Date of Award

2024

Degree Name

Business Administration

College

Elizabeth McDowell Lewis College of Business

Type of Degree

D.B.A.

Document Type

Dissertation

First Advisor

Dr. Ralph E. McKinney, Jr., Committee Chairperson

Second Advisor

Dr. Kevin Knotts

Third Advisor

Ms. Susan Lavenski

Fourth Advisor

Dr. Doohee Lee

Abstract

This study explores how organizational commitment is associated with employee satisfaction regarding the human resource management (HRM) practices of training/development and compensation. Drawing on Affective Events Theory (AET), this research also examines the role of past temporal focus as a moderating variable of the proposed relationships. During times of historically low unemployment rates below 4% in the United States (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2024), organizations face major challenges in hiring and retaining employees to fill existing job vacancies (Conklin, 2022). Overall organizational stability (i.e., productivity and financial capabilities) is maintained when skilled employees are successfully recruited and trained as employees of the organization (Faloye, 2014). However, tens of millions of workers in the U.S resigned from their jobs as part of the “Great Resignation” seeking better working conditions, higher wages, and improved career prospects (Iacurci, 2023; Kaplan, 2021). Meanwhile, the labor force participation rate of 62.5 percent (Statista, 2024) remains “persistently low” (Hornstein et al., 2023). This study uses a cross-sectional survey design to assess how HRM functions (training/development and compensation) are associated with affective commitment and continuance commitment. The survey was created in Qualtrics and distributed via Prolific. For this study, it is predicted that employee satisfaction with training programs and compensation policies is positively associated with higher levels of affective commitment and continuance commitment. The analysis also assesses whether the individual’s past temporal focus moderates the relationships between HRM practices and organizational commitment. The four hypotheses regarding direct relationships between satisfaction with HRM practices and organizational commitment were supported. Also, the moderating variable (past temporal focus) significantly weakened the relationship between compensation satisfaction and affective commitment. Post hoc analysis was conducted using the control variables of age, education, and tenure. Overall, the results of this study offer practical direction for utilizing HRM strategies to improve organizational commitment, while also increasing understanding of the potential role of certain aspects of the individual’s disposition (i.e., temporal focus). Interpretations of this study’s findings, in relation to HRM and employee engagement literature, are presented. Managerial implications and suggestions for future research are also provided.

Subject(s)

Management.

Employee fringe benefits.

Wages.

Organizational commitment.

Employees -- Training of.

Labor supply.

Employee loyalty.

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