The Impact of Individual Collectivism on Commitment and Its Influence on Organizational Citizenship Behaviour and Turnover in Three Countries

Increasing globalization and rising markets in Eastern Europe and Asia have led to a growing interest in issues of cross cultural management. In western culture, high correlations have been found between leadership, commitment, turnover and performance. In this study we examined the influence of cultural differences on employees' commitment and its impact on relevant outcomes at the individual and the country level. Collectivism was directly measured at the individual level. Organizational citizenship behaviour (OCB) and turnover intention were examined as consequences of commitment. Data were collected in Germany, Romania and China. As expected, results indicate that collectivism as a cultural value orientation is related to commitment, and exerts a stronger influence on commitment in collectivistic countries. Moreover, the relationships between commitment and outcomes are stronger in a collectivistic context.