An Investigation of the Relationships between Affective Organisational Commitment and National Differences in Positivity and Life Satisfaction

This research examined relationships between nation-level differences in cultural positivity and life satisfaction, and individual affective organisational commitment among employees in a large multinational sample consisting of 30 nations. Hierarchical Linear Modeling was used to take into account the multilevel structure of the data. As hypothesised, cultural positivity and life satisfaction significantly predicted affective organisational commitment, after controlling for job satisfaction and job role (blue-collar workers, white-collar workers, or management) at the individual level, as well as acquiescence, human development and classical value dimensions at the national level. Both life satisfaction and cultural positivity showed incremental relationships with affective organisational commitment when tested together in the same model. By investigating the importance of affective variables as a predictor of job attitudes, this research contributes to our knowledge of cultural universals and particulars in human behavior (cf. Kagitcibasi & Poortinga, 2000; Triandis, 1994). From a managerial point of view, cultural differences in affectivity appear to require attention when interpreting the results of organisational commitment measures administered in multinational contexts.