Relationships Among Training and Development, Organizational Commitment and Turnover Intention in Companies in Taiwan

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(1)Relationships Among Training and Development, Organizational Commitment and Turnover Intention in Companies in Taiwan. by. Ilze Zepa. A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of. MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION. Major: International Human Resource Development. Advisor: Chih-Chien Steven Lai, Ph.D.. National Taiwan Normal University Taipei, Taiwan July 2017.

(2) ACKNOWLEDGEMENT In first place, I would like to thank my family for all the support and encouragement that they have given me. And that they had courage letting me go so far away from home and patience to wait me back. Paldies! In second place, I would like to thank my friends Enkhbayar, Karina, Marcela, TA, Dels and Fernando who were much more than just ICDF scholarship recipients or classmates, but who has become a part of my family and without whom I would not be even able to imagine my Taiwan experience. In the third place, I would like to thank Dr. Steven Lai for all his advice, guidance and knowledge during the thesis writing process. I also would like to thank my thesis defense committee Dr. Tsai and Dr. Chang for giving such careful attention to my research and contributing to the success and completion of this project. I would like to express my gratitude to my Taiwanese friends for letting me know a bit more about Taiwanese culture. Lastly but not less important, I would like to thank the International Cooperation Development Fund (TaiwanICDF) for providing a scholarship that has given me the opportunity of growing and developing myself, of getting to know such an amazing country, and of learning valuable lessons in life that cannot be erased..

(3) ABSTRACT The study includes three variables and it aims to research the link among training and development activities, organizational commitment and turnover intentions of the employees from service and manufacturing companies in Taiwan. For fulfilling the research purposes, a survey questionnaire was employed to collect the data. The survey sample was 277 employees currently working in service or manufacturing industries in Taiwan. The study employed quantitative research methods. In order to analyze the gathered data, SPSS software was used. The results showed that the training and development positively affects organizational commitment and decreases turnover intentions of the employees. In addition, organizational commitment also has a negative effect on turnover intention and has mediating role in the relationship between training and development and turnover intention. The study concluded that there is a negative relationship between training and development activities and turnover intention, and organizational commitment has mediating effect on this relationship. This study contributes to the literature on training and development, within the Taiwan context, to help facilitate better working arrangement between employees and companies.. Keywords: training and development, affective commitment, continuance commitment, normative commitment, turnover intention. I.

(4) TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT .......................................................................................................... I TABLE OF CONTENTS .................................................................................... III LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................... V LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................... VII CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION ........................................................................ 1 Research Background .......................................................................................................... 1 Research Purposes and Questions ....................................................................................... 2 Significance of the Study .................................................................................................... 2 Definition of Key Terms ..................................................................................................... 3 Research Delimitations ....................................................................................................... 4. CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW ........................................................... 5 Training and Development .................................................................................................. 5 Organizational Commitment ............................................................................................... 7 Turnover Intention............................................................................................................. 11 Relationships Among Variables ........................................................................................ 12. CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY .................................................................. 15 Research Framework ......................................................................................................... 15 Research Hypothesis ......................................................................................................... 16 Research Method ............................................................................................................... 16 Instrument.......................................................................................................................... 16 Participants ........................................................................................................................ 18 Data Analysis .................................................................................................................... 19 Research Procedure ........................................................................................................... 20 Reliability and Validity ..................................................................................................... 22. CHAPTER IV RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS ........................................... 25 Descriptive Statistics ......................................................................................................... 25 Sample Characteristics ...................................................................................................... 25 Correlation Analysis .......................................................................................................... 34 Results and Discussions .................................................................................................... 36 Hypotheses Testing Results Summary .............................................................................. 40 III.

(5) CHAPTER V CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS.................... 43 Research Conclusions ....................................................................................................... 43 Practical Implications ........................................................................................................ 44 Recommendations for Future Research ............................................................................ 46. REFERENCES.................................................................................................... 48 APPENDIX A: RESEARCH QUESTIONNAIRE (PAPER) ............................ 52 APPENDIX B: RESEARCH QUESTIONNAIRE (ONLINE) .......................... 59. IV.

(6) LIST OF TABLES Table 3.1 . Reliability Test (Pilot Test, N= 40) ..................................................................... .23 Table 3.2. Coding System Used in SPSS Data Analysis ......................................................... 23 Table 4.1. Characteristics of Sample Population Based on Demographic Variables (N= 277) .................................................................................................................................. 26 Table 4.2. Descriptive Statistics of Organizational Commitment Dimensions (N= 277) ....... 27 Table 4.3. Organizational Commitment; Likert’s Scales, Mean, and SD (N= 277) ................ 28 Table 4.4. Descriptive Statistics of Training and Development Dimensions (N= 277) .......... 30 Table 4.5. Training and Development; Likert’s Scales, Mean, and SD (N= 277)................... 31 Table 4.6. Turnover Intention; Likert’s Scales, Mean, and SD (N= 277) ............................... 33 Table 4.7. Reliability Test (N= 277) ........................................................................................ 34 Table 4.8. Inter-correlations of Study Variables ...................................................................... 35 Table 4.9. Result of Hierarchical Regression Analyses on the Organizational Commitment and Training and Development (N= 277) ................................................................ 37 Table 4.10. Result of Hierarchical Regression Analyses on the Turnover Intention and Training and Development (N= 277)....................................................................... 37 Table 4.11. Result of Hierarchical Regression Analyses on the Turnover Intention and Organizational Commitment (N= 277) .................................................................... 38 Table 4.12. Result of Hierarchical Regression Analyses on the Turnover Intention and Training and Development and Organizational Commitment (N= 277) ................. 39 Table 4.13. Hypotheses Testing Results Summary ................................................................. 40. V.

(7) LIST OF FIGURES Figure 3.1. Research framework .............................................................................................. 15 Figure 3.2. Research procedure ............................................................................................... 21. VII.

(8) CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION. This section provides the background of the study. Later it discusses the research purpose, research questions and significance of the study. In the end of the chapter the delimitations of the study as well as the definition of key terms for a better understanding of the entire study are listed.. Research Background Taiwan has become a center for global innovation and more and more companies are interested in establishing their branches and research and development centers in Taiwan. Naturally every organization wants its employees to be committed and loyal to the company and to have low turnover rates. The success of an organization largely relies on its human resources. Having committed and loyal employees is a competitive advantage (Dias & Silva, 2016) and organization’s ability to retain the workforce is even more crucial to its success. There are many factors affecting the level of organizational commitment among employees, and it is very important for HR professionals to be aware of these factors. The impact of perceived training on organizational commitment is a relatively new discipline and this field has not been researched much. Most of the available studies in this field come from Western researchers (Gamble & Huang, 2008), and research on this topic in Asia, especially in Taiwan is limited therefore the given research is focused on local employees in service and manufacturing companies in Taiwan and it aims to investigate if companies are able to increase organizational commitment and lower the turnover intention rates using training activities. As mentioned before the research on how perceived training is influencing organizational commitment is limited but several studies have shown that training can play a role in the development and maintenance of organizational commitment (Bartlett, 2001). Employee perceptions of training can be categorized as availability of training, supervisor and co-worker support for training, motivation to learn, and perceived benefits of training (Newman, Thanacoody, & Hui, 2011). Meyer, Allen and Smith (1993) have categorized organizational commitment into three elements: affective, continuance and normative commitment. The benefits of high organizational commitment as high job satisfaction, increased performance, low turnover and others has been widely researched (Newman et al., 2011). Previous research suggests that irrelevant training programs may negatively affect organizational commitment (Bartlett, 2001). In addition, according to the research done by. 1.

(9) Cheng and Waldenberger (2013) the design, organization and implementation of training influences employees’ attitude towards employer. There is a large amount of research available linking organizational commitment with turnover intentions (Joo & Park, 2010; Newman et al., 2011). Organizational commitment is one of the main factors influencing turnover intention (Yamazaki & Petchdee, 2015) meaning that high organizational commitment negatively influences turnover intention (Joo & Park, 2010). Due to the limited research about these issues in Taiwan, the researcher has developed interest in this topic and the study is intended to contribute to the existing knowledge about the issue and help the companies to design the training programs.. Research Purposes and Questions Training and development, organizational commitment and turnover intentions are popular research topics; however, little research has been conducted on the relationship of these variables as it applies to the service and manufacturing sectors in Taiwan. This study aims to study the relationship of the variables mentioned before and explore how to increase organizational commitment of the employees. It also is examining to what extent organizational commitment is related to turnover intentions and exploring if there is a direct link between the perceived training and turnover intentions. According to the research purpose, three questions generated of this study are: 1. Does the training and development influence the organizational commitment of the employees? 2. Does organizational commitment influence the turnover intention? 3. Can training and development activities reduce turnover intention?. Significance of the Study The study is aimed to make a contribution to the existing theory and practice in a number of ways. Firstly, it is known that there are various benefits to companies of having high organizational commitment but the research on this topic mostly focuses on Western countries and the research about Asian countries is limited. The literature suggests that cultural differences affect organizational commitment (Newman et al., 2011) therefore the research gives a valuable insight in this field in Asian context. Secondly, it contributes to examining relationship between employee perceptions of training and organizational commitment. It is an important insight as the research on this topic is limited. Thirdly, it gives valuable information to companies in Taiwan on whether the training can influence the. 2.

(10) organizational commitment among the employees and if there is a direct link between training and development and turnover intentions. The research also examines impact of organizational commitment on the turnover intention of the employees. The research is aimed to give insight on if the service and manufacturing organizations in Taiwan can increase organizational commitment and decrease turnover intentions by using training and development activities. Organizational commitment and training are popular research subjects but there is little data available about the relationship between these two concepts, especially within the Taiwan context. According to the results of this study, the researcher will provide suggestions that can lead to the necessary changes to training programs and improve employees’ organizational commitment.. Definition of Key Terms In this section the researcher provides both theoretical and operational definitions of the variables in this research. The operational definitions outline how the variables are measured and theoretical definition outline the concept of constructs. The three main constructs investigated in this study include training and development, organizational commitment and turnover intentions.. Training and Development The study defines training and development as a planned effort by an organization to facilitate learning in order for the employees to acquire job-related competences, skills, attitudes and behavior needed for daily activities and future jobs or positions (Noe, 2013). Training refers to a systematic process that leads to the acquisition of new skills with the objective to reach personal growth and organizational effectiveness (Aguinis & Kraiger, 2009). This study used five component survey model, i.e., motivation to learn, perceived availability of training, benefits from training and managerial and co-worker support for training. The survey consisted of 23 questions in total. The scale was adapted from Bartlett (2001) and Newman et al. (2011) studies who have adapted questionnaires from previous researches.. Organizational Commitment Organizational commitment is referred to as a degree of commitment and loyalty that employees exhibit towards organization. It is also known as a degree to which employee identifies with the organization and its goals and wishes to remain with the organization (Meyer & Allen, 1991). Organizational commitment was measured by using an 24 item scale. 3.

(11) originally developed by Meyer and Allen (1990). This measure included three components of organizational commitment: affective, normative and continuance commitment.. Turnover Intention Turnover intention is a voluntary decision to leave the organization and is often a predictor of actual turnover (Joo & Park, 2010; Yamazaki & Petchdee, 2015). Turnover intention was measured using 4 item scale originally taken from Newman et al. (2011) research.. Research Delimitations Firstly, this study focuses on the investigation of the relationship of training and development, organizational commitment and turnover intention in the service and manufacturing fields in Taiwan. Other factors that affect commitment are not under the scope of this study. Secondly, this study focuses on a specific industry in Taiwan therefore the results may not be generalized to other sectors and other countries. The research investigated the relationships among the training and development, organizational commitment and turnover intention only in the service and manufacturing industries therefore all of the participants of this study were full time employees from service or manufacturing industries currently employed in Taiwan. The third limitation for this study is that the researcher partly relied on the HR manager to distribute and collect the questionnaires therefore the researcher did not have complete control over the random selection of participants.. 4.

(12) CHAPTER II. LITERATURE REVIEW. This chapter contains a review of the available literature on the topic and the proposed research questions. It provides the definitions of the variables and it discusses the relationship that exists among them.. Training and Development Definition of Training and Development Employee development is a collaborative and consistent effort of employee/employer to enrich employees’ attitudes, knowledge, experiences, skills, and abilities and to improve their overall effectiveness (Rahman & Nas, 2013). Training and development is a planned effort by an organization to facilitate learning in order for the employees to acquire job-related knowledge, skills and attitudes that help employees in daily activities and prepares the employees for future jobs or positions (Noe, 2013). According to Swanson (2001) the main function of training or any human resource development activity is to improve performance therefore training can be defined as a HR practice that can influence attitudes and behaviors, including, job satisfaction, job involvement and organizational commitment. Training from company’s perspective adds to human capital and is a tool to improve organizational commitment (Owoyemi, Oyelere, Elegbede, & Gbajumo-Sheriff, 2011). It is recognized that training provides benefits to both employees and organizations (Aguinis & Kraiger, 2009; Rahman & Nas, 2013). In addition, training has been identified as human resource practice that can serve as a competitive advantage (Dias & Silva, 2016). Training not only improves technical and not-technical skills of employees but it also can be used to increase employees’ commitment to the organization (Owoyemi et al., 2011). Investment in the employees in form of a training later is returned in the form of more productive and effective employees (Rahman & Nas, 2013).. Dimensions of Training and Development Organizational training is a multidimensional structure that can be divided into: motivation to learn, perceived availability of training, benefits from training and support for training (Newman et al., 2011). Motivation to learn. Previous research has shown that employees that are motivated to learn express greater participation in training activities and are more likely to effectively apply the learned skills in their workplace. Employees that are motivated to learn are more likely to see training as a. 5.

(13) positive effort from the organization and it should generate positive feelings towards the company, i.e., the affective commitment increases (Newman et al., 2011). Success of the training will be different for employees willing to learn and employees who are obligated to attend training sessions. Motivation for training can be defined as motivation of employees to attend the training sessions and it is based on the level of effort that employees are willing to do to benefit from the training (Dias & Silva, 2016). Perceived availability of training. Perceived availability of training is perception of availability to access training opportunities (Newman et al., 2011). The perceptions of employee to access the training involves: “(1) they have access to the training opportunities required for acquiring the knowledge, skills, and abilities they need for their current position, and that (2) minimal organizational constraints limit their participation in training” (Bartlett, 2001, p. 339). Previous research on the subject has shown that perception of availability of the training is related to effective participation in training programs and is seen as an opportunity to improve knowledge, skills and attitudes which leads to an impact on organization commitment (Bartlett, 2001; Dias & Silva, 2016). Benefits from training. According to Ahmad and Bakar (2003) there are multiple benefits from training to both the employees and the organization. Employees tend to be more confident, open to change, show more support and their performance increases. According to Nordhaug (1989) there are three types of benefits that employees gain from the training activities: personal, career, and job-related benefits. It is believed that employees who acknowledge the training benefits has stronger feelings of commitment towards the organization (Ahmad & Bakar, 2003; Bartlett, 2001). Perceived supervisor support for training. There is a large body of research that has demonstrated the importance of the support in the workplace. Previous research has shown that social support in a workplace enhances job satisfaction and commitment, as well the level of turnover and absenteeism in the workplace gets lowered. Previous studies suggest that social support is an important component for organizational effectiveness (Newman et al., 2011). There are three sources of social support: family and friends, work colleagues and immediate supervisor (Newman et al., 2011). According to Dias and Silva (2016) support in the workplace can be vertical (support from supervisor) or horizontal (support from co-workers). In addition, employees who feel support. 6.

(14) to participate in the training programs feel more connected to the organization (Dias & Silva, 2016; Noe & Wilk, 1993). Perceived co-worker support for training. Perceived co-worker support for training refers to the motivation and assistance trainees get from their co-workers. The opinion and reaction other members have towards training will influence other team members affecting their motivation towards the training. A motivated team will transmit this motivation to the other team members, leading that team members will be motivated to actively participate in the training and acquired all the necessary skills and content from the training and apply them in the daily work routine (Blanchard, 2010). It affects the participation rate of employees and it also has an impact on affective commitment (Newman et al., 2011; Noe & Wilk, 1993). To conclude, the research focused on all five sub-dimensions of the training and development and their relationships with organizational commitment and turnover intention.. Organizational Commitment Definition of Organizational Commitment The organizational commitment has been a popular research topic because it is usually associated with better performance which leads to an improved performance of the organization as a whole, as well as, there are a number of research that have demonstrated the existing relationship between organizational commitment and turnover intention. Meyer and Allen (1991, p. 67) sees organizational commitment as “the view that commitment is a psychological state, which (1) characterizes the relationship with the organization, and (2) has implication for the decision to continue membership with the organization.” According to Joo and Park (2010) organizational commitment can be defined as an individual’s feelings about the organization as a whole. O‘Reilly and Chatman (1986, p. 493) sees is as “the psychological attachment felt by the person for the organization; it will reflect the degree to which the individual internalizes or adopts characteristics or perceptive of the organization”. Robbins and Judge (2015, p. 102) sees the organizational commitment as “the degree to which an employee identifies with a particular organization and its goals and wishes to maintain membership in the organization”. Mowday, Steers and Porter (1979) claims that it is a degree of identification and involvement that an individual has with his organization. This theory includes a strong belief and acceptance of organization’s goals and values, willingness of the employee to make an extra effort to benefit the organization and strong desire to. 7.

(15) remain in the organization. It also can be characterized as “a bond or linking of the individual to the organization” (Mathieu & Zajac, 1990, p. 171). According to Meyer and Allen (1991) the lack of consensus of what the concept includes is the reason why it is considered as a multidimensional construct (Lesabe & Nkosi, 2007). There are variances in definitions, conceptualizations and measurements of organizational commitment but they all see the organizational commitment as a bond or linkage of the employee to the organization (Martin & Roodt, 2008) as well as they all define organizational commitment as a stabilizing and obliging force that is linked to behavior (Lesabe & Nkosi, 2007). Most commitment studies discuss the organizational commitment from either an attitudinal or behavioral perspective (Dunham, Grube, & Castaeda, 1994). When viewed as an attitude it is defined as identification with and involvement in the organization which is characterized by believing in and acceptance of organizational goals and values in and desire to be part of the organization, i.e., it has a focus on identification of the events that develops commitment, but the behavioral perspective has focus on the identification of the conditions where behavior is repeated and the changes it has on attitudes (DeConinck & Bachmann, 2011). Roodt (2004) proposed a motivational approach (as opposed to the attitudinal and behavioral perspectives), which only focuses on the state of commitment (Martin & Roodt, 2008). Organizational commitment is often viewed in connection with social exchange theory. It suggests that there is exchange not only of the impersonal resources, e.g., money, but the employer and employee also exchange socio-emotional resources, e.g., approval, respect, recognition and support. It is also often connected with the norm of reciprocity and the concept of perceived organizational support that is further developed into the organizational support theory. The social exchange theory, the norm of reciprocity and the organizational support theory suggest that the HRM practices have a significant influence on employees’ attitudes and behaviors (Lew, 2011).. Dimensions of Organizational Commitment Meyer and Allen (1991) have developed their three component model of organizational commitment that consists of affective commitment, continuance commitment, and normative commitment. Affective commitment is defined as the psychological (emotional) attachment to the organization, continuance commitment is regarded as the costs associated with leaving the organization, such as losing attractive benefits or seniority (continuance commitment),. 8.

(16) and normative commitment refers to a perceived obligation (personal values) to remain with the organization (Bartlett, 2001). Commitment is a mind-set and multidimensional concept that gives employee a direction of behavior, it is loyalty and attachment to the organization (Khan, Naseem, & Masood, 2016). The distinction between different types of commitment is important because employees can experience various degrees of each type of commitment and because each type of commitment has different antecedents and consequences (Murray, Poole, & Jones, 2006). According to Bartlett (2001) affective, continuance, and normative commitment should be viewed as components instead of as types of the organizational commitment because the employee’s attitude towards the organization may vary across the components. This research is following a model proposed in the study of Meyer and Allen (1990) which categorizes the organizational commitment into three components: affective, normative and continuance commitments. Affective commitment. Affective commitment (AC), first termed by Meyer and Allen in 1984, refers to the emotional attachment of an individual to the organization, i.e., the employee stays within the organization because he wants to (Mercurio, 2015; Murray et al., 2006). It originates from the employees’ feelings towards the organization, e.g., pleasure and pride to be part of the organization. The employees are attached to the company both materially and spiritually, and employees fully identify themselves with the organization, therefore affective commitment is a strong type of commitment (Bozlagan, Dogan, & Daoudov, 2010). It occurs when individuals fully embrace the goals and values of the organization and they feel personally responsible for the organization's level of success. Affective commitment is generally associated with positives outcomes for the organization, e.g., high levels of performance, positive work attitudes, and a desire to remain with the organization (Murray et al., 2006). It strongly affects individual behaviors and feelings, shapes individual perceptions, and may mediate the individual’s reactions to organizational transactions. In addition, primary antecedents of affective commitment are demographic variables, individual differences, work experiences, and investments, with the strongest correlation with work experiences (Mercurio, 2015). Normative commitment. Normative commitment (NC) is employees' compulsory feelings towards management, i.e., employees stay because of an obligation (Khattak & Sethi, 2012). Due to the sense of obligation based on formal and informal rules, regulations, social norms and customs, 9.

(17) employees’ feel moral duty and a responsibility for the relationship to continue (Roxenhall & Andrésen, 2012). Employees with high normative commitment continue working for their organization because it is the “right and moral” thing to do (Meyer et al., 2002). Normative commitment derives from employees’ conscientious and ethical beliefs. It can originate from favoritism, tenure, previous experience during difficult times, or socially and spiritually important services of the company. Employees consider their work meaningful, they are grateful to the organization and have pride to be part of it, moreover, they can do important sacrifices for their company and have low turnover intentions. Normative commitment is fostered by strong organizational commitment of other colleagues, gratefulness for favors made by the organization, principles and values and the effect of social frame of mind (Bozlagan et al., 2010). Continuance commitment. Continuance commitment (CC) are perceived costs of leaving the organization, i.e., the employee stays within the organization because he needs to (Murray et al., 2006). In this type of commitment employee identifies the investment, cost and alternatives associated with leaving the organization, e.g., time, effort, pension, and friendship with co-workers (Khan et al., 2016; Meyer & Allen, 1991). This construct has two sub dimensions: personal sacrifices and lack of alternatives (Dunham et al., 1994). It is negatively correlated with desirable work behavior because the willingness of employees to remain in organization is caused by fear of losing the benefits of the job (Khan et al., 2016). It has negative and positive dimensions that are closely linked to past and present investment and returns (Roxenhall & Andrésen, 2012). Continuance commitment is unrelated or negatively related to organizational citizenship behavior, absenteeism, job performance, altruism and conscientiousness. It is positively related with performance and quality of work (Khan et al., 2016). In this type of commitment, the employees have financial or social dependence on the organization, therefore, the continuance commitment is not considered as a strong type of commitment. The employees are unlikely to make sacrifices for their organization and they have high turnover intention rates (Bozlagan et al., 2010; Roxenhall & Andrésen, 2012). Factors influencing continuance commitment level are: age, tenure, career opportunities, educational background, marital status, alternative job opportunities, gender, and organizational justice perception (Bozlagan et al., 2010).. 10.

(18) Turnover Intention Definition of Turnover Intention Turnover is an employee’s permanent movement beyond the boundary of the organization (Rahman & Nas, 2013). Turnover intention is employee’s desire or deliberateness to leave the organization (Tett & Meyer, 1993). There can be many factors influencing the actual decision of leaving one’s workplace therefore this research focuses on turnover as an intention instead of the actual decision to leave the company. A number of previous studies have found the connection between turnover intention and the actual behavior of leaving suggesting that turnover intention is the best predictor of quitting and it is a final step before the actual turnover (Joo & Park, 2010; Yamazaki & Petchdee, 2015). Turnover intention precedes the decision to leave. The actual decision may be influenced by various factors but the turnover intention gives more precise results as well it can be measured along a scale (Cheng & Waldenberger, 2013). There are three stages of the turnover intention process proposed by Falkenburg and Schyns (2007): thinking of leaving the organization, intention to search for a new job and intention to leave (Yamazaki & Petchdee, 2015). There is an increase in interest about turnover intention connection with other variables and there are multiple researches examining the relationship between training and commitment (Newman et al., 2011). Turnover has a negative effect on the organization and the employee therefore majority of research focus turnover instead of starting the job in an organization (Rahman & Nas, 2013). There is a variety of factors that may affect employee intention to leave but the most popular reasons are: opportunities for training and career development; a better compensation and benefits package; dissatisfaction with the organizational policies; low level of organizational commitment; and organizational learning culture and leadership quality (Rahman & Nas, 2013). In addition, the research by Newman et al. (2001) showed strong negative relationship between organizational commitment and employee turnover intentions. There are two theories on turnover intention: human capital theory and social exchange theory. The human capital theory in an organizational setting refers to employees as the most valuable commodity and suggests that investment in development of employees will increase productivity of employees benefiting to the organization as well as it will enhance their employability in the market which may result in turnover for better jobs. The social exchange theory claims that investment in development of employees will result in positive attitude toward the organization reducing turnover intentions (Rahman & Nas, 2013).. 11.

(19) According to the literature review, the turnover intention is an important element in the workplace and it was included in the present study.. Relationships Among Variables Training and Development and Organizational Commitment Training and development of employees is considered as an important aspect of human resource management practices. Research suggests that HR practices are perceived as organization’s support and commitment to employees leading to increase of their commitment to the organization. Employees are more likely to be highly involved in the organization and show willingness to accomplish the organization’s goals (Lew, 2011). Studies have shown that training can lead to improvement in organizational commitment (Newman et al., 2011). As it was stated earlier organizational training can be divided into: motivation to learn, perceived availability of training, benefits from training and support for training and the given research is examining its relationship with organizational commitment. Motivation to learn and organizational commitment. Previous studies of Bartlett (2001), Ahmad and Bakar (2003) confirm that motivation to learn is strongly correlated to affective commitment but no relationship with continuance commitment was found. Newman et al. (2011) did not find relationship between motivation to learn and both types of commitment as well as Khawaja et al (2013) have not found significant relationship between motivation to learn and organizational commitment. Perceived availability of training and organizational commitment. Previous research by Bartlett (2001), Ahmad and Bakar (2003) and Chung and McLean (2013), Khawaja, et al. (2013) indicated that perceived availability of training has a strong connection with affective commitment but not continuance commitment, however the research done by Newman et al. (2011) has found a link between perceived availability of training and continuance commitment. Benefits from training and organizational commitment. The perceived benefits of training have been found to affect participation and commitment in training (Ahmad & Bakar, 2003). Ahmad and Bakar (2003) and Bartlett (2001) have found that benefits from training are significantly positively related to affective and continuance commitment however the research done by Newman et al. (2011) did not found significant relationship between benefits of training and both types of commitment.. 12.

(20) Perceived supervisor support for training and organizational commitment. Bartlett (2001) have found significant relationship between supervisor support and both affective and continuance commitment. Study of Ahmad and Bakar (2003) also indicated that support is correlated to affective and continuance commitments. Newman et al. (2011) have found strong relationship only with affective organizational commitment. Perceived co-worker support for training and organizational commitment. According to the results of research conducted by Newman et al. (2011) co-worker support for training has strong positive relationship with affective organizational commitment. H1: Training and development has a significantly positive influence on organizational commitment.. Training and Development and Turnover Intention There is a strong association between employee development perceptions and intention to leave. By providing development opportunities the organization shows care for employees’ careers that generates positive attitudes and behavior towards organization meaning that employee’s turnover intention is predicted by employee development perceptions (Rahman & Nas, 2013). Training has many positive benefits and it can increase the commitment of the employees (Newman et al., 2011) which would result in the decrease of turnover intention. A number of researches had shown that development opportunities provided by an organization oblige employees to behave reciprocally, it creates a reputation for valuing and developing the employees that attracts and retains talent, it can serve as a competitive advantage by developing a competent workforce as well as reducing absenteeism and turnover rates and increasing organizational commitment (Rahman & Nas, 2013). H2: Training and development has a significantly negative influence on turnover intention.. Organizational Commitment and Turnover Intention Employees’ job satisfaction and organizational commitment are the most critical determinants. of. turnover. intention. (Martin. &. Roodt,. 2008;. Tett. &. Meyer,. 1993). Organizational commitment is even better predictor of turnover than job satisfaction because it is influenced less by day to day happenings (Murray et al., 2006). Previous research has indicated that turnover intentions are negatively related to both affective and continuance commitment (Joo & Park, 2010; Newman et al., 2011; Yamazaki & Petchdee, 2015) which leads to the following hypothesis:. 13.

(21) H3: Organizational commitment has a significantly negative influence on turnover intention. According to the above mentioned literature review about the relationship between the variables, the hypothesis 4 was formed as follows: H4: Organizational commitment has a mediating effect on the relationship between the training and development and turnover intention.. 14.

(22) CHAPTER III. METHODOLOGY. This chapter provides information about the research methodology. It explains the research framework, states the research hypothesis, explains the research procedures, and research design. Furthermore, it will provide information about the statistical analysis methods that will be used to analyze the data.. Research Framework The research framework of this study, see figure 3.1, is based on the research purpose and research questions explained in Chapter I. The research is aimed to explore how the training and development is influencing organizational commitment and how both of these variables are influencing employees’ turnover intention. In addition, the research is also aimed to investigate if the organizational commitment mediating role on the relationship between training and development and turnover intention. H4. Training and Development Training Motivation. Organizational Commitment H1 Affective Commitment. Perceived Availability of Training. Normative Commitment. Training Benefits. Continuance Commitment. Management Training Support Perceived Support from. H2. Colleagues Figure 3.1. Research framework. 15. Turnover H3. Intention.

(23) Research Hypothesis Based on the research questions and purpose of the study, the following hypotheses were formulated: H1: Training and development has a significantly positive influence on organizational commitment. H2: Training and development has a significantly negative influence on turnover intention. H3: Organizational commitment has a significantly negative influence on turnover intention. H4: Organizational commitment has mediating effect on the relationship between the training and development and turnover intention.. Research Method This study followed a quantitative approach to measure the relationship between training and development, organizational commitment and turnover intention. The data was collected using both online and paper survey questionnaires. In order to increase effectiveness and efficiency of the data collection the Internet was used as a medium to approach the sample population. The data was also collected by paper questionnaires approaching the sample population on social gatherings and sending survey to companies. The questionnaire was selected because the researcher intends to collect data in form of numbers and it can be used because it allow the researcher to gather information on the backgrounds, beliefs, or attitudes of a large number of people (Neuman, 2014) which will be analyzed using statistical methods to test and verify the relationship between the variables. The advantages of using survey questionnaire are internal and external validity, efficiency, surveys can cover geographically spread samples, they have ethical advantages and are flexible (Mathers, Fox & Hunn, 2007). As the literature explains, a quantitative study tries to verify or falsify a relationship or hypothesis, and it focuses on outcomes or effects between variables (Neuman, 2014) therefore, the quantitative approach is more effective for the purpose of this research. In addition, the survey questionnaire is structured around key item and it ensures anonymity of respondents.. Instrument The research utilized the self-reported online and paper survey questionnaires to collect the required data and to test the established hypothesis. The research instrument was designed including good practices and design principle as using a cover letter to introduce the study. 16.

(24) and its purposes and giving clear instructions. The survey questionnaire was bilingual and it was offered in both English and Chinese languages. This instrument consisted of 3 variables and had 51 questions which were divided into the following sections: I. Training and development II. Organizational commitment III. Turnover intention This study used different scales taken from the work of previous researchers which have been proved to have a good reliability and validity. From section I to section III this survey questionnaire used a 5-point Likert’s scale and the participants will be asked to choose from the different available demographic options. The survey was anonymous and it also included 7 questions on demographics of the participants including participant’s gender, age, marital status, industry, education, position and tenure. The full survey questionnaire can be seen in the Appendix A. Part of the data was gathered via online survey. Sample of design of the online survey can be seen in the Appendix B.. Training and Development This variable was measured using a 23-items scale (Bartlett, 2001; Newman et al., 2011). This survey comprises five dimensions and it used a 5-point Likert’s scale ranging from 1 (Strongly Disagree) to 5 (Strongly Agree) and an illustrative item is “I am willing to invest effort to improve skills and competences related to my current job”. The 5 dimensions are: 1. Training motivation (Tharenou & Conroy, 1994) 4-items (α= .87) 2. Perceived availability of training (Newman et al., 2011) 5-items (α= .928) 3. Training benefits (Noe & Wilk, 1993) 5-items. (α= .82) 4. Management training support (Noe & Schmitt, 1986) 6-items. (α= .96) 5. Perceived support of training from colleagues (Noe & Wilk, 1993) 3- items (α= .83) The Cronbach's alpha scores listed above were taken from the original researches as a proof of good internal consistency therefore they were suitable for this research. In the survey questionnaire the questions 25 till 28 were on training motivation, questions 29 till 33 were on perceived availability of training, questions 34 till 38 were on training benefits, questions 39 till 44 were on management training support and questions 45 till 47 were on perceived support of training from colleagues. All the questions can be seen in the Appendix A.. 17.

(25) Organizational Commitment In order to measure this variable, the organizational commitment scale originally developed by Meyer and Allen (1990) was taken. The scale has three sub-dimensions: affective, normative and continuance commitment and each of the sub-dimensions were measured by 8 questions. It used a 5-point Likert’s scale ranging from 1 (Strongly Disagree) to 5 (Strongly Agree) and in total it consisted of 24 questions. In addition, an illustrative item of this part of the questionnaire is “One of the major reasons I continue to work for this organization is that leaving would require considerable personal sacrificeanother company may not match the overall benefits I have here”. Moreover, in this part of the questionnaire there were several reversed questions originally developed in the study by Meyer and Allen (1990). Questions 1 till 8 measured affective commitment, questions 9 till 16 measured continuance commitment and questions 17 till 24 measured normative commitment. All of the questions can be seen in the Appendix A.. Turnover Intention Turnover intention was measured by using a 4-item scale (Newman et al., 2011). The Cronbach's alpha scores in the research of Newman et al. (2011) were above 0.7 (α= .909) proving that it has good internal consistency. A representative item can be seen as follows: “I often think of quitting my present job”. In addition, one reversed question was used to measure this variable. In the survey questionnaire, that can be seen the Attachment A, the questions 48 till 51 are measuring turnover intention.. Personal and Demographic Data The last section provides a descriptive analysis of the survey participants. Examples of demographic characteristics include age, race, gender, ethnicity, religion, income, education, and many other variables. This section contained information such as the participant’s gender, age, marital status, industry, education, position and tenure.. Participants Population According to the topic and purpose of the study, the target population of this study were full-time employees currently working in Taiwan. The employees were had to be employed in service or manufacturing industries. According to the Business Dictionary, service industry is part of business that primarily earn revenue through providing intangible goods and services and are not involved in the manufacturing of the goods, and, on the other hand, the manufacturing industry refers to the business that transforms raw materials into finished or. 18.

(26) semi-finished goods using machines, tools and labor. For the research sample to be more reputable for representing the whole population, the surveys were gathered from various companies in Taiwan.. Sample The researcher employed convenience sampling. Employees from various service and manufacturing companies in Taiwan were contacted and asked to fill in paper or online survey questionnaire. As it was already mentioned earlier, before the actual study there was a pilot study that analyzed the data from 40 participants. The pilot test was employed in order reduce bias in this study. After that, in total 277 people took part in this study. The selected participants had to be currently employed in a service or manufacturing industry in Taiwan.. Data Analysis According to the purpose and hypothesis test of the study, the researcher used SPSS 22.0 statistics software for statistical analysis. The following statistics were used to analyze the data:. Descriptive Statistics Descriptive statistics summarize the numerical results and show them in a clear and concise manner (Healey, 2008). The results were shown in forms of graphs, and tables to provide the reader a better picture of the data (Neuman, 2014). The descriptive statistics include the means and the standard deviation of the data and was applied to all the variables included in this research.. Reliability Analysis For the reliability analysis Cronbach’s alpha analysis were used. Cronbach’s alpha is used to provide a measure of the internal consistency of a test or scale and it is expressed as a number between 0 and 1 (Tavakol & Dennick, 2011).. Correlation The correlation measures the direction and strength of the linear relationship between two quantitative variables (Moore, McCabe, Duckworth, & Alwan, 2008). The correlation analysis shows initial relationship between the variables.. Hierarchical Regression This analysis is used when there are two or more independent variables; and the purpose of this regression is to test causation (Gray & Kinnear, 2012). The research is aimed to test the direction and effect the independent variable, i.e., training and development, has on the mediator, i.e., organizational commitment, and the effect the mediator has on the depend 19.

(27) variable, i.e., turnover intention, as well as, the effect the independent variable has on the dependent variable.. Research Procedure First the researcher identified the research topic, and the theoretical framework was created. Based on the theoretical framework the researcher reviewed the available literature on this subject. After the researcher had conducted the literature review, the sample population was identified. The sample population were people currently employed in service or manufacturing industries in Taiwan. Later the researcher searched and adopted the scales to measure each of the variables used in the research. Due to the chosen sample of this study the survey questionnaire was translated into Chinese. It was offered in both English and Chinese languages. Later on the data was collected and analyzed. The researcher employed convenience sampling. The questionnaires were distributed in the researcher’s social network such as friends, language exchange, classmates and social gatherings. The paper questionnaires were sent to three companies by mail. The survey questionnaire also had printed QR codes that were distributed in the researcher’s social network and the participants after scanning the code were directed to the online version of the questionnaire. The link to the online questionnaire was sent in social media and forwarded by friends of the researcher to service and manufacturing industry employees. In total there were 157 people who have submitted valid online questionnaires and 120 people who filled in the paper version of the survey questionnaire. Later the researcher gathered the results and discussed them. All the gathered data was analyzed in SPSS software. After that the conclusions and suggestions were offered. The research process is illustrated as figure 3.2.. 20.

(28) Figure 3.2. Research procedure. 21.

(29) Reliability and Validity Reliability of Instrument The survey questionnaire items were adapted from previous research papers that have good reliability scores that are described in more details in the section ‘Instrument’. Reliability analysis is the dependability or consistency of the measure of a variable and Cronbach’s alpha value above .7 is generally considered as an acceptable result (Neuman, 2014). The survey that will be used for this research has 51 questions and all items have Cronbach’s alpha above .7.. Validity of Instrument The questionnaire was offered in both English and Chinese. In order to ensure that the scales and the translations are accurate and consistent and have good face validity, the peer review, expert review and back translation of the scales were conducted. Face validity is a type of validity measurement that4 examines if measuring device measures what it intends to measure (Neuman, 2014). The expert and people in charge of peer review were native Chinese speakers with a high proficiency level of English. The feedback regarding the content and the translation of the scales and the suggestions will be taken into an account and the necessary changes were made. In addition, in order to ensure the content and construct validity every questionnaire items were examined by two peer reviews and expert reviews. The expert and the persons in charge of doing peer review were HR professionals. In order to achieve criterion validity, the questionnaire items were adopted from previously validated measure and the pilot test was conducted.. Pilot Test According to McBurney and White (2010) a pilot study helps to detect any problems or deficiencies in the design of a research instrument before proceeding to the formal study. The pilot test consisted of 40 participants. In order to measure internal consistency Cronbach's alpha tests were performed. As it was already mentioned before, result of 0.7 or above is an acceptable reliability coefficient. The tests revealed that the reliability for the whole questionnaire of 51 item was 0.88. The pilot test showed that the Cronbach's alpha value for the variable of training and development was 0.85 and for turnover intention it was 0.89. The Cronbach’s alpha value of organizational commitment was 0.89. The researcher also made sure that the questions are easy to understand and that the translations of the questions are accurate. Based on the results of the pilot study the researcher made the necessary changes. As the pilot test showed that the survey questionnaire had good Cronbach’s alpha values the. 22.

(30) questions were not changed but the researcher in order to make the questionnaire more user friendly modified the layout of it. The font and spacing of the questionnaire was formatted that it would take less space on the paper, the questions were put in a table, the NTNU logo and QR code was added to the questionnaire and the introduction to the questionnaire was slightly modified. After the pilot test the translation of three questions also was improved.. Table 3.1. Reliability Test (Pilot Test, N= 40) No. of Items. Cronbach’s alpha Value. TD. 23. 0.85. OC. 24. 0.89. TI. 4. 0.85. Constructs. Note. N= 40; TD= Training and Development; OC= Organizational Commitment; TI= Turnover Intention. Data Coding System Before the analysis of the pilot test, all of the data was coded to facilitate the processing of information in the SPSS software. The 51 items of the questionnaire were coded using a 5-point Likert’s scale (1= Completely Disagree; 5= Completely Agree). In addition, the survey questionnaire also contained 7 questions on demographics. The demographic variables had multiple choice answers and the participants had to select which demographic group is the most suitable for them. The demographic variables were also coded. The coding system for all the variables and demographic questions are included in Table 3.2. Table 3.2. Coding System Used in SPSS Data Analysis Variables. Codes. Organizational Commitment. 1= Completely Disagree. (24 questions). 2= Disagree 3= Neutral 4= Agree 5= Completely Agree (continued). 23.

(31) Table 3.2. (continued) Variables. Codes. Training and Development. 1= Completely Disagree. (23 questions). 2= Disagree 3= Neutral 4= Agree 5= Completely Agree. Turnover Intention. 1= Completely Disagree. (4 questions). 2= Disagree 3= Neutral 4= Agree 5= Completely Agree. Gender. 1= Female 2= Male. Age. 1= 20-29 2= 30-39 3= 40 and older. Marital Status. 1= Married 2 = Not Married. Industry. 1= Manufacturing 2= Service. Education. 1= High School 2= College Certificate 3= Bachelor degree 4= Master degree 5= Doctorate. Position. 1= Managerial 2= Non-managerial. Tenure. 1= up to 1 year 2= 2 to 3 years 3= 4 to 5 years 4= 6 and more years. 24.

(32) CHAPTER IV. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS. The following chapter contains two sections. The first section includes an overview of the descriptive statistics of the research data. The second section introduces the results of the SPSS findings, including the result of validity and reliability, Cronbach’s alpha and the test of hypotheses. The suggestions and recommendations are derived from the results exposed on this chapter.. Descriptive Statistics In order to get a general description of the basic features of the data, this research uses descriptive statistics. It helps researcher show how relevant and important the study is. It provides basic information of samples to make people easily understand where the data come from.. Sample Characteristics The researcher contacted 290 employees and in total received back 277 valid questionnaires. The characteristics of the sample are presented in table 4.1. in terms of gender, age, marital status, industry, education, position and tenure. According to the descriptive analysis, 52% of the participants were male and the rest were female. The descriptive statistics revealed that 35% of the respondents were 30-39 years old, 32% were 20-29 years old, 17% were 40 years old or older, and 16 % of the respondents chose not to reveal their age. Almost half of the participants of the study (44%) were married and the rest were not married. In addition, 44% of the respondents self-identified that they work in manufacturing and 56% work in service industry. The majority (50%) holds Bachelor’s degree, 40% of the respondents holds Master’s degree, and only few of the respondents have only college, high school or Doctorate’s degree. The majority (69%) has non-managerial position, the rest has managerial position. The descriptive analysis on tenure indicated that most of the respondents (39%) have been working for their company for 6 or more years, 25% have been working for 1 year or less, 21% have been working for 2-3 years and 8% have been with their company for 4-5 years.. 25.

(33) Table 4.1. Characteristics of Sample Population Based on Demographic Variables (N= 277) Variables Gender. Age. Marital Status. Industry. Education. Position. Tenure. Entries. Percentage. Male. 146. 52.7. Female. 131. 47.3. 20-29. 89. 32.1. 30-39. 97. 35.0. 40 and older. 47. 17.0. Married. 125. 45.1. Not Married. 152. 54.9. Manufacturing. 122. 44.0. Service. 155. 56.0. High School. 6. 2.2. College Certificate. 14. 5.1. Bachelor degree. 137. 49.5. Master degree. 110. 39.7. Doctorate. 8. 2.9. Managerial. 86. 31.0. Non-managerial. 191. 69.0. Up to 1 year. 71. 25.6. 2 to 3 years. 59. 21.3. 4 to 5 years. 23. 8.3. 6 and more years. 108. 39.0. Descriptive Statistics Analysis This section provides a summary of the results from the questions gathered for the study. All the variables are measured with a 5 point Likert’s scale. The participants were instructed to indicate their level of agreement or disagreement with each of the statements with anchors ranging from 1 (Completely Disagree) to 5 (Completely Agree). Each table shows the mean and standard deviation for every item question. Findings: Organizational commitment. The table 4.2. shows that from the three organizational commitment dimensions the affective commitment has the highest mean score of 3.43 and the normative commitment has. 26.

(34) the lowest average mean score of 2.70 meaning that the participants of the study has relatively high level of affective commitment but the continuance and normative commitment is not very strong. It means that the participants are emotionally attached to their organizations, but their commitment to stay or moral obligation to remain loyal to the company is below average.. Table 4.2. Descriptive Statistics of Organizational Commitment Dimensions (N= 277) OC Dimensions. Mean. SD. AC. 3.43. 0.76. CC. 2.95. 0.80. NC. 2.70. 0.64. Note. N= 277; AC= Affective Commitment; CC= Continuance Commitment; NC= Normative Commitment. Table 4.3. shows that the average means for all the questions regarding affective commitment is above the average values. The participants showed the highest level of agreement on the question “I enjoy discussing my organization with people outside it” (AC2). The average mean scores for other two sub-dimensions of the organizational commitment are lower. According to the results shown in the table 4.3., most of the results are above average meaning that the majority of participants have chosen to stay with this organization due to different reasons and not because of necessity or lack of alternatives. As it is previously explained in the Chapter II, normative commitment is a moral obligation of the employee to remain within the company. According to the results of normative commitment, the item NC1 “I think that people these days move from company to company too often” have received the highest score of 3.33 showing that the participants of this study see a value to remain loyal to the company. The item NC2 “I do not believe that a person must always be loyal to his or her organization*” received the lowest score of 1.80. The contradictory results might be explained with the fact that NC2 was a reversed item and it might have been not clear how to answer it.. 27.

(35) Table 4.3. Organizational Commitment; Likert’s Scales, Mean, and SD (N= 277) Survey Questionnaires AC1. Mean. I would be very happy to spend the rest of my career in this organization.. SD. 3.18. 1.23. AC2. I enjoy discussing my organization with people outside it.. 3.96. 0.95. AC3. I really feel as if this organization’s problems are my own.. 3.26. 1.12. 3.04. 1.16. AC4. I think I could easily become attached to another organization, as I am to this one.*. AC5. I do not feel like part of the family at my organization.*. 3.42. 1.16. AC6. I do not feel emotionally attached to this organization. *. 3.57. 1.12. AC7. This organization has a great deal of personal meaning for me.. 3.60. 1.12. AC8. I do not feel a strong sense of belonging to this organization.*. 3.45. 1.15. CC1. I am not afraid of what might happen if I quit my job without. 2.55. 1.20. 2.88. 1.22. 2.44. 1.19. 3.51. 1.16. 3.27. 1.23. 2.83. 1.22. 3.19. 1.16. 3.33. 1.05. having another one lined up.* CC2. It would be very hard for me to leave my job at this organization right now even if I wanted to.. CC3. Too much of my life would be disrupted if I leave this organization.. CC5. Right now, staying at this organization is a matter of necessity as much as desire.. CC6. I feel that I have too few options to consider leaving this organization.. CC7. One of the few serious consequences of leaving my job at this organization would be the scarcity of available alternative elsewhere.. CC8. One of the major reasons I continue to work for this organization is that leaving would require considerable personal sacrificeanother company may not match the overall benefits I have here.. NC1. I think that people these days move from company to company too often.. (continued). 28.

(36) Table 4.3. (continued) Survey Questionnaires NC2. Mean. I do not believe that a person must always be loyal to his or her 1.80. SD 0.97. organization.* NC3. Jumping from organization to organization does not seem at all 1.93. 1.04. unethical to me.* NC4. One of the major reasons I continue to work in this organization 3.25. 1.11. is that I believe that loyalty is important and therefore feel a sense of moral obligation to remain. NC5. If I got another offer for a better job elsewhere I would not feel it 2.65. 1.25. was right to leave. NC6. I was taught to believe in value of remaining loyal to one 2.92. 1.18. organization. NC7. Things were better in the days when people stayed with one 2.62. 1.15. organization for most of their careers. NC8. I do not think that wanting to be a ‘company man/woman’ is 3.07. 1.10. sensible anymore.* Note. N= 277; SD= Standard Deviation; AC= Affective Commitment; CC= Continuance Commitment; NC= Normative Commitment; *= reversed item. To conclude, on average the employees have quite high levels of affective commitment but the results of normative and continuance commitment are below average. Findings: Training and development. Item training motivation received the highest score of 4.35 and the item coworker support received the lowest score of 2.29. The gathered data shows that regarding training and development the participants of the study have very high training motivation and high perceived availability of the training, perceived training benefits and managerial support but low support from colleagues. The data of the mean of each sub-dimensions of training and development sub-dimensions can be found in the table 4.4.. 29.

(37) Table 4.4. Descriptive Statistics of Training and Development Dimensions (N= 277) TD Dimensions. Mean. SD. TM. 4.35. 0.62. PA. 3.49. 1.15. TB. 4.00. 0.81. MS. 3.59. 0.89. CS. 2.29. 0.97. Note. N= 277; SD= Standard Deviation; TD= Training and Development; TM= Training Motivation; PA= Perceived Availability; TB= Training Benefits; MS= Manager Support, CS= Colleague Support In the table 4.5. it is possible to see individual means of each item. The gathered data shows that the participants have very high training motivation as all the mean values are above 4.1. The participants of the study also have high perceived availability of training as all the values are above 3.4. It means that companies in Taiwan in service and manufacturing industries provide many training opportunities to their employees. In addition, the employees see training as a beneficial component to their personal career and job development. Last but not least, the gathered data indicates that there is a high vertical support (support from supervisor) but the horizontal support (support from co-workers) is below the average. In order to correctly determine the reasons of low value of support from colleagues, qualitative analysis should be performed. One of the possible reasons of this result could be that there is a focus on individual work in the companies the sample population works. To conclude the analysis of this variable, all of the items except support from colleagues (TM_CS) surpass the mid-point of 3 (Neutral) from the 5 point Likert’s scale which demonstrates that the employees have high training motivation, perceived availability and perceived benefits of training and well as they receive support from managers to attend training activities.. 30.

(38) Table 4.5. Training and Development; Likert’s Scales, Mean, and SD (N= 277) Survey Questionnaires. Mean. SD. TD_TM1. I try to learn as much as I can from training programs.. 4.34. 0.78. TD_TM2. I am usually motivated to learn the skills emphasized in training 4.19. 0.87. programs. TD_TM3. I am willing to invest effort to improve skills and competences 4.43. 0.68. related to my current job. TD_TM4. I am willing to invest effort to improve skills and competences 4.47. 0.63. in order to have career progression. TD_PA1. My. organization. provides. its. employees. with. good 3.47. 1.26. My organization provides a good environment for new recruits 3.52. 1.17. opportunities to undertake in-house job-specific training. TD_PA2. to learn job -specific skills and knowledge. TD_PA3. My. organization. provides. its. employees. with. good 3.62. 1.14. opportunities to learn general skills and knowledge inside the organization which may be of use to me in my future career. TD_PA4. My. organization. provides. its. employees. with. good 3.41. 1.20. opportunities to undertake general training programmes and seminars outside of the organization. TD_PA5. My organization provides assistance for its employees to take 3.43. 2.27. management training and development courses externally at educational institutions. TD_TB1. Participating in training programs help my personal developing. 4.09. 0.84. TD_TB2. Participating in training programs increase my chances of 3.86. 0.98. performing better. TD_TB3. Participating in training programs result in having to do extra 3.99. 0.86. work that would add value. TD_TB4. Participating in training programs result in more opportunities 4.10. 1.55. to pursue different career paths. TD_TB5. Participating in training programs help me stay up-to date on 3.95. 0.85. new processes and products or procedures related to my job. (continued). 31.

(39) Table 4.5. (continued) Survey Questionnaires TD_MS1. Mean. I feel comfortable discussing my skill weaknesses with my 3.50. SD 1.12. manager. TD_MS2. My manager is supportive of my efforts to acquire new 3.84. 1.02. knowledge and skills. TD_MS3. My employer values development of new skills or acquisition 3.66. 1.09. of new knowledge. TD_MS4. When I make a mistake, my manager usually treats it as a 3.74. 1.00. learning experience that can prevent failure and improve performance in the future. TD_MS5. My manager shares information with me about problems or 3.40. 1.12. trends in the company that can influence my career plans. TD_MS6. My manager makes sure I get the training needed to remain in 3.44. 1.13. the organization and be effective in my job. TD_CS2. My co-workers tend to resist my efforts to apply new 2.42. 1.09. knowledge or skills on the job. TD_CS3. More experienced co-workers are usually reluctant to give 2.16. 1.09. advice. Note. N= 277; SD= Standard Deviation; TD= Training and Development; TM= Training Motivation; PA= Perceived Availability; TB= Training Benefits, MS= Managers Support, CS= Colleague Support. Findings: Turnover intention. The SPSS analysis showed that mean for all of the items of turnover intention is below average. It means that the study participants have low levels of turnover intentions and are not considering quitting their jobs in near future. The results of the turnover intention analysis are included in Table 4.6.. 32.

(40) Table 4.6. Turnover Intention; Likert’s Scales, Mean, and SD (N= 277) Survey Questionnaires. Mean. SD. TI1. I often think of quitting my present job.. 2.63. 1.26. TI2. I may leave this company and work for another company in the next. 2.61. 1.34. year. TI3. I plan to stay in this company to develop my career for a long time. *. 2.44. 1.15. TI4. I may not have a good future if I stay with this organization.. 2.71. 1.29. Note. N= 277; SD= Standard Deviation; TI= Turnover Intention; *= reversed item. The internal consistency of the whole questionnaire of 51 items were 0.86. The Cronbach’s alpha value of affective commitment scale was 0.82, normative commitment 0.71, and continuance commitment 0.56. The continuance commitment construct did not meet requirements and therefore in order to improve Cronbach’s alpha value one item (CC4) was dropped. The deleting of the item increased the Cronbach’s alpha value result for the continuance commitment from 0.56 to 0.79. The originally low level of Cronbach’s alpha might be attributed to the fact that CC4 was a reversed item and the participants might have difficulties understanding it. The reliability analysis on training and development showed that the result of Cronbach’s alpha value of 0.81. The result of Cronbach’s alpha value for the sub-dimensions of the training and development were as follows: training motivation 0.85; perceived availability of training 0.84; perceived benefits of training 0.83; support from managers 0.903; support from colleagues 0.23. In order to increase the result of Cronbach’s alpha value, the item TD_CS1 was deleted and it increased the result of internal consistency to acceptable level of 0.72. In addition the Cronbach’s alpha value of the turnover intention scale was 0.87. To conclude, after dropping the item the reliability of whole survey increased to 0.87 therefore it is possible to conclude that the decision to drop an item improved the reliability of the model as a whole. As after the required changes, the results of the Cronbach’s alpha value were above 0.7, it is possible to conclude that the survey questionnaire had good reliability and internal consistency.. 33.