Predictors of Organizational Commitment Among the Malaysian Generation Y Workforce

Research has suggested that understanding organizational commitment is essential to managing an organization in improving its overall performance. Organizational commitment is of considerable interest to organizations because there is strong evidence of links between high levels of commitment and favorable organizational outcomes. Employees with a high degree of organizational commitment tend to identify closely with organizational goals and values, work harder for the organization’s benefit, and feel proud to work for the organization. This study investigated factors that may predict employees’ organizational commitment. In this respect, this study focused on the relationship between personal factor (personality traits), organizational factors (employee involvement, leader interpersonal communication skills and trust in management) and organizational commitment (affective, continuance and normative) among the Generation Y non-managerial workforce in Malaysia. This study also examined the influence of the organizational sector (public and private) as a moderator on the relationship between the factors and organizational commitment. Using a self-administered survey, a random sample of 400 respondents was chosen from the various service organizations in three (3) states within Peninsula Malaysia: mainly, Penang, Perak and Kuala Lumpur. The findings resulted in partial acceptance of the hypotheses formulated. All the factors inclusive of personality traits, employee involvement, leader interpersonal communication skills and trust in management significantly influenced organizational commitment, while employee involvement and leader interpersonal communication skills did not have significant relationship with normative commitment. The findings also showed that organizational sector had significantly moderated the relationships between employee involvement, leader interpersonal communication skills and trust in management with organizational commitment. Based on the research findings, theoretical and practical implications are discussed. Limitations and suggestions for future research are also highlighted.