Understanding Organisational Commitment Through Perceived Value Fit - A Case Study of Chinese Employees in a Foreign MNC

Thumbnail Image

URL

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

School of Business | Master's thesis

Authors

Date

2019

Department

Johtamisen laitos

Major/Subject

Mcode

Degree programme

Management and International Business (MIB)

Language

en

Pages

87 + 2

Series

Abstract

High employee turnover rates have been a problem in China over the last decade. To understand the commitment behaviour of Chinese employees, more research has been conducted on organisational commitment and person-organisation fit in China during the 2010’s. There is a need for nation specific research, since it has been found that the cultural and national context have a large impact on the factors that impact employees’ organisational commitment. The aim of this study is to research Chinese employees’ perception of the fit between their own values and the values of their employer, and how they view the impact of value fit on their commitment. Value congruence has been found to affect organisational commitment, but the effect process is somewhat unclear. The topic has not been researched very much in China previously, and the focus of this thesis on the individual employees’ perceptions of the value fit and commitment provides deeper insight into the topic. This single-case study was conducted at the Chinese subsidiary of a Finland-based multinational company. It is a part of larger project led by Dr. Wei Lu on English proficiency, person-environment fit and organisational commitment in multinational corporations. The data was collected through 16 semi-structured interviews with employees, complemented with a review of written company materials. The data analysis was done by qualitative coding methods and thematic analysis, followed by a comparison to existing literature to connect the discovered patterns to broader concepts. The main findings of the study were that the enacted values of the company were much more important for employees’ perceived value fit and feelings of commitment than the espoused values. What mattered most, was that the company’s daily practices and treatment of the employees matched the employees’ personal values. According to the findings, discussing company values through the lens of daily work and workplace practices was easier for interviewees and provided better information in comparison to talking about the espoused company values. The findings also support previous research of the importance of personal relationships with colleagues and support from the supervisor. Additionally, opportunities for career development emerged as an important factor for organisational commitment and turnover intentions. The results suggest that companies should pay attention to the match between their values and practices, as well as to the values their employees hold important. Enacting values through operations and collecting feedback from employees should help create a better value fit, which can lead to increased organisational commitment.

Description

Thesis advisor

Lu, Wei

Keywords

organisational commitment, values, value congruence, perceived fit, person-organisation fit, Chinese subsidiary

Other note

Citation

Permanent link to this item

https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:aalto-201905263199

Collections

[gradu] Kauppakorkeakoulu / BIZ