Organizational commitment of Chinese employees in foreign-invested firms

Abstract

It is claimed that the organizational commitment construct is valid across nations and cultures (Meyer et al., 2002) and is a global predictor of intention to quit (Campbell and Campbell, 2003). In this study we seek to understand whether organizational commitment differs between various cultures by exploring the organizational commitment of local employees in the Chinese subsidiary stores of a UK multinational\nretailer and its relationship with employees’ willingness to stay. The data is drawn from a survey of 394 employees at four stores owned by this firm and three month’s in-depth ethnographic study at one of these stores. Several hypotheses are tested, based on the literature and taking into consideration elements that are perceived as particularly\nimportant in the Chinese context: relationships between management and employees, ‘face’, and job security. The research provides added insights by combining survey results with in-depth ethnographic data. Amongst the main findings are that loyalty to organization and belief in company values are not associated with employees’ willingness to stay, but that feeling proud of working for the company, good relationships between management and employees, and job security are good predictors of employees’ willingness to stay.