Organizational rewards and employee commitment: a Chinese study

Purpose The purpose of this study is to assess how the cultural value orientations of individual employees moderate their attitudinal responses to different categories of organizational rewards. Specifically, it seeks to examine how one dimension of traditionality, respect for authority, moderates the relationship between affective organizational commitment and three variables: pay satisfaction, autonomy and satisfaction with supervision. Design/methodology/approach Hierarchical regression analysis was utilized to analyze survey data obtained from a sample of 290 employees of a major Chinese airline company. Findings Employees high in traditionality were found to exhibit higher levels of affective commitment when autonomy and satisfaction with supervision was low. When autonomy and satisfaction with supervision was high employees low in traditionality exhibited higher levels of emotional attachment to the organization. Research limitations/implications The cross‐sectional design is an obvious limitation of the study. Another limitation relates to the generalizability of the study findings outside the context in which the research was undertaken. Social implications Organizations should consider taking the cultural orientations of their workforce into account when developing appropriate human resource policies aimed at heightening employee commitment. This should enhance employee well‐being, which is especially important in a global economy characterized by uncertainty and rapid change. Originality/value This is the first study to examine how employees with different cultural value orientations respond to different categories of organizational rewards, in a predominantly traditional society.