Organizational commitment, rewards and education in the Philippines

Abstract

Purpose: The theory of organizational commitment (OC) was originally developed in the context of Western societies. Therefore, its application to a non-Western country may be easier and more successful if that country’s society has been historically influenced by Western cultures. Based on this understanding, this paper aims to investigate the relationship between OC and rewards among employees in one of East Asia’s developing countries most significantly influenced by Western cultures. Design/methodology/approach: Hierarchical regression analysis was conducted using survey data obtained from 2, 363 employees working for 11 Japanese manufacturing companies in the Philippines. Findings – The paper revealed that the variables measuring intrinsic rewards were strongly related to OC than extrinsic and social rewards, suggesting that the antecedents of OC in the Philippines resemble more closely those found in the west than in the east. This tendency was found to be stronger for university graduates, whose OC is influenced more significantly by intrinsic rewards and less by social rewards, compared to that of non-graduates. Research limitations/implications: The major limitation concerns reliability. This study used selfreport data from individual respondents; this may result in common method bias relationships between variables being inflated. Practical implications: The results of this study could support the revision of human resource management practices, enabling workers to contribute to their companies on a long-term basis in countries where Western cultures have influenced employees’ mindsets and attitudes. Originality/value: Intrinsic rewards impact OC more than other rewards in the Philippines due to its history of Westernization and recent industrialization. This research is the first, to the best of the author’s knowledge, to verify this assumption, and should assist managers of companies in the Philippines, and perhaps, in other developing countries influenced by Western cultures, in formulating strategies to foster high levels of OC among their employees.