Comparative study of organizational commitment in the public and private sectors: The case of transportation agencies in Thailand.

摘要

This study explores organizational commitment in public and private organizations in the transportation industry in Thailand. Adopting rational-choice and humanistic theories to explain the developmental process of commitment and the two-dimensional framework (Morrow, 1993)---attitudinal-affective commitment and calculative-continuance commitment---this study explores the levels of commitment, dimensions of commitment, and corresponding commitment antecedents in the public and private sectors. Meyer and Allen's (1997) three-component commitment scales---AAC, CCC and NC---are adopted as the measurement instrument. The NC dimension is included in this study for exploratory purposes.; One hundred and fifty questionnaires were distributed to each of six organizations. The resulting sample size for the study is 614. Descriptive statistics and regression analyses were used. The study finds that there are no statistically significant sectoral differences for the levels and types of commitment. Sector differences emerge in the patterns of commitment antecedents. Public sector's overall commitment is driven by both humanistic and rational-choice antecedents while that of the private sector is driven exclusively by rational-choice antecedents. Distinct patterns of antecedents also emerge across the dimensions of commitment. AAC is more related to humanistic antecedents while CCC is more related to rational-choice commitment. NC is found to be related to many antecedents.; This study also takes an exploratory step to examine the relationships among the three types of commitment and a variable called commitment feeling. AAC and NC are found to have positive relationships with commitment feeling, with NC having a much stronger relationship, while CCC has a negative relationship. The findings create some puzzles: Is there really no difference between public and private sector commitment levels, types, and patterns? Is NC the most desirable type of commitment? Do these findings suggest cultural effects? Practical management strategies to encourage commitment are suggested at the end of the study. Some limitations are noted and ideas for future research are also proposed.