NATURE OF FIRM OWNERSHIP, VERTICAL COMPLEXITY AND PERCEIVED WORK EXPERIENCES AS ANTECEDENTS OF ORGANISATIONAL COMMITMENT : AN ANALYSIS OF SUPERVISORY AND MANAGERIAL PERCEPTIONS

Abstract

Over the last three decades, numerous research studies have attempted to understand the antecedents and consequences of organisational commitment (OC), but no clear theory of commitment has emerged: Additionally, little headway has been-made in understanding the role of mediator variables in the process of creating commitment. Based on Mathieu and Zajac's (1990) review and meta analysis of OC research, this study examined the interrelationships between OC and three potential antecedents: nature of firm ownership, organisational structure, and individual work experiences. Specifically, the study proposed: (a) that the nature of ownership determines the vertical shape of the organisation; (b) that some important work experiences generated in an organisation vary according to the vertical shape of the organisation; (c) that other important work experiences vary according to the nature of ownership; and (d) that positive perceptions of work experiences are positively correlated with commitment. Set in Singapore, the study examined the supervisory and managerial employees of 45 organisations of American, British, Japanese and Singaporean origin. Results revealed that ownership had a strong impact on employee perceptions of fairplay, group attitudes and management receptiveness. Ownership had a marginal impact on the vertical shape of the organisation; and the shape of the organisation was inversely related to employee perceptions of job challenge and participation. Singaporeans perceived American organisations as providing the most favourable work experiences and Singaporean organisations as the least favourable. The strongest support was found for the hypothesis that perceptions of work experiences was positively correlated with OC.