The impact of workgroup commitment on organizational citizenship behaviour, absenteeism and turnover intention: the case of Germany and China

In Western cultures, high correlations have been found between commitment, turnover and performance. While most studies only consider organizational commitment, this study compares the influence of commitment to the workgroup on relevant outcomes (organizational citizenship behaviour, absenteeism, turnover intention) in different cultural contexts. Data were collected from German and Chinese employees. As expected, results indicate that workgroup commitment is more predictive in a collectivistic than in an individualistic context. Moreover, the relationships between components and foci of commitment were stronger in a collectivistic context. The results are discussed in the light of cross-cultural human resources management issues.