed, a telephone and a
television. Apart from the accommodation service, a hotel might provide other
services such as: luggage transportation, shopping center, restaurant, bar, or other
leisure services. Hotels could be found near commercial areas, resorts or airports.
1

The Faculty of Tourism, National Economics University (2001) developed a
definition for “hotel” as follows: “Hotels are providers of accommodation services
(with sufficient amenities), food and beverages services, leisure services and other
essential ones to their guests who pay to stay overnight. Normally, hotels are built
at tourist attractions.”
2

In Vietnam, according to Circular No. 01/2002/TT-TCDL on 27
th
April 2001
proposed by Vietnam National Administration of Tourism in order to give guidance
on the implementation of Decree No. 39/2000/ND-CP about travelling


1
“Khách sạn là nơi mà bất kỳ ai cũng có thể trả tiền để thuê buồng ngủ qua đêm ở đó. Mỗi buồng ngủ cho
thuê bên trong phải có ít nhất hai phòng nhỏ (phòng ngủ và phòng tắm). Mỗi buồng khách đều phải có
giường, điện thoại và vô tuyến. Ngoài dịch vụ buồng ngủ có thể thêm các dịch vụ khác như: dịch vụ vận
chuyển hành lý, trung tâm thương mại (với thiết bị photocopy), nhà hàng, quầy bar và một số dịch vụ giải trí.
Khách sạn có thể được xây dựng ở gần hoặc bên trong các khu thương mại, khu du lịch nghỉ dưỡng hoặc các
sân bay.”
2
“Khách sạn là cơ sở cung cấp các dịch vụ lưu trú (với đầy đủ tiện nghi), dịch vụ ăn uống, dịch vụ vui chơi

giải trí và các dịch vụ cần thiết khác cho khách lưu lại qua đêm và thường được xây dựng tại các điểm du
lịch.”
7

accommodations, it is clearly stated that: “Hotels are independently established
architectural works, with at least 10 guest rooms, conforming to the quality
standards of facilities, equipment, and services that are essential to serve tourists”.
1


1.1.2. Classification of hotels:
According to Nguyen Van Minh and Hoang Thi Lan Huong (2008), there are
five aspects, upon which hotels can be classified into different types. These five
aspects are:
 Geographical locations:
o City center hotels: built in the center of big cities, urban areas or
densely populated areas to serve guests who are going on business
trip, participating in conventions or sporting events, visiting relatives,
or travelling on tours. This type of hotels operates year-round.
o Resort hotels: built in resort areas, located in the mountainous areas or
near beaches. Guests coming to resort hotels normally for the purpose
of relaxation. The operation of resort hotels depend mostly on weather
conditions, therefore they operate seasonally.
o Suburban hotels: built in suburban areas or city centers. They often
serve guests who take a weekend trip, sometimes are also booked by
business guests with medium or low affordability.
o Highway hotels: built along highways to serve guests travelling the
roads by cars or motorbikes.
o Airport hotels: built near major international airports to serve
passengers who are in compulsory transit. The accommodation

expenses are already included in the ticket fees.
 Service quality:
o Luxury hotels: equivalent to 5-star hotels in Vietnam. They serve the
highest ranked services, especially complementary room services,


1
“Khách sạn (Hotel) là công trình kiến trúc được xây dựng độc lập, có quy mô từ 10 buồng ngủ trở lên, đảm
bảo chất lượng về cơ sở vật chất, trang thiết bị, dịch vụ cần thiết phục vụ khách du lịch.”
8

beauty salons, fitness centers, conference rooms. The price offered by
this type of hotel is often the highest compared to others.
o Full service hotels: equivalent to 4-star hotels in Vietnam, focusing on
guests with high income level. They have large parking space,
restaurants offer in-room dining services and other limited outdoor
services.
o Limited service hotels: equivalent to 3-star hotels in Vietnam,
focusing on middle income guests. Conference rooms and outdoor
leisure services are optional for limited service hotels.
o Economy hotels: equivalent to 1-star or 2-star hotels in Vietnam. They
offer very limited services, including accommodation, catering,
laundry and information.

Figure 1.1: Different ways to classify hotels

Source: Adapted from Nguyen Van Manh and Hoang Thi Lan Huong (2008)

 Price: in the order of high to low:
o Luxury hotels

o Up-scale hotels
o Mid-price hotels
Geographical
locations
City center
hotels
Resort
hotels
Suburban
hotels
Highway
hotels
Airport
hotels
Service
quality
Luxury
hotels
Full-service
hotels
Limited-
service
hotels
Economy
hotels
Price
Luxury
hotels
Up-scale
hotels

Mid-price
hotels
Economy
hotels
Budget
hotels
Scale
Big-sized
hotels
Medium-
sized hotels
Small-sized
hotels
Ownership and
management
Private-
owned
hotels
State-
owned
hotels
Joint-
venture
hotels
9

o Economy hotels
o Budget hotels
 Scale: based on the number of guestrooms owned by each hotels
o Big-sized hotels: more than 200 rooms (or equivalent to 5-star hotels)

o Medium-sized hotels: between 50 and 200 rooms
o Small-sized hotels: below 50 rooms
 Ownership and management:
o Private-owned hotels: the owner of this kind of hotels is also the
management, who could be an individual or a limited liability
company. They are responsible for operating their hotels and the final
business results.
o State-owned hotels: they receive initial investments from the
government, and thereafter are managed by national enterprises or
organizations.
o Joint-venture hotels: they are invested and established by two or more
investors. In terms of management, the ones that are responsible for
operating the hotels could be either the owners themselves or their
partners, or both.

1.1.3. Factors affecting the performance of the hotel industry:
1.1.3.1. External factors:
The PEST analysis provides a broad view on the macro-environment in
which the hotel industry is operating. PEST is an acronym for Political, Economic,
Social and Technological factors that have impacts on an organization‟s business.
 P (Political factors):
o Political stability: Unstable political conditions would prevent tourists
to the country, making it an unfavorable for the tourism and
hospitality to develop.
o The government's support towards enterprises in the hotel industry:
More support creates a favorable environment for a hotel to develop,
therefore increase competition in this industry.
10

 E (Economic factors):

o Economic growth: Positive results of the economy would lead to
higher living standards; when people feel more secured about their
financial capabilities, they would not hesitate to spend on services to
improve their spiritual lives. Thereby the services industry, including
hospitality, might see promising results.
o Inflation rate: Inflation rate and economic growth has a negative
relationship. High inflation rate indicates an unhealthy economy,
causing people to lose confidence in their own currency and economy,
as well as driving away potential foreign investments. Under this
circumstance, any industry would suffer adverse consequences.
o Investments on facilities and infrastructures: Upgraded traffic
systems, accommodation facilities and any infrastructures that
contribute to the tourism industry would also benefit the hospitality
industry.
o Tax policies: By adjusting the tax policies, the government could
either encourage or discourage the hotel business.
 S (Social factors):
o The variety of scenery, historical destinations and other tourist
attractions is one of the key to attract tourists and boost the industry.
o The diversity of cultures in different places in Vietnam should also be
preserved to keep a multicultural image of the country.
 T (Technological factors):
o Applications of technological development in operational activities
and guest services would positively improve the business performance
as well as customers‟ experience.
o Development of social networks assists worldwide promotion of
images from Vietnam and its tourism and hospitality industry.
o Changes in the way customers get access to information about hotels
should be kept up with in order for the hotels to employ the most up-
to-date and effective channels.

11

1.1.3.2. Internal factors:
 Products:
Nguyen Van Minh and Hoang Thi Lan Huong (2008) stated that hotel
products are “the commodities and services that it provides in response to
customers’ demands from the time they first check in to when they finish using
the products and check out”
1
.
Based on the definition above, there would be two types of products
provided by hotels:
o Commodities: they could be in the form of food, beverages, souvenirs
or other kinds of items that are appropriate to be sold in hotels.
o Services: Hotels provide two types of services, namely, main services
(accommodation, food and beverages) and additional services (any
services other than two main ones).
Since most of the hotel products are services rather than commodities, it
could be safe to say that hotels provide services products, along with
complementary commodities.

 Customers:
Hotel guests could come from different backgrounds or places to satisfy
different needs and wants, within different lengths of stay in the hotels. There
are three indicators that might determine the performance of a hotel in a certain
period of time (Nguyen Van Minh and Hoang Thi Lan Huong, 2008):
o Total number of guests (in a specific period of time, for example, a
year or a business cycle),
o Total accumulative number of guests, and
o Average length of stay (normally calculated within a month, a quarter,

a year or a business cycle).


1
“Sản phẩm của khách sạn là tất cả những dịch vụ và hàng hóa mà khách sạn cung cấp nhằm đáp ứng nhu
cầu của khách hàng kể từ khi họ liên hệ với khách sạn lần đầu tiên để đăng ký buồng cho tới khi tiêu dùng
xong và rời khỏi khách sạn.”
12

Other indicators can be suitable to evaluate the hotel‟s performance, such
as the occupancy rate (the percentage of available rooms occupied over a period
of time) or customer satisfaction.

 Financial resources:
Business in the hotel industry requires a large amount of initial
investment on construction and infrastructure. Also, the provided services need
to be luxurious or of adequate quality in order to stay competitive. Investing in
facilities would help improve the hotel‟s overall ranking compared to its
competitors.
Apparently, abundant financial resources are the result of effective
performance of the hotel. And by using those resources wisely, the hotel could
achieve its development goals and yield even more revenues. Financial
resources can be used to tackle issues like improving facilities, developing
marketing channels, switching to better suppliers, expanding market share, or
stabilizing human resources, etc.

 Human resources:
Hospitality is a labor-intensive industry; therefore human resources play a
decisive role in the performance of hotels. In order to perform effectively, hotels
not only need enough human resources but also require diversified

specializations among their employees to work in different operations. Long
working hours and constant pressure have made careers in hospitality less
desirable, facing the hotel management with difficulties in hiring, selecting and
distributing their human resources without negatively affecting the hotel‟s
overall performance.

1.2. Job commitment:
1.2.1. Definition of job commitment:
The concept of job commitment, or more popularly called organizational
commitment, has been studied since the late twentieth century by many researchers
13

and behavioral scientists. As a result, this term has been quite well established and
defined, therefore widely accepted so far.
In the early period, it was viewed as a single dimension. According to Porter
et al (1974), organizational commitment is “an attachment to the organization,
characterized by an intention to remain in it; an identification with the values and
goals of the organization; and a willingness to exert extra effort on its behalf”.
Considering this was one of the early definition establishments, it showed that
Porter and his peers had done a relatively thorough research on the matter. This
definition sketches three characteristics of the concept:
 to believe in and accept the organizational goals and values, which is
value commitment,
 the willingness to make an effort, which is effort commitment, and
 the strong desire to maintain the membership of the organization, which
is retention commitment.
Steers (1977) defined organizational commitment as an employee‟s
willingness to contribute significant effort and to remain closely attached to the
organization. Although it was developed after Porter et al, Steers‟ way of breaking it
down missed out an important aspect – identification with the organizational goals

and values –which explains why there could be such strong links between an
organization and its employees, and without which the whole definition would seem
rather emotion-based.
Then in 1979, Mowday, Steers and Porter added one more attribute to Steers‟
definition of organizational commitment, together defining the term with three
factors:
 A strong belief in, and acceptance of, the organization‟s goals and
values,
 A willingness to exert considerable effort on behalf of the organization,
and
 A strong desire to remain in the organization.
Compared to Porter‟s 1974 version, this is a similar yet more developed one.
14

It was not until 1984 that the term was characterized into multi-components.
Pioneers were Meyer and Allen, who defined organizational commitment as
affective commitment and continuance commitment. The components are
considered to be independent of one another; such existence of one type of
commitment does not guarantee the existence of the other. Their definition of
continuance commitment was redefined from Becker (1960)‟s prior research on side
bet theory, which interpreted “commitment” as “consistent lines of activity”. In
1984, Meyer and Allen argued that the accretion of “side bets” would consequently
be lost if the action ceased. They came up with another clarification for “side bets”
– they are both tangible and intangible and can be of value that a person has
invested such as time, effort, or money that would be considered insignificant if an
individual were to leave the organization.
Seven years later, they expanded the term with the third component.
Consequently, organizational commitment could be described by three components,
according to Meyer and Allen (1984, 1991), as follows:
 Affective commitment: “positive feelings of identification with,

attachment to and involvement in the work organization”,
 Continuance commitment: “the extent which employees feel committed to
their organization by virtue of the costs that they feel associated with
leaving”, and
 Normative commitment: “the employee’s feelings of obligation to remain
with the organization”.
Then in 1996, they generalized the concept into a single sentence which
states that organizational commitment is “a psychological link between the
employee and his or her organization that makes it less likely that the employee will
voluntarily leave the organization”.
O‟Reilly and Chatman, in 1986, developed the concept and came up with a
three-dimensional model of organizational commitment, which includes:
 Compliance: it is said to occur when one accepts influence in hope of
achieving a favorable reaction from another person or a group. It is the
15

social effect that causes him/her to conform in order to gain specific
rewards or approval, and to avoid specific punishments or disapproval.
 Identification: it takes place when one accepts influence to establish or
maintain a satisfying self-defining relationship with another person or a
group. There appears to be a desire for affiliation when an individual does
so.
 Internalization: an individual would accept influence if he/she finds that
the organizational values are congruent with his/her own. And when it
happens, there seem to be intrinsic rewards to that person.

Figure 1.2. Organizational Commitment Model

Source: Meyer and Allen, 1997

Quijano et al. (2000), cited by Rocha et al. (2008), approached the term in a
different way and stated that it was a theoretical concept with four dimensions,
namely:
ORGANIZATIONAL
CHARACTERISTICS

Size

Structure

Climate, etc.

PERSONAL
CHARACTERISTICS

Demographics

Values

Expectations

SOCIALISATION
EXPERIENCES

Cultural

Familial

Organizational

MANAGEMENT
PRACTICES

Selection

Training

Compensation

ENVIRONMENTAL
CONDITIONS

Unemployment rate

Family
responsibility
 Union status
WORK
EXPERIENCES

Job scope

Relationships

Participation

Support

Justice

ROLE STATES

Ambiguity

Conflict

Overload

PSYCHOLOGICAL
CONTRACT

Economic
exchange
 Social exchange
AFFECT-
RELATED

Attribution

Rationalization

Met
expectation

Person-job fit

Need
satisfaction

NORM-RELATED


Expectations

Obligations

COST-RELATED

Alternatives

Investments
AFFECTIVE
COMMITMENT

Organization

Union

Team

CONTINUANCE
COMMITMENT

Organization

Union

Team

NORMATIVE
COMMITMENT


Organization

Union
 Team
RETENTION

Withdrawal
cognition

Turnover
intention

Turnover

PRODUCTIVE
BEHAVIOUR

Attendance

Performance

Citizenship

EMPLOYEE
WELL-BEING

Psychological
health
 Physical health


Career
progress
ANTEDECENTS DISTAL
PROCESSES PROXIMAL
COMMITMENT
CONSEQUENCES
16

 Value: the recognition of common goals and values between the
organization and an individual,
 Affective: an individual‟s need for affiliation from the organization,
 Need: maintaining the job as a way of survival as one understands that
there is no other work opportunity for him/her, and
 Exchange: this represents the intrinsic or extrinsic rewards that one could
receive from the organization.
The table below summarizes and compares three organizational commitment
models:

Table 1.1. Comparison between different Organizational Commitment models
Three-component model
(Allen and Meyer, 1991)
Three-dimensional model
(O’Reilly and Chatman, 1986)
Four-dimensional model
(Quijano et al., 2000)
Affective
(emotional attachment,
identification, enjoying
membership)

Internalization
(congruence of values and
objectives)
Identification
(desire for affiliation)
Value
(congruence of values and
objectives)
Affective
(need for affiliation)
Continuance
(leaving costs and benefits)
Compliance
(gain specific rewards)
Exchange
(intrinsic/extrinsic rewards)
Need
(maintaining job)
Normative
(feeling of obligation)


Source: Rocha et al. (2008)
It seems that Allen and Meyer‟s model covers the concept of organizational
commitment the most comprehensively. Therefore, their three-component model
will be used as the definition in this research.
Job commitment, or organizational commitment, is:
 the positive feeling of emotional attachment, congruence with the
organizational goals and values, and involvement with the organization,
 the mandatory constraint of an employee towards his/her organization

originating from weighing the costs and benefits associated with leaving,
and
 the sense of obligation to maintain in the organization.

17

1.2.2. Levels of job commitment:
Figure 1.3 describes three different levels of organizational commitment. An
employee‟s commitment may increase or decrease through these stages, either in
one direction or irregularly.
The higher level of organizational commitment is the result of “a strong
acceptance of the organization‟s values and willingness to exert efforts to remain
with the organization (Reichers, 1985). As stated by Miller (2003), “high
commitment means identifying with one’s employing organization”. This level of
commitment is deemed to closely relate to affective commitment, where an
employee stays because he/she wants to.

Figure 1.3. Levels of Organizational Commitment
Higher level of
organizational commitment

Higher level of
organizational commitment



Moderate level of
organizational commitment

Moderate level of

organizational commitment



Lower level of organizational of
organizational commitment

Lower level of organizational of
organizational commitment
Source: Reichers, 1985

When an employee hits the moderate level of commitment, he/she shows “a
reasonable acceptance of the organization‟s goals and values as well as willingness
to exert effort to remain with the organization (Reichers, 1985). In this stage, a
sense of obligation to stay in the organization is found in employees, which is
typical in the normative dimension of commitment (Meyer and Allen, 1997).
The lower level of commitment is characterized by “a lack of neither
acceptance of organizational goals and values nor the willingness to exert efforts to
remain with the organization” (Reichers, 1985). The only reason that makes
employees stay is that they are taking the costs of leaving into consideration, in
other words, they feel that they need to stay (Meyer and Allen, 1997). Should they