Chapter IV discusses about the finding of this research. Data analysis of participants demographic discussed in general characteristic of the sample. The core of this chapter discusses about analysis of reliability and validity and data analysis of relationship between organizational commitment and its antecedents.
General Characteristic of the Sample
The questionnaire was distributed in nonprofit organizations in Taipei City and Taipei County with the requirement that respondents are full time employees at the nonprofit organizations. A total of 165 questionnaires were received via hard copy and online. Cases with missing values and incomplete data were dropped. In total, 162 questionnaires were used for the final analysis.
Among the sample size of 162 there were 31 males and 131 females (19.10% males and 80.90% females). The distribution of the sexes was four times as many females as males. The requirement to fill in the questionnaire was that the respondent is a full time employee of a nonprofit organization. So the researcher assumed that females are more interested than males in working for nonprofit organizations. The group in the age range of 26-30 years old and university- educated accounted for the largest percentage of the sample. Most of the respondents are staff with tenure less than 1 year. Sampling structure is shown in table 4.1.
Gender was found to be related significantly to organizational commitment, with females forming the majority of nonprofit employees. The data in this study shows females fill 80.90% of positions in nonprofit organizations. A survey conducted of Canadian nonprofit organizations also shows that “Women make up 75% of nonprofit employees” (Worklife, 2003). As explained by Mosley (2002), “organizations that were portrayed to be committed to cultural diversity were more attractive to women and minorities than men and non-minorities.”
Age was found to be related significantly to organizational commitment, with 26-30 years-old employees being the highest represented age range in the nonprofit organizations studied.
- 34 -
Table 4.1. Demographic data analysis
Variable Item Frequency Percent Valid Percent
Gender Male Education S. High School
University
- 35 -
Academic education has a positive impact on organizational commitment. It was found that the higher the worker’s education, the greater the worker’s commitment.
High-level human resources are reported in the research literature as influencing occupational mobility (Culpepper, 2000).
Tenure has a negative relationship and is not significant towards organizational commitment. Social service organizations are less likely to reflect a typical age distribution, where junior employees are younger. The interesting finding from the data collected shown that turnover rate in nonprofit organization is pretty high and most of the employees are workers with the working period less than one year. The explanation is presented by recent research from Lambert et al. (2006) “Though tenure may offer stability, if the work is not stimulating and challenging, the tenured may not be highly enthusiastic about their jobs despite stable income.”
The literature shows that younger employees generally have less commitment to their jobs. It could be that younger employees have high, perhaps unrealistic, expectations that are not being met. Older employees may have less career mobility due to family obligations and may be less risk-taking than their younger counterparts. Older workers tend to look for more stability in income and tend to like a place to live permanently (Lambert, et.al., 2006).
Income was found to be not significantly related to organization commitment in nonprofit organizations. It means that for the respondents in the survey income is not the most important reason to stay with the organization.
Previous studies have revealed that age, tenure, and being married are positively related with organizational commitment (Ketchand & Strawser, 2001; Meyer et al., 2002) but negatively associated with turnover intention (Bamber & Iyer, 2002; Batt & Valcour, 2003).
Reliability and Validity Analysis
Reliability Analysis
The Coefficient alpha method was adopted in the research to estimate the internal consistence of the questionnaire. Coefficient alpha provides a summary measure of the inter correlations that exist among a set of items. Reliability for this research is shown below in table 4.2.
- 36 -
Table 4.2. Reliability analysis
Variable Cronbach Alpha (α)
Job Characteristic 0.761
Job Satisfaction 0.816
Role Fit 0.607
Extrinsic Reward 0.807
Job Stress 0.755
Turnover Intention 0.607
Organizational Commitment 0.902
Validity Analysis
The questions for this research questionnaire were designed according to previous literature. Since past research measurement guidelines were used, the researcher didn’t measure again the validity for independent and dependent variables in this research study.
Based on the previous literature, the researcher built a research framework and designed measurements so that the research content had sufficient validity.
Relationship between Organizational Commitment and its Antecedents In order to test the relationship between organizational commitment and its antecedents the researcher did correlation variable analysis. Mean, standard deviation and correlation between variables are shown in the table 4.3 and table 4.4.
Table 4.3. Mean and standard deviation
Variable Number of
participants
Mean Standard deviation
Job Characteristic (X1) 162 3.60 0.68
Job Satisfaction (X2) 162 3.46 0.67
Role Fit (X3) 162 4.06 0.54
Extrinsic Reward (X4) 161 2.93 0.89
Job Stress (X5) 162 2.76 0.58
Turnover Intention (X6) 162 3.08 0.73
Organizational Commitment (Y) 162 3.46 0.76
- 37 -
Table 4.4. Correlation between variables
X1 X2 X3 X4 X5 X6 Y
X1
X2 0.522**
(0.000)
X3 0.240** 0.332**
(0.002) (0.000)
X4 0.116 0.221** 0.58
(0.142) (0.005) (0.465)
X5 -0.306** -0.529** -0.207** -0.245**
(0.000) (0.000) (0.008) (0.002)
X6 0.173* 0.309** 0.178* 0.254** -0.250**
(0.028) (0.000) (0.024) (0.001) (0.001)
Y 0.247** 0.325** 0.250** 0.384** -0.412** 0.497**
(0.002) (0.000) (0.001) (0.000) (0.000) (0.000)
** Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).
* Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).
From the table above we discover a significant relationship between organizational commitment and job characteristic (r=0.247, p<0.01). It shows that the job characteristic of the Nonprofit Organization employee in Taiwan probably has a positive impact on Organizational Commitment.
Organizational commitment and job satisfaction showed a significant relationship (r=0.325, p<0.01). It shows that job satisfaction of Nonprofit Organization employees in Taiwan probably has a positive impact on Organizational Commitment.
Organizational commitment and role fit have a significant relationship (r=0.250, p<0.01), which shows that role fit of the Nonprofit Organization employee in Taiwan probably has a positive impact on Organizational Commitment.
Organizational commitment and extrinsic reward have a significant relationship (r=0.384, p<0.01), showing that extrinsic reward of Nonprofit Organization employees in Taiwan probably has a positive impact on Organizational Commitment.
- 38 -
Organizational commitment and job stress have a significant relationship (r=0.412, p<0.01). This shows that job stress of Nonprofit Organization employees in Taiwan probably has a negative impact on Organizational Commitment.
Organizational commitment and intention to leave have a significant relationship (r=0.497, p<0.01). It shows that intention to leave of Nonprofit Organization employees in Taiwan probably has a negative impact on Organizational Commitment.
Hypothesis Testing
This research hypothesized that organizational commitment antecedents influence organizational commitment and intention to leave. The researcher assumed that
“Organizational commitment” was a dependent variable (Y). Independent variables are job characteristic (X1), job satisfaction (X2), role fit (X3), extrinsic reward (X4), job stress (X5), and turnover intention (X6). The researcher then used linear regression to analyze them.
For testing the hypothesis between the variables and organizational commitment, the researcher started the main effect testing with organizational commitment (Y) and job characteristic * organizational commitment (X1Y), organizational commitment * job satisfaction (X2Y), organizational commitment * role fit (X3Y), organizational commitment * extrinsic reward (X4Y), organizational commitment * job stress (X5Y), organizational commitment * turnover intention (X6Y). If the tests were significant, it means that the variables do influence organizational commitment.
- 39 -
Factors Affecting Organizational Commitment Analysis of Variables towards Organizational Commitment (Y)
The researcher adopted linear regression to analyze the main effect. In order to find every variable effect on the dependent variable “organizational commitment”, the results are presented in the table below:
Table 4.5. Main effect analysis towards organizational commitment
Variable Beta (β) Significant R²
Step 1
Gender 0.260** 0.000
Age 0.286** 0.000
Education 0.486** 0.000
Position 0.069** 0.002 0.952
Type of org 0.005 0.926
Tenure -0.029 0.545
Income -0.64 0.452
Step 2
Job characteristic (X1) 0.152* 0.037
Role fit (X3) 0.278** 0.001 0.970
Extrinsic reward (X4) 0.202** 0.000
Turnover intention (X6) 0.368** 0.000
Note: Coefficient beta is full model regression equation of standardized regression coefficient.
* indicates p<0.05, ** indicates p<0.01
The regression equation for the research is:
Y= f(x) = a0+b1* x1+ b2* x2+ b3*x3+ b4*x4+ b5*x5+ b6*x6+ε Where:
Y= Organizational commitment x1= Job characteristics
x2= Job satisfaction x3= Role fit
x4= Extrinsic rewards
- 40 -
x5= Job stress
x6= Turnover intention
From the table above of a 6 model regression, there are 4 models significant.
Looking at job characteristic * organizational commitment (X1Y), the conditions appear significant (p=0.037<0.5). This proves that the job characteristic of the Nonprofit Organization employee in Taiwan has a positive impact on Organizational Commitment.
Hypothesis 1 is supported.
Examining organizational commitment * role fit (X3Y), the condition appears significant (p=0.001, p<0.01). This proves that role fit of the Nonprofit Organization employee in Taiwan has a positive impact on Organizational Commitment. Hypothesis 3 is supported.
For the organizational commitment * extrinsic reward (X4Y), the condition appears significant (p=0.000, p<0.01). This proves that extrinsic reward of Nonprofit Organization employees in Taiwan has a positive impact on Organizational Commitment.
Hypothesis 4 is supported.
Examining organizational commitment * turnover intention (X6Y), the condition appears significant (p=0.000, p<0.01). This proves that intention to leave of Nonprofit Organization employees in Taiwan has a negative impact on Organizational Commitment.
Hypothesis 6 is supported.
Organizational commitment * job satisfaction (X2Y) and organizational commitment
* job stress (X5Y) were not significant. This means that the variables don’t show an influence on organizational commitment. Hypothesis 2 and 5 are not supported.
Discussion of Variables towards Organizational Commitment (Y)
The model the researcher used in this study also enables researchers to understand the relative importance of the antecedents of organizational commitment and its impact.
For example, there have been many articles discussing how important organizational commitment is to the employee and how this can affect behavior intention. The reason that satisfaction and commitment have received so much attention is that they have been found to predict turnover intentions (Francis-Felsen et al, 1996; Karsh, et al, 2005).
Seven items loaded heavily on the first factor – job characteristic. Aspects such as the enrichment of job characteristic in nonprofit organization could increase organizational commitment. It had a Cronbach alpha of 0.761. The variable mean value (= 3.60) and the hypothesis testing prove that this variable is significant towards
- 41 -
organizational commitment. It indicated that job characteristic has positive impact on organizational commitment. “Most people do not enjoy repetitive jobs. Workers tend to be appreciative of those organizations that provide them with jobs that allow them to experience and learn new things” (Allen, et. al., 2004). Allen, et. al. (2004) also proved that job variety had a significant impact on social and human service staff organizational commitment. It appears that employees in nonprofit organizations want jobs that have variety and allow them to learn new things. Recent studies from Huang and Hsiao (2007) mention that “Among the predictors of commitment, perception of job characteristic is the strongest determinant.”
Seven items loaded heavily on the second factor – job satisfaction in nonprofit organizations. It had a Cronbach alpha of 0.816. The variable mean value was 3.46. Main effect analysis found that this variable isn’t significant towards organizational commitment. It indicated that most of the respondents feel satisfied about their jobs in nonprofit organizations but it is not a factor that could increase their organizational commitment. There have been many research studies which have investigated the relationship between job satisfaction and turnover intention or organizational commitment and turnover intention (Francis-Felsen et al, 1996; Karsh, et al, 2005). But the question about the relationship between job satisfaction and organizational commitment in nonprofit organizations still remained.
Five statements loaded heavily on the third factor – role fit in nonprofit organizations. Factors such as the right position for the employee and how well the employee fits in and works could increase the organizational commitment. It had a Cronbach alpha of 0.607. The variable mean value (mean= 4.06) obtained from the hypothesis testing showed that this variable is significant towards organizational commitment. It indicated that role fit has a positive impact on organizational commitment.
The existing literature also supports this finding (Silverthrone, 2004; Castiglia, 2006).
According to Silverthrone (2004), “the concept of role fit plays an important role for employees in a variety of organizational settings. …and hence higher organizational commitment.”
Three items loaded heavily on the fourth factor – extrinsic reward in nonprofit organizations. This included pay, fringe benefits, and promotions of employees in nonprofit organizations. It had a high Cronbach Alpha of 0.807. The variable mean value was 2.93. The main effect analysis found that this variable is significant towards organizational commitment. In other words, it means that the higher extrinsic rewards the
- 42 -
employee gets the higher organizational commitment toward the organization. In recent years, as the number of nonprofit organizations has grown, job opportunities have opened for people who are interested in serving the community. The leaders of nonprofit organizations hope that their employees consider the other benefits rather than extrinsic rewards. According to Huang, Lawler and Lei (2007), after years of economic development and income growth, compensation and benefits are no longer the only goals that employees pursue. On the other side, Taylor and Cosenza (1998) mention that while money is still important, it is not sufficient to inspire loyalty.
Nine items loaded heavily on the fifth factor – job stress in nonprofit organizations.
Elements such as employees’ feelings of job-related difficulty, tension, anxiety, frustration, worry, emotional exhaustion and distress constitute job stress. It had a Cronbach alpha of 0.755. The variable mean value was 2.76. The hypothesis testing found that this variable isn’t significant towards organizational commitment. It indicated that most of the respondents didn’t think that job stress will impact their organizational commitment. As the nature of nonprofit organizations is to serve the community, most of the time non-profit employees will face lots of problems that they have to solve.
The variable of turnover intention as the sixth factor was measured by a scale score comprising four items that asked whether respondents plan to stay with their present employer until retirement, if they frequently think about leaving their current organization, and whether they plan to continue their career in the current organization.
The Cronbach alpha index for the four items was 0.607, which means that the internal consistency of turnover intention scale was reliable. The variable mean value was 3.08.
The hypothesis testing found that this variable is significant towards the organizational commitment.
Analysis for Type of Organization Social Service Organization
In order to find out the important factors that influence employee in social service organizations, the researcher did an analysis of mean and standard deviation of the independent variables. The Independent variables were job characteristic, job satisfaction, role fit, extrinsic rewards, job stress and turnover intention. From the response of the employees list below the researcher took the top 5 highest scores and the 5 lowest scores of mean to indicate the important items which they feel satisfy with the organization. The
- 43 -
top 5 highest scores refer to the items indicating that the organization has been doing well to improve employee commitment towards the organization. The lowest 5 scores refer to the items showing that the organizations have been doing poorly and should make an improvement on those areas in order to increase commitment.
Table 4.6. Mean and standard deviation of independent variables for social organization (N=102)
Question No. N Mean Std. Deviation
Q18 102 4.45 0.556
Q3 101 4.16 0.745
Q15 102 3.94 0.818
Q1 102 3.79 0.926
Q16 102 3.77 0.757
Q14 102 3.68 0.786
Q8 102 3.62 0.934
Q5 99 3.61 0.901
Q2 102 3.60 0.882
Q36 102 3.52 0.941
Q9 102 3.41 0.979
Q4 102 3.35 1.105
Q11 101 3.33 0.850
Q24 102 3.07 0.988
Q38 102 3.01 1.067
Q20 102 3.01 1.112
Q21 102 2.99 1.000
Q26 102 2.97 0.980
Q23 102 2.91 1.016
Q27 101 2.81 0.935
Q22 101 2.79 0.909
Q39 102 2.75 0.989
Q31 102 2.68 0.914
Q28 102 2.53 0.887
Q30 101 2.05 0.853
- 44 -
Table 4.7. Top 5 satisfaction responses from employees in social service organization
Question No. Description
Q18 Good teamwork is essential for me to do the job well.
Q3 My job requires that I constantly must learn new things.
Q15 I can work independently.
Q1 My job has a lot of variety in it.
Q6 I have a lot to say over what happens on my job.
Bottom 5 satisfaction response from employees in social service organization is shown in Table 4.8.
Table 4.8. Bottom 5 satisfaction responses from employees in social service organization
Question No. Description
Q30 I tend to have frequent arguments with superiors, coworkers or clients Q28 My workplace environment is a very pleasant or particularly safe.
Q31 Most of the time I feel that I have very little control over my life work.
Q39 Things were better in these days when people stayed with o organization for most of their careers.
Q22 This organization provides me with a fair opportunity for advanceme or promotion.
The researcher also did the same step for the dependent variable (Organizational Commitment). The result as shown in table 4.9.
Table 4.9. Mean and standard deviation of organizational commitment for social organization (N=102)
Question No. N Mean Std. Deviation
Q32 102 3.73 0.785
Q40 102 3.68 0.733
Q34 102 3.46 0.919
Q33 102 3.46 0.852
Q35 102 3.23 0.964
Q41 101 2.81 0.946
Q42 101 2.69 0.997
Q43 102 2.65 0.951
- 45 -
From the analysis of dependent variable (organizational commitment) above we can see the responses from social service organizations employees. The upper questions refer to the items that strongly affect them to remain with the organization and the lower questions refer to the items that less affects them to remain with the organization.
Table 4.10. Responses of employees in social service organization in term of organizational commitment.
Question No. Description
Q32 I feel like “part of the family” at the organization.
Q40 Right now, staying with the organization is a matter of necessity as much desire.
Q34 I feel “emotionally attached” to the organization.
Q33 The organization has a great deal of Personal meaning for me.
Q35 I feel a strong sense of belonging to the organization.
Q41 I feel that I have too few options to consider leaving the organization.
Q42 One of the few serious consequences of leaving the organization would the scarcity of available alternatives.
Q43 It would be very hard for me to leave the organization right now, even wanted to.
Table 4.10 describes the responses of the employee about their feeling about their commitment to the organization. The top statements state the items that make the employee stays with the organization. The bottom statements express the employee’s feeling of their commitment.
International Cooperation and Development Fund “Taiwan ICDF”
In order to find out the important factors that influence employee in Taiwan ICDF organization, the researcher did an analysis of mean and standard deviation of the independent variables. The Independent variables were job characteristic, job satisfaction, role fit, extrinsic rewards, job stress and turnover intention. From the response of the employees list below the researcher took the top 5 highest scores and the 5 lowest scores of mean to indicate the important items which they feel satisfy with the organization. The top 5 highest scores refer to the items indicating that the organization has been doing well to improve employee commitment towards the organization. The lowest 5 scores refer to the items showing that the organizations have been doing poorly and should make an
- 46 -
improvement on those areas in order to increase commitment.
Table 4.11. Mean and standard deviation of independent variables for Taiwan ICDF (N=60)
Question No. N Mean Std. Deviation
Q18 60 4.32 0.567
Q3 60 4.15 0.709
Q16 60 3.95 0.699
Q15 60 3.90 0.838
Q14 60 3.57 0.698
Q1 60 3.53 1.033
Q2 60 3.42 1.154
Q36 60 3.40 0.995
Q9 60 3.35 0.685
Q23 60 3.32 0.892
Q24 60 3.30 0.908
Q11 60 3.28 0.640
Q8 60 3.27 0.880
Q5 60 3.25 0.816
Q38 60 3.07 0.936
Q31 60 3.05 1.016
Q20 59 3.03 1.129
Q26 59 2.98 0.861
Q21 59 2.92 1.179
Q27 60 2.88 0.825
Q4 60 2.87 1.096
Q22 59 2.86 1.025
Q39 59 2.71 0.892
Q28 60 2.30 0.809
Q30 60 2.02 0.792
Table 4.12. Top 5 satisfaction responses from employees in Taiwan ICDF
Question No. Description
Q18 Good teamwork is essential for me to do the job well.
Q3 My job requires that I constantly must learn new things.
Q16 I can see how my work contributes to the mission of the organization.
Q15 I can work independently.
Q14 Most days I am enthusiastic about my job.
- 47 -
Bottom 5 satisfaction responses from employees in social service organization is shown in table 4.13.
Table 4.13. Bottom 5 satisfaction responses from employees in Taiwan ICDF
Question No. Description
Q30 I tend to have frequent arguments with superiors, coworkers or clients.
Q28 My workplace environment is not very pleasant or particularly safe.
Q39 Things were better in these days when people stayed with o organization for most of their careers.
Q22 This organization provides me with a fair opportunity for advancement promotion.
Q4 I have a great deal of freedom as to how I do my job.
The researcher also did the same step for the dependent variable (Organizational Commitment). The result as shown in table 4.14.
Table 4.14. Mean and Standard deviation of organizational commitment for Taiwan ICDF (N=60)
Question No. N Mean Std. Deviation
Q40 60 3.67 0.572
Q32 60 3.52 0.792
Q33 60 3.47 0.769
Q34 60 3.43 0.851
Q35 60 3.40 0.924
Q41 60 3.10 1.020
Q43 59 2.97 1.159
Q42 60 2.90 1.020
From the analysis of dependent variable (organizational commitment) above we can see the responses from Taiwan ICDF employees. The upper questions from table below refer to the items that strongly affect them to remain with the organization and the lower questions refer to the items that less affects them to remain with the organization.
- 48 -
Table 4.15. Responses of employees in Taiwan ICDF in terms of organizational commitment.
Question No. Description
Q40 Right now, staying with the organization is a matter of necessity
Q40 Right now, staying with the organization is a matter of necessity