رابطه بین رشد شغلی و تعهد سازمانی

This research examines the relationship between employees' career growth and organizational commitment. Career growth was conceptualized by four factors: career goal progress, professional ability development, promotion speed and remuneration growth, while organizational commitment was conceptualized using Meyer and Allen's (1997) three component model. Survey data, collected from 961 employees in 10 cities in the People's Republic of China, showed that the four dimensions of career growth were positively related to affective commitment, and that three of the facets were positively related to continuance and normative commitment. Only three of eighteen two-way interactions among the career growth factors affected organizational commitment, suggesting that the career growth factors influence commitment in an additive rather than a multiplicative manner.

The new economy has changed the way organizations are structured and managed (Arthur, Inkson, & Pringle, 1999). It has also modified employee–organization relationships (Coyle-Shapiro, Shore, Taylor, & Tetrick, 2004) and raised questions about how career development activities now fit into the exchange relations between employees and organizations. Gone are the days when one's career was tied to a single organization, as career change and job mobility have become common phenomena (Rousseau, 1998). These changes have influenced both individuals and organizations. Research has shown that career growth is one of the most important factors cited by students in their job choice decision (Hu, Weng, & Yang, 2008). Today, however, individuals seeking to gain personal career growth can do so across different organizations, if such opportunities are lacking within their current employer, making organizational commitment less salient to these individuals. Loss of such talent, on the other hand, is detrimental to organizations, so organizations strive to prevent such talent loss by developing a committed workforce. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between individuals' career growth and the organization's desire for a committed workforce. Bits and pieces of research suggest that career growth has a bearing on organizational commitment. Alvi and Ahmed (1987), in a study of 2000 Pakistani employees, found that employees who perceive high promotional opportunities in their organization have higher levels of organizational commitment. Personal development opportunity (Liu & Wang, 2001), promotion equity and training (Long, Fang, & Ling, 2002) and opportunity for learning (Ng, Butts, Vandenberg, DeJoy, & Wilson, 2006) have independently been shown to affect employees' commitment to their organizations. Such research suggests that, in general, the ability of employees to personally grow and develop within their places of employment affects their psychological attachment to employers. Moreover, this research suggests that organizations can influence employee commitment by recognizing and rewarding such growth. What is less clear are the specifics associated within this relationship. For example, organizational commitment is a multi-dimensional concept, so the question of which dimensions of commitment are affected by career growth remains. Moreover, career growth can also be viewed as a multi-dimensional construct. Weng and Hu (2009) suggest that career growth consists of meeting career goals, developing one's professional abilities and receiving promotions and compensation commensurate with those abilities. These aspects of career growth may differentially affect organizational commitment.

In order to establish the validity of operationalizing career growth as a four component model, confirmatory factor analysis was used to compare the fitness of the one-dimensional model (all items share the same factor), two-dimensional model (career goal progress and professional ability development share a factor, and promotion speed and remuneration growth share another factor), three-dimensional model (promotion speed and remuneration growth share a factor) and four-dimensional model. The results show that the fitness of the four-dimensional model is the best (Chi-Squares/df = 1.505, GFI = .93, AGFI = .91, RMSEA = .064, NNFI = .97, CFI = .98). Similarly, confirmatory factor analysis was used to assess the validity of operationalizing organizational commitment as a three component model. Following Chen and Francesco, 2003 and Lee et al., 2000, the fitness of the one-dimensional model (all items share the same factor), two-dimensional model (affective and normative commitment share a factor), three-dimensional and four-dimensional model (continuous commitment being divided into two factors) were assessed. Results showed that the three-dimensional model was the best fit (Chi-Squares/df = 2.16, GFI = .89, AGFI = .85, RMSEA = .071, NNFI = .95, CFI = .96)