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Are cultural values associated with organizational and union commitment and citizenship behavior? A study of Chinese manufacturing workers

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Abstract

This paper examines the association between individual-level cultural values and employees’ commitment to, and citizenship behaviors towards, their employing organization and union. Based on a study of Chinese manufacturing workers, several significant findings emerged, most notably that workers distinguished clearly between the organization and union as foci for commitment and that horizontal, but not vertical, collectivism was positively associated with union commitment and union citizenship behavior. Our results suggest the need to differentiate between horizontal and vertical collectivism when considering the effects of cultural values on attitudes towards unions and collective action.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Management & Marketing, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, People’s Republic of China

    Andy W. Chan

  2. Department of Management, Hong Kong Baptist University, Kowloon, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, People’s Republic of China

    Ed Snape

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  1. Andy W. Chan
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  2. Ed Snape
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Correspondence to Andy W. Chan.

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We thank the Hong Kong Polytechnic University for financial support under a Central Research Grant (project code A-PG34).

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Chan, A.W., Snape, E. Are cultural values associated with organizational and union commitment and citizenship behavior? A study of Chinese manufacturing workers. Asia Pac J Manag 30, 169–190 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10490-012-9323-7

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