The Impact of Individual Collectivism on Commitment and Its Influence on Organizational Citizenship Behaviour and Turnover in Three Countries

Abstract

Increasing globalization and rising markets in Eastern Europe and Asia have led to a growing interest in issues of cross cultural management. In western culture, high correlations have been found between leadership, commitment, turnover and performance. In this study we examined the influence of cultural differences on employees' commitment and its impact on relevant outcomes at the individual and the country level. Collectivism was directly measured at the individual level. Organizational citizenship behaviour (OCB) and turnover intention were examined as consequences of commitment. Data were collected in Germany, Romania and China. As expected, results indicate that collectivism as a cultural value orientation is related to commitment, and exerts a stronger influence on commitment in collectivistic countries. Moreover, the relationships between commitment and outcomes are stronger in a collectivistic context.

L'accélération de la mondialisation et l'émergence des marchés en Europe de l'Est et en Asie ont généré un intérêt croissant pour les questions liées au management interculturel. Dans la culture occidentale, des corrélations importantes ont été décelées entre le leaderhip, l'engagement, le renouvellement et la performance. Nous examinons dans cette étude l'influence des différences culturelles sur l'engagement des employés et leur impact sur divers résultats à l'échelon de l'individu et à l'échelon national. Le collectivisme a été directement mesuré à l'échelon individuel. Les comportements de citoyenneté organisationnelle et les intentions de renouvellement ont été examinés en tant que conséquences de l'engagement. Les données ont été collectées en Allemagne, en Roumanie et en Chine. Ainsi que l'on pouvait s'y attendre, les résultats indiquent que le collectivisme comme orientation de valeur culturelle est lié à l'engagement et que son influence est plus grande dans les pays collectivistes. En outre, la relation entre l'engagement et les résultats est plus forte dans ces même pays.

Keywords

collectivism commitment international HRM leadership OCB

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