The Impact of Work Redesign and Psychological Empowerment on Organizational Commitment in a Changing Environment: An Example from Taiwan's State-Owned Enterprises

Abstract

In a changing environment, employee commitment to any organization is easily disrupted. The major purpose of this research was to establish a framework to explain how to use work redesign and psychological empowerment to strengthen employee commitment to an organization that is undergoing change. A questionnaire-based survey of 213 employees at three of Taiwan's state-owned enterprises undergoing privatization or reorganization was conducted. Tests of hypotheses supported the significant influence work redesign had on the employees' commitment to their organizations. Psychological empowerment played an intermediating role between work redesign and organizational commitment. The results also show that perceptions of work redesign by employees who have an external locus of control had a more significant positive impact on their organizational commitment. The academy and management contribution and implications of these findings are explained, and some suggestions for future research are offered.