Organizational_Commitment_and_Job_Satisfaction

Organizational commitment and job satisfaction as predictors of attitudes toward organizational change in a non-western setting College of Business and Economics, United Arab Emirates University, Al-Ain, United Arab Emirates Keywords Organizational change, Commitment, Job satisfaction, United Arab Emirates, Multi-cultural society Abstract This study investigates the role of various dimensions of organizational commitment and job satisfaction in predicting various attitudes toward organizational change in a nonwestern work setting. The study uses a sample of 474 employees in 30 organizations in the United Arab Emirates. Path analysis results reveal that employees' affective and behavioral tendency attitudes toward organizational change increase with the increase in affective commitment, and that continuance commitment (low perceived alternatives) directly and negatively influences cognitive attitudes toward change. Results further show that affective commitment mediates the influences of satisfaction with working conditions, pay, supervision and security on both affective and behavioral tendency attitudes toward change. Continuance commitment (low perceived alternatives) mediates the influences of satisfaction with pay on cognitive attitudes toward change. Satisfaction with various facets of the job directly and positively influences different dimensions of organizational commitment. Implications, limitations and lines of future research are discussed. Organizational commitment and job satisfaction 567 Received July 1998 Revised/Accepted February 1999 Darwish A. Yousef Introduction Change has become a source of frustration for today's organizations. Management within organizations is experiencing numerous internal as well as external pressures for organizational change. Such pressures include government laws and regulations, production and process technology, political and social events, and internationalization of business (Pfeffer, 1994). Caplow (1983) argues that every organization must submit to the demands of its environment, and that these demands vary as the environment changes. Organizational change is defined as an attempt or series of attempts to modify an organization's structure, goals, technology or work task (Carnall, 1986). According to Dunham et al. (1989), attitude toward change in general consists of a person's cognitions about change, affective reactions to change, and The author is very grateful to Professor M.Y Al-Basyoni, Department of Statistics, UAE University, for his help with the statistical analysis. Personnel Review, Vol. 29 No. 5, 2000, pp. 567-592. # MCB University Press, 0048-3486 Personnel Review 29,5 568 behavioral tendency toward change. Similarly, Elizur and Guttman (1976) classified individuals' or groups' response to the introduction of organizational change into three types. Affective responses are a greater or lesser feeling of being linked to, satisfied with, or anxious about change. Cognitive responses are the opinions one has about the advantages and disadvantages, usefulness, and necessity, and about the knowledge required to handle the change. Finally, instrumental responses are the actions already taken or which will be taken in the future for or against the change. Different individuals may response differently to a particular change. For some, change may bring satisfaction, joy and advantages; for others the same change may bring pain, stress, and disadvantages. Still others may not perceive the change. For those who perceive a particular change as bringing disadvantages, Carnall (1986) outlines the range of possible behavioral responses as resisting, opposing, accepting but working to modify through local level accommodations, ritualistic response and acquiescence. People often resist organizational change for various reasons. For instance, Dawson (1994) notes that resistance to organizational change may result from one or a combination of factors such as substantive change in job, reduction in economic security, psychological threats, disruption of social arrangements, and lowering of status. Several western scholars (e.g. Kanter, 1985; Beer and Walton, 1987; Sashkin and Burke, 1987; Connor and Lake, 1988) have long identified how and why organizational members react to organizational change. Recently, other western scholars (e.g. Iverson, 1996; Lau and Woodman, 1995; Cordery et al., 1993) have also pointed out that organizational commitment and job satisfaction, in particular, play a vital role in employees' acceptance of change. Nonetheless, such a vital area of research has not been adequately addressed in non-western settings, particularly in a multicultural and Islamic setting. Additionally, those western sholars who addressed this area of research treated organizational commitment, job satisfaction and attitudes toward organizational change as unidimentional variables. Therefore, the present study would be of value for academics and practitioners alike. From an academic perspective, this study is expected to contribute to the generalizability of the existing body of research, which is done mostly in western settings to non-western work settings. This, therefore, would increase our understanding of the change theories and their validity. Moreover, it is expected to add to the comparative management research stream. In practice the findings of the present study might provide policy makers in human resource departments with valuable information for introducing and managing change successfully, through enhancing various dimensions of organizational commitment and satisfaction with different facets of the job. This study attempts to address questions such as: do western theories pertaining to organizational change and its linkages with organizational commitment and job satisfaction apply in a non-western work setting' Does organizational commitment directly influence attitudes toward Organizational change' Does job satisfaction directly influence attitudes toward change' commitment and Does organizational commitment mediate the influence of job satisfaction on job satisfaction attitudes toward change' Background of the work setting The United Arab Emirates (UAE) depends heavily on multicultural expatriate workers because of acute shortage of domestic manpower. According to the 1995 census 75 percent (1,718,000) of the UAE population are expatriates, of whom 61 percent (1,435,000) are Asian expatriates, 12 percent (292,000) are Arab expatriates and 2 percent (53,000) are of other nationalities; 85 percent of the working expatriates are Asians, 13 percent are Arabs, 1.5 percent are Europeans and 0.5 percent are of other nationalities (GCC Economic Data Book, 1996). Therefore, multiculturalism is a dominant feature of the workforce in the UAE. Furthermore, in the UAE a single organization often comprises many different nationalities, each with his own role perception, attitudes toward other nationalities, cultural orientations, and educational background. Consequently, such a diverse workforce environment has resulted in diverse values, attitudes and behavior. A number of researchers have observed that individuals from different cultures exhibit fairly dissimilar levels of organizational commitment (e.g. Near, 1989; Al-Meer, 1989; 1995) and job satisfaction (e.g., Jain et al., 1979; Kanungo et al., 1976; Azumi and McMillan, 1976; Lincoln and Kalleberg, 1985; Griffeth and Hom, 1987; Yavas et al., 1990). Additionally, literature reveals that expatriate employees experience a variety of challenges in the host environment and have difficulties in adjusting to the work environment and new organizational demand (Adler, 1986; Black 1992; Boyacigiller, 1990). Moreover, expatriates national culture influences how individuals perceive and react to their environment (e.g., Adler, 1990; Ali, 1989; Lincoln et al., 1981). On the other hand, the religion of the majority of workers in the UAE is Islam, and as Ali (1996) argues, Islam is the most influential force in the Arab world that moulds and regulates individual and group behavior and outlooks. Ali also points out that Islamic values and culture, if correctly identified and understood, would facilitate organizational change and development. Ali further argues that Arab managers look favorably on change and are receptive to changes that improve organizational effectiveness and enhance employees' welfare. Similarly, Ali et al. (1997) assert that Islamic teaching and Arab traditions that place emphasis on group loyalty, respect for the family, and humbleness in dealing with other people may influence employees and managers in the work setting. Therefore, one would expect that this sort of work setting would influence both attitudes toward change and the factors that are most important in predicting attitudes toward change. 569 Personnel Review 29,5 570 Attitudes toward organizational change and organizational commitment Organizational commitment is defined as the employee's feelings of obligation to stay with the organization: feelings resulting from the internalization of normative pressures exerted on an individual prior to entry or following entry (Allen and Meyer, 1990). According to Meyer and Allen (1991), organizational commitment can take three distinct forms. Affective commitment refers to identification with, involvement in, and emotional attachment to the organization, in the sense that employees with strong affective commitment remain with the organization because they want to do so. Continuance commitment refers to commitment based on employees' recognition of the costs associated with leaving the organization. Thus, employees with strong continuance commitment remain with the organization because they have to do so, either because of low perceived alternatives or because of high personal sacrifice associated with leaving the organization. Normative commitment refers to commitment based on a sense of obligation to the organization. Therefore, those with strong normative commitment remain with the organization because they feel they ought to do so. One could argue that those with strong affective commitment would be more willing to accept change, provided that such a change is not altering the basic values and goals of the organization, and is seen as beneficial to the organization, since organizational commitment reflects a belief in the values and goals of the organization. In the same direction, Lau and Woodman (1995) argue that a highly committed individual might more readily identify with and accept organizational change efforts that are perceived beneficial. Similarly, a highly committed individual might be expected to strongly resist change judged harmful to the organization. On the other hand, those employees with strong continuance commitment might be less willing to accept changes because of the fear that such changes might reduce the benefits they are currently gaining in their present organizations. Nevertheless, empirical findings support the influence of organizational commitment on attitudes toward organizational change (e.g. Iverson, 1996; Cordery et al., 1993). For instance, Iverson (1996) found that organizational commitment is the second most important determinant, after union membership, of attitudes toward organizational change. Employees with high organizational commitment are more congruent with the goals and values of the organization, willing to expend considerably more effort on behalf of the organization, and thus more likely to accept organizational change, provided that such a change would not alter the basic values and goals of the organization and it is perceived as beneficial to the organization. Guest (1992) is of the opinion that committed employees are more accepting than their non-committed colleagues to organizational change. Furthermore, Lau and Woodman (1995) discovered that organizational commitment had significant, direct effects on the impact and control dimension of a change schema, but the effects on the significant only significant at the 0.10 level. Similarly, that organizational commitment has a predicting attitudes toward functional hypothesized that: and meaning dimensions were Organizational Cordery et al. (1993) discovered commitment and modest contribution toward job satisfaction flexibility. Therefore, it is H1a: Affective commitment directly and positively influences cognitive, affective and behavioral tendency dimensions of attitudes toward organizational change. H1b: Continuance commitment (low perceived alternatives) directly and negatively influences cognitive, affective and behavioral tendency dimensions of attitudes toward organizational change. H1c: Continuance commitment (high personal sacrifice) directly and negatively influences cognitive, affective and behavioral tendency dimensions of attitudes toward organizational change. H1d: Normative commitment directly and positively influences cognitive, affective and behavioral tendency dimensions of attitudes toward organizational change. One could argue that a high satisfaction with various facets of the job might lead to a high commitment to the organization and in turn more willingness to accept change. For example, Iverson (1996) found that organizational commitment mediates the total causal effects of job satisfaction, positive affectivity, job security, job motivation and environmental opportunity on attitudes toward organizational change. Moreover, Iverson (1996), Iverson and Roy (1994) and Mathieu and Zajac (1990) reported that organizational commitment mediates the effects of job satisfaction on attitudes toward change. Thus, it could be hypothesized that: H2a: Affective commitment mediates the influences of satisfaction with working conditions, pay, promotion, supervision, co-workers, and security on cognitive, affective, and behavioral tendency dimensions of attitudes toward organizational change. H2b: Continuance commitment (low perceived alternatives) mediates the influences of satisfaction with working conditions, pay, promotion, supervision, co-workers, and security on cognitive, affective, and behavioral tendency dimensions of attitudes toward organizational change. H2c: Continuance commitment (high personal sacrifice) mediates the influences of satisfaction with working conditions, pay, promotion, supervision, co-workers, and security on cognitive, affective, and behavioral tendency dimensions of attitudes toward organizational change. 571 Personnel Review 29,5 572 H2d: Normative commitment mediates the influences of satisfaction with working conditions, pay, promotion, supervision, co-workers, and security on cognitive, affective, and behavioral tendency dimensions of attitudes toward organizational change. Attitudes toward organizational change and job satisfaction Job satisfaction is defined as the extent to which an employee feels positively or negatively toward his/her job (Locke, 1976; Odom et al., 1990). Job satisfaction has a positive relationship with attitudes toward change. Those who are satisfied with various facets of their jobs are likely to be more willing to accept change. Previous empirical studies support the influence of job satisfaction on attitudes toward change (e.g. Cordery et al., 1993; Gardner et al., 1987; Guest, 1987). Cordery et al. (1993) for example, reported that low levels of extrinsic job satisfaction were associated with unfavorable attitudes toward change, while Gardner et al. (1987) observed significant interactions between satisfaction and job change. Iverson (1996); Iverson and Roy (1994) and Mathieu and Zajac (1990) reported that job satisfaction has indirect effects on change via organizational commitment. Howard and Frink (1996) reported that organizational changes influence worker satisfaction. Therefore, it is hypothesized that: H3a: Satisfaction with working conditions directly and positively influences cognitive, affective, and behavioral tendency dimensions of attitudes toward organizational change. H3b: Satisfaction with pay directly and positively influences cognitive, affective, and behavioral tendency dimensions of attitudes toward organizational change. H3c: Satisfaction with promotion directly and positively influences cognitive, affective, and behavioral tendency dimensions of attitudes toward organizational change. H3d: Satisfaction with supervision directly and positively influences cognitive, affective, and behavioral tendency dimensions of attitudes toward organizational change. H3e: Satisfaction with co-workers directly and positively influences cognitive, affective, and behavioral tendency dimensions of attitudes toward organizational change. H3f: Satisfaction with security directly and positively influences cognitive, affective, and behavioral tendency dimensions of attitudes toward organizational change. Figure 1 depicts the hypothesized model of the cause-effect relationships among the main constructs of the study. Organizational commitment and job satisfaction 573 Figure 1. Hypothesized research model Method Sample and data collection The author, with the assistance of a number of experts, compiled a list of 50 major organizations of different sizes, activities and ownerships in five main districts in the United Arab Emirates. A random sample of 30 organizations from this list was selected, then a random sample of the employees in each organization of the 30 organizations was drawn. This procedure has been adopted because of the absence of any listing that can serve as sampling frames for drawing random samples. The total sample of this study was 800 individuals; it represents about 40 percent of the total population of this study. The author, using drop-off and pick-up methods, distributed 800 questionnaires. After three callbacks, 550 questionnaires were retrieved, resulting in a 69 percent response rate. Of the retrieved questionnaires, only 4,774 questionnaires were usable. Of the subjects, 68 percent are age 36 or over, and also 68 percent hold a graduate or post graduate degree. About 67.5 percent have six years or more experience in Personnel Review 29,5 574 their present occupation. Of the subjects, about 89.7 percent are male, and 70 percent have been working with the present organization for six years or more. About 59.5 percent hold positions in supervisory management, 23.4 percent are UAE nationals, 36.7 are Arab expatriates, 34.6 percent are Asians and 5.1 percent are Westerners. Of the subjects, 49 percent work in manufacturing organizations and the same percentage work in service organizations. About 88 percent work in organizations with over 200 employees and 94 percent work in organizations which have been in business for 11 years or more. The main characteristics of the sample are presented in Table I. Measures Attitude toward organizational change was measured using Dunham et al.'s (1989) 18-item instrument. This instrument consists of three subscales, namely Frequency Age 35 years or less 36-45 years 46 years or over Experience 5 years or less 6-10 years 11 years or over Marital status Married Single 153 165 154 153 97 223 % 32.0 35.0 33.0 32.5 20.5 47.0 Gender Male Female Occupation level Top management Middle management Supervisory management Missing Organization ownership Government Private Joint Missing Organization activities Manufacturing Service Both Frequency 425 49 % 89.7 10.3 23 157 284 10 189 185 99 1 230 231 13 4.9 33.1 59.9 2.1 39.9 39.0 20.9 0.2 48.5 48.7 2.7 517 57 88.0 12.0 Education level Less than university degree University degree Postgraduate Missing Tenure in organization 5 years or less 6-10 years 11 years or over Nationality UAE Arab Asian Western Missing 148 265 59 2 142 113 219 111 174 164 24 1 31.2 55.9 12.4 0.4 30.0 23.8 46.8 23.4 36.7 34.6 5.1 0.2 Organization age 5 years or less 6-10 years 11 years or over Organization size Less than 50 employees 50-200 Over 200 8 23 443 9 48 417 1.7 4.9 93.5 1.9 10.1 88.0 Table I. The main characteristics of the sample (n ˆ 474) cognitive, affective, and behavioral tendency. Each subscale consists of six Organizational items. Examples of the items included in the cognitive subscale are: ``I don't like commitment and change'', ``I usually resist new ideas''; examples of the items included in the job satisfaction affective subscale are: ``Change usually benefits the organization'', ``Most of my co-workers benefit from change''; examples of the items included in the behavioral tendency subscale are: ``I look forward to changes at work'', ``I am 575 inclined to try new ideas''. A seven-point response scale was employed, ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree). Scores on each subscale were averaged to yield a summary score reflecting that subscale. The internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha) for the overall attitude toward organizational change scale and for cognitive, affective and behavioral tendency subscales in this study are 0.77, 0.88, 0.83, and 0.86 respectively. Organizational commitment was measured using Meyer and Allen's (1991) instrument. This instrument consists of 24 items. It has four subscales, namely affective, continuance (low perceived alternatives), continuance (high personal sacrifice) and normative. This instrument has been adopted rather than the Mowday et al. (1979) questionnaire which has been recently criticized for lack of homogeneity (Benkhoff, 1997). Examples of the items included in the affective subscale are: ``I would be very happy to spend the rest of my career with this organization'', ``I really feel as if this organization's problems are my own'', ``I feel emotionally attached to this organization''; examples of the items included in the continuance (low perceived alternatives) subscale are: ``I am afraid of what might happen if I quit my job without having another one lined up'', and ``Too much in my life would be disrupted if I decided I wanted to leave my organization now''; examples of the items included in the continuance (high personal sacrifice) subscale are: ``It would be very hard for me to leave my organization right now, even if I wanted to'', and ``I feel that I have too few options to consider leaving this organization''; examples of the items included in normative subscale are: ``I think that people these days move from company to company too often'', ``I was taught to believe in the value of remaining loyal to one organization'', ``I think that wanting to be a company man or company woman is sensible''. A seven-point response scale was employed, ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree). Scores on the items of each subscale were averaged to yield a summary score reflecting that subscale. The internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha) for the overall organizational commitment scale and for affective, continuance (low perceived alternatives), continuance (high personal sacrifice) and normative subscales in this study are 0.89, 0.85, 0.81, 0.78, and 0.79 respectively. Job satisfaction was measured using 24 items adopted from the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ) developed by Weiss et al. (1967). Six dimensions of job satisfaction, namely working conditions, pay, promotion, supervision, co-workers, and security were measured. Each subscale of the six subscales consists of four items. A seven-point response scale was Personnel Review 29,5 576 employed, ranging from 1 (strongly dissatisfied) to 7 (strongly satisfied). Scores on the four items of each subscale were averaged to yield a summary score reflecting that subscale. The internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha) for the overall job satisfaction scale and for working conditions, pay, promotion, supervision, co-workers and security subscales in this study are 0.73, 0.88, 0.90, 0.88, 0.86, 0.89 and 0.92 respectively. Analysis Descriptive statistics, which include percentages and frequencies, were used to present the main characteristics of the sample. Means, standard deviations and intercorrelations were calculated to present the general results of the study. Confirmatory factor analysis was also employed to confirm the heterogeneity of organizational commitment, job satisfaction and attitudes toward organizational change constructs (see the Appendix). The outcomes of the confirmatory analysis provided support for the heterogeneity of these constructs. Furthermore, confirmatory factor analysis was also employed to test the heterogeneity of continuance dimension of organizational commitment, following the same procedure used by McGee and Ford (1987). The results of this analysis confirmed the heterogeneity of this subscale. The Chow test (Gujarati, 1978) was used to test whether sample populations from different age, experience, gender, educational level, tenure, occupation level, organization's size, type, and ownership subgroups could be combined to form an aggregate sample. The Chow test indicated that there was no consistent pattern of differences, and therefore aggregation of subgroups was appropriate. Path analysis, using LISREL VIII software package ( Joreskog and Sorbom, 1993) was utilized in this study to test the cause-effect relationships among the main constructs of the study. Employing the procedures suggested by Bagozzi and Yi (1988), the measurement model was tested for convergent validity (i.e. the degree of association between measures of a construct) and discriminant validity (i.e. the degree to which measures of construct are distinct. With regard to the convergent validity, a one-factor model followed by the hypothesized model were evaluated. The convergent validity of the model was assured, where the hypothesized model was found to fit the data significantly better than the one-factor model, for attitudes toward change construct (Á2 …3† ˆ 1; 000:4, p < 0:0001), for organizational commitment construct (Á2 …3† ˆ 38:46, p < 0:0001) and for job satisfaction construct (Á2 …15† ˆ 1; 867:36, p < 0:0001). The discriminant validity of the model (tested by calculating the difference between one model which allowed the correlations between the constructs to be constrained to unity, i.e. perfectly correlated, and another model which allowed the correlations between the constructs to be free) was supported. The measurement model was found to have comparative index (CFI) of 0.99 indicating an acceptable fit of the measurement model. Furthermore, it was found that the composite reliabilities Organizational of the three constructs range between 0.80 and 0.93, and that the average commitment and variances extracted range between 0.50 and 0.76. The findings of the structural job satisfaction model are reported in the results section. Results Means, standard deviations and intercorrelations of the variables of interest are reported in Table II. Results show that the mean of affective commitment is well above the scale mid-point, 4; and that the means of continuance commitment (low perceived alternatives and high personal sacrifice) as well as normative commitment are slightly above scale mid-point. These results can be interpreted as meaning that employees in the investigated organizations are remaining with their current organizations because they want to do so, and not because they have to do so or because they feel they ought to do so. These results might also suggest that employees in the UAE have great sense of identification with, involvement in, and emotional attachment to, the organization. It should be pointed out that such a low pattern of continuance commitment among expatriate workers has also been found in the neighboring Gulf state, Saudi Arabia (Bhuian and Islam, 1996). Results further indicate that employees in the investigated organizations are, to some extent, highly satisfied with working conditions, supervision, and co-workers' facets of the job, while their satisfaction with other facets of the job, namely pay, promotion, and security is low (slightly above scale mid-point). This pattern of low satisfaction with pay and security, in particular, is consistent with what has been found in other Arab Gulf states (Bhuian et al., 1996; Bhuian and Islam, 1996). Such a pattern might be attributed to the fact that the majority of the workforces in these states are expatriates, either Arabs or non-Arabs, who are paid less than national workers, and who also might be fired at any time. Results in Table II further show that the means of cognitive, affective, and behavioral tendency dimensions of attitudes toward organizational change are well above scale mid-point, 4. This can be interpreted as meaning that employees in the UAE support change. This result supports Ali's (1996) arguments that Arab managers look favorably on change and are receptive to changes that improve organizational effectiveness and enhance employees' welfare. Path analysis was used to detect the cause-effect relationships among various dimensions of organizational commitment, job satisfaction and attitudes toward organizational change. Results indicate that affective commitment directly and positively influences both affective and behavioral tendency attitudes toward organizational change. These results to, a great extent, support H1a, which stated that affective commitment directly and positively influences cognitive, affective and behavioral tendency attitudes toward organizational change. Results also reveal that continuance commitment (low perceived alternatives) directly and negatively affects 577 578 Personnel Review 29,5 No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Note: Correlations > 0:10 are significant at p < 0.01. Table II. Means, standard deviations and intercorrelations of the variables of interest Variable Cognitive Affective attitude Behavioral attitude Affective commitment Continuance commitment (L) Continuance commitment (H) Normative com. Satisfaction with working conditions Pay Promotion Supervision Co-workers Security M 5.66 5.14 5.45 5.42 4.29 4.44 4.86 5.50 4.66 4.17 5.60 5.54 4.98 SD 0.945 0.940 0.893 1.115 1.556 1.401 1.096 0.993 1.470 1.585 1.165 1.0082 1.400 No. of items 6 6 6 8 4 4 8 4 4 4 4 4 4 2 0.28 ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± 3 0.28 0.56 ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± 4 0.03 0.18 0.15 ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± 5 6 7 8 9 0.09 0.15 0.07 0.36 0.36 0.30 0.27 0.32 ± ± ± ± ± 10 À0.15 À0.14 À0.08 0.04 0.03 0.01 0.08 0.20 À0.01 À0.05 0.02 0.07 0.25 0.24 0.52 0.41 ± 0.56 0.32 0.16 ± ± 0.33 0.13 ± ± ± 0.35 ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± 11 0.01 0.12 0.05 0.38 0.14 0.13 0.33 0.38 0.32 0.31 ± ± ± 12 À0.03 0.19 0.12 0.24 0.14 0.17 0.29 0.41 0.19 0.27 0.37 ± ± 13 0.08 0.19 0.04 0.42 0.16 0.12 0.37 0.38 0.46 0.57 0.35 0.34 ± 0.06 0.20 0.03 0.35 0.19 0.15 0.31 0.36 0.53 ± ± ± ± cognitive attitudes toward organizational change. These results partially Organizational support H1b, which stated that continuance commitment (low perceived commitment and alternatives) directly and negatively influences cognitive, affective and job satisfaction behavioral tendency attitudes toward organizational change. On the other hand, the results of path analysis do not support H1c, which stated that continuance commitment (high personal sacrifice) directly and negatively 579 influences cognitive, affective and behavioral tendency attitudes toward organizational change. Moreover, results point out that normative commitment does not directly influence any dimension of attitudes toward change, therefore not supporting H1d. Path analysis results also show that affective commitment mediates the influences of satisfaction with working conditions, pay, supervision and security on both affective and behavioral tendency attitudes toward change, thus, to a great extent, supporting H2a, which indicated that affective commitment mediates the influences of satisfaction with working conditions, pay, promotion, supervision, co-workers and security on cognitive, affective and behavioral tendency attitudes toward organizational change. H2b stated that continuance commitment (low perceived alternatives) mediates the influences of satisfaction with working conditions, pay, promotion, supervision, co-workers and security on cognitive, affective, and behavioral tendency attitudes toward organizational change. The results of path analysis indicate that continuance commitment (low perceived alternatives) mediates the influences of satisfaction with pay on cognitive attitudes toward organizational change, thus partially supporting H2b. Forthermore, results point out that continuance commitment (high personal sacrifice) does not mediate the influences of satisfaction with working conditions, pay, promotion, supervision, co-workers and security on cognitive, affective and behavioral tendency attitudes toward organizational change, thus not supporting H2c. Moreover, results indicate that normative commitment does not mediate the influences of satisfaction with working conditions, pay, promotion, supervision, co-workers, and security on any dimension of attitudes toward change .These results do not support H2d. Results further show that satisfaction with working conditions does not directly influence any dimension of attitudes toward organizational change, thus not supporting H3a. Furthermore, it was found that satisfaction with pay directly and positively influences cognitive attitudes toward change, thus partially supporting H3b. The results of path analysis also indicate that satisfaction with promotion directly and positively influences affective attitudes toward change, therefore partially supporting H3c. Results point out that satisfaction with supervision does not directly influence any dimension of attitudes toward change, thus not supporting H3d. Results further show that satisfaction with co-workers does not directly influence any dimension of attitudes toward change, thus not supporting H3e. Finally, results indicate that Personnel Review 29,5 580 satisfaction with security does not directly influence any dimension of attitudes toward organizational change, therefore not supporting H3f. The results of the path analysis are reported in Table III and Figure 2. Discussion The results that the mean of affective commitment is high as well as the means of cognitive, affective, and behavioral tendency dimensions of attitudes toward organizational change might support the notion that those who have great sense of identification with, involvement in, and emotional attachment to the organization are more willing to accept change as far as such a change is not expected to alter the basic goals and values of the organization and is seen as beneficial to the organization. On the other hand, high satisfaction with working conditions, supervision and co-workers' facets of the job is a positive attitude. Management could achieve a number of advantages such as better job performance, less absenteeism, low intentions to quit and turnover as a result of high job satisfaction. On the other hand, management should pay attention to a low satisfaction with pay, promotion, and security facets of the Path from Swc Spa Spr Ssu Sc Ss BTAT AC CCL CCH NC R2 To AAT ± ± 0.16 ± ± ± ± 0.15 ± ± ± 0.36 Standardized path coefficients CCL CCH ± 0.35 ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± 0.20 ± 0.30 ± ± 0.10 0.12 ± ± ± ± ± 0.38 CAT ± 0.11 ± ± ± ± 0.30 ± À0.18 ± ± 0.32 BTAT ± ± ± ± ± ± ± 0.17 ± ± ± 0.28 AC 0.23 0.12 ± 0.18 ± 0.23 ± ± ± ± ± 0.31 NC 0.19 ± ± 0.16 ± 0.23 ± ± ± 0.21 ± 0.34 Notes: All coefficients are significant at p< 0.01 Goodness-of-fit summary Chi-square ˆ 57.84, p < 0.053 CFI ˆ 0.99 GFI ˆ 0.98 AGFI ˆ 0.96 RMSEA ˆ 0.023 NFI ˆ 0.97 NNFI ˆ 0.98 Table III. ˆ 0.036 Result for hypothesized RMR IFI ˆ 0.99 model Organizational commitment and job satisfaction 581 Figure 2. Solution model job, since such a low satisfaction is expected to result in several disadvantages, including low performance, high absenteeism rate, and high intentions to quit and turnover. For instance, Baker and Abou-Ismail (1993) argue that for expatriate employees, pay and job security are the most important consideration in deciding to accept a job. Therefore, one could argue that if those employees are satisfied with pay and security they will work hard to accomplish organizational goals. The negative and direct effect of continuance commitment (low perceived alternatives) on cognitive attitudes toward organizational change indicates that, when there are few alternatives available outside their organization, employees are more receptive to change. On the other hand, when alternatives are plentiful, employees are less tolerant of change, as they are able to leave their current organization and move to another more easily. The results pertaining to the indirect effects of satisfaction with pay on cognitive attitudes toward organizational change indicate that increases in satisfaction with pay will increase continuance commitment (low perceived alternatives), and this in turn will force employees to be more receptive to change as a result of having fewer alternatives available to them outside their current organization. Furthermore, the findings that satisfaction with various facets of the job directly and positively Personnel Review 29,5 582 influences affective, continuance (low perceived alternatives and high personal sacrifice) and normative commitments are consistent with the findings of previous studies (e.g. Iverson and Roy 1994; Mathieu and Zajac 1990; Hackett et al., 1994; Hunt et al., 1985; Odom et al., 1990). These results point out that the more employees are satisfied with various facets of the job, the higher their commitment to the organization. For instance, Morris et al. (1993) argue that increases in job security produce greater organizational commitment, which is associated with favorable attitudes to organizational change. With regard to the indirect influences of satisfaction with different facets of the job (via various dimensions of organizational commitment) on various dimensions of attitudes toward organizational change, the results of this study are consistent with the findings of previous studies (e.g. Iverson, 1996; Iverson and Roy, 1994; Mathieu and Zajac, 1990). That is, the more employees are satisfied with various facets of the job, the higher their commitment to the organization and the greater their willingness to accept change (Coopey and Hartley, 1991; Cordery et al., 1993; Guest, 1987). Moreover, the findings that affective and continuance (low perceived alternatives) commitments directly influence cognitive, affective and behavioral tendency attitudes toward change are also consistent with previous research (e.g. Iverson, 1996). Even though the work setting of the present study is totally different from those of western studies, the findings of this study are, to some extent, consistent with those of western studies. Conclusion This study is concerned with investigating the role of various dimensions of organizational commitment and job satisfaction in predicting attitudes toward organizational change. It concluded that certain dimensions of organizational commitment directly influence certain attitudes toward organizational change. Satisfaction with certain facets of the job directly and indirectly (via different dimensions of organizational commitment) influences different dimensions of attitudes toward organizational change. Moreover, organizational commitment acts also as a mediator. The contributions of this study are: first, it examined the influences of various dimensions of organizational commitment and job satisfaction on different dimensions of attitudes toward organizational change, in a nonwestern environment, which has not been examined previously in such an environment. Second, it examined the role of various dimensions of organizational commitment as mediators between different facets of job satisfaction and various dimensions of attitudes toward organizational change, also in a non-western work setting. This also has not been investigated previously in such a setting. Finally, the findings of this study support the validity of most of the findings of the previous western studies, with respect to the relationships in question, in a non-western work setting. The present research has several implications. First, the findings that Organizational employees in the investigated organizations have low satisfaction with pay, commitment and promotion and security should draw management's attention to the fact job satisfaction that corrective actions should be taken, so that the shortcomings associated with such attitudes could be avoided. Second, the findings that satisfaction with various job facets indirectly (via various dimensions of organizational 583 commitment) influences different dimensions of attitudes toward change should draw management's attention to the fact that recruiting and retaining individuals who are more receptive to organizational change depends on both achieving satisfactory levels of satisfaction with the concerned facets of the job, and in the mean time enhancing levels of commitment to the organization. Third, the findings that satisfaction with certain facets of the job directly influence various dimensions of attitudes toward organizational change would benefit change leaders, in the sense that gaining employees' acceptance to organizational change relies on their satisfaction with these facets of the job. Therefore, change leaders may take steps to enhance job satisfaction through, for example, formulating effective and efficient incentive programs and job descriptions. Finally, the findings of this research might lend support to the generalizability of western management theories pertaining to attitudes toward change and the factors predicting attitudes toward change to a non-western work setting. This study, like all studies, has limitations. One limitation is that the sample is confined to a limited number of organizations (30), which might in turn limit the generalizability of its findings and conclusions. However, the author is confident that these organizations are truly representative of the remaining organizations in the United Arab Emirates. Another limitation of this study is the use of a questionnaire to collect data regarding employees' attitude toward organizational change. This might not fully capture the dynamic nature of organizational change. A questionnaire followed by series of interviews might better capture individuals' attitude toward organizational change. Third, one must be cautious in interpreting the findings of this study due to possible non-response bias. The potential problem with respect to nonresponse is the possibility that non-respondents will differ from respondents with respect to the variables in question, in which case the survey estimates will be biased. Several lines of further research suggest themselves. 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Organizational commitment scale No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Factor 1 ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± 0.53 0.78 0.73 0.71 0.69 0.52 Factor 2 ± ± ± ± ± ± 0.75 0.77 0.61 0.43 0.55 0.67 ± ± ± ± ± ± Factor 3 0.43 0.58 0.81 0.84 0.79 0.65 ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± Table AII. Attitude toward change scale Personnel Review 29,5 588 No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Factor 1 ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± 0.78 0.85 0.82 0.83 ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± Factor 2 ± ± ± ± 0.84 0.72 0.82 0.84 ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± Factor 3 ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± 0.81 0.71 0.80 0.86 ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± Factor 4 ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± 0.77 0.77 0.81 0.83 Factor 5 ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± 0.61 0.85 0.87 0.84 ± ± ± ± Factor 6 0.72 0.75 0.61 0.69 ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± Table AIII. Job satisfaction scale ``Organizational commitment and job satisfaction as predictors of attitudes toward organizational change in a non-western setting'' The following abstracts from the wider literature have been selected for their special relevance to the preceding article. The abstracts extend the themes and discussions of the main article and act as a guide to further reading. Each abstract is awarded 0-3 stars for each of four features: (1) (2) (3) (4) Depth of research Value in practice Originality of thinking Readability for non-specialists. Abstracts from the wider literature Organizational commitment and job satisfaction 589 The full text of any article may be ordered from the Anbar Library. Contact Debbie Brannan, Anbar Library, 60/62 Toller Lane, Bradford, UK BD8 9BY. Telephone: (44) 1274 785277; Fax: (44) 1274 785204; E-mail: dbrannan@mcb.co.uk quoting the reference number shown at the end of the abstract. Cultural and structural constraints on total quality management implementation Tata, J. and Prasad, S. Total Quality Management (UK), Dec 1998 (9/8): p. 703 (8 pages) States that the success, or otherwise, of total quality management (TQM) is influenced by a company's organizational culture and structure, which is influenced by national culture. Discusses the literature regarding this, and sets out the various types and attributes. Explains why firms with a controloriented culture and mechanistic structure are less likely to succeed with TQM implementation than those with a flexible and organic system in operation. Does the same with national characteristics, citing countries that exhibit the various behaviours. Draws a model showing the relationship between national culture, organizational culture/structure, and TQM outcomes. Based on this, suggests a four-step proactive approach organizations should take in approaching TQM: culture and structure diagnosis; determining a match between organizational culture/structure and TQM strategy; designing and planning change; deciding how to implement the change. Notes that companies operating in national cultures with low acceptance of uncertainty and that have centralized power structures, as well as those with a control-oriented culture Personnel Review 29,5 590 and mechanistic structure, are likely to have to undergo substantial change to implement TQM successfully. Theoretical with application in practice Indicators: Research implications:** Practice implications:** Readability:** Total number:******** Reference: 28AE830 Cost: £18 (plus VAT) Originality:** Going against the national cultural grain: a longitudinal case study of organizational culture change in Turkish higher education Herguner, G. and Reeves, N.B.R. Total Quality Management (UK), Jan 2000 Vol 11 No 1: p. 45 (12 pages) Investigates aspects of Turkish national and organizational culture through a study of TQM implementation in an English language centre serving faculties within a Turkish University. Develops the research into strands: TQM implementation; services improvement; accompanying culture change (from standpoints in 1991, 1994, and 1998). Uses two external instruments for culture measurement: Harrison's culture specification device, and Hofstede's value survey module (VSM) (previously used on IBM staff in Turkey) ± and several internal ones regarding management aspects, i.e. various interview approaches, journal keeping, and observation. Compares VSM power distance and individualism indices for the language centre against those established for Turkey on a national scale. Finds the VSM tool is transferable. Reports significant change in these with time, indicating development of a more participative culture by the Turkish teachers and a consultative approach by centre management during 1991-1994 ± but notes a more participative management style emerging by 1998. Tables various questionnaire and interviews results, observing that TQM implementation is, perhaps, unique to each organization as the results cannot be generalized. Concludes that the culture measurement tools, though not initially designed as such, can be used for culture change measurement. Case study Indicators: Research implications:** Practice implications:** Readability:** Total number:******** Reference: 29AE321 Cost: £24 (plus VAT) Originality:** Work relations as a precursor to a psychological climate for change: the role of work group supervisors and peers Tierney, P. Journal of Organizational Change Management (UK), 1999 Vol 12 No 2: p. 120 (14 pages) Examines how social relations at work can influence employees' perceptions of the climate for change within an organization. Focuses on relationships between employees and their supervisors and work teams, to understand how Organizational the quality of these social relationships affect the psychological climate for commitment and change. Summarizes the literature on these relationships, testing out the job satisfaction hypotheses derived from this in a study of employees in a US company. Concludes that employees' relationships with their supervisors and teams shape their attitudes to the organization; that employees' perceptions of the 591 change climate within the organization are aligned with those of their teams and supervisors; and that the quality of the relationship with supervisor is very important for employees' perceptions of the change climate. Analyses the implications of this study for organizational change management. Survey/Theoretical with application in practice Indicators: Research implications:*** Practice implications:** Originality:** Readability:** Total number:********* Reference: 28AJ902 Cost: £30 (plus VAT) Employee acceptance of organizational change: the role of organizational commitment Iverson, R.D. The International Journal of Human Resource Management (UK), Feb 96 (7/1): p. 122 (28 pages) Observes that management is experiencing a myriad internal and external pressures for organizational change ± production/process technology, legislation and regulations, political and social events, internationalization of business, size and complexity of organizations, and economies of scale ± while recognizing the constant requirement to adapt to organizational change. Tests a causal model that predicts the acceptance of organizational change, using a sample of 761 employees from a public hospital in Victoria, Australia, based on the integration of personal, job-related, environmental and employee orientation variables. Finds that employee acceptance of organizational change increases with organizational commitment, a harmonious IR climate, education, job motivation, satisfaction and security. Displays that employee acceptance decreases with union membership, role conflict, tenure and environmental opportunity. Summarizes that organizational commitment acts as both a determinant and mediator in the change process. Survey Indicators: Research implications:** Practice implications:** Originality:** Readability:* Total number:******* Reference: 25AP378 Cost: £30 (plus VAT) Personnel Review 29,5 592 Organizational commitment: a mediator of the relationships of leadership behaviour with job satisfaction and performance in a non-Western country Yousef, D.A Journal of Managerial Psychology (UK), 2000 Vol 15 No 1: p. 6 (19 pages) Analyses the relationship between leadership behaviour, job satisfaction and job performance, and the relationship between organizational commitment, job satisfaction and job performance, and asks if national culture moderates these relationships. Focuses on the Arab cultures, using a study of 430 individuals working in different organizations across the United Arab Emirates, of whom 47 per cent were United Arab Emirate nationals, 45 per cent were Arab expatriates and 8 per cent were Asian expatriates. Finds that organizational commitment mediates the relationship of leadership behaviour with both job satisfaction and job performance. In terms of the impact of national culture, finds that national culture had a moderating influence on the relationship between leadership behaviour and job satisfaction, but not on the other relationships studied. Concludes that this indicates that the popular constructs developed in the Western literature should not automatically be thought inapplicable to other cultures. Survey/Theoretical with application in practice Indicators: Research implications:** Practice implications:** Readability:** Total number:******** Reference: 29AG965 Cost: £30 (plus VAT) Originality:**