ABSTRACT
Organizational commitment has been studied extensively in Western management research and remains of substantial importance to managers (Meyer, Stanley, Herscovitch and Topolnytsky 2002). Mowday, Porter and Steers (1982) define it as an attitude in the form of an individual's identification with and involvement in a particular organization. Employee commitment to the organization has been found to relate positively to a variety of desirable work outcomes including employee job satisfaction, motivation and performance and negatively correlated to absenteeism and turnover (Porter, Steers, Mowday and Boulian 1974; Mathieu and Zajac 1990; Kalleberg and Marsden 1995; Meyer et al. 2002; Herrbach, Mignonac and Gatignon 2004). It is argued that individuals who are committed to the organization are less likely to leave their jobs than those who are uncommitted. Individuals who are committed to the organization are reported to perform at a higher level and also tend to stay with the organization, thus decreasing turnover and increasing organizational effectiveness (Porter et al. 1974). Organizational commitment is therefore believed to be critical to organizational effectiveness.
