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INTERDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY RESEARCH IN BUSINESS
COPY RIGHT © 2014 Institute of Interdisciplinary Business Research 118
FEBRUARY 2014
VOL 5, NO 10
THE ROLE OF ORGANIZATIONAL VIRTUOUSNESS
ON THE ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT OF EMPLOYEES
(CASE STUDY: ISLAMIC AZAD UNIVERSITY)
Sedighe Haji Abedi,
Department of Public Administration, yazdscienec and Research Branch, Islamic Azad
University, Yazd, Iran.
Hoseyn Eslami
Faculty member of Islamic Azad University Meybod
Nahid Amrolahi
Abstract
The organizational virtuousness is almost neglected in organizational literature and out of the
focus of practitioners‟ attention. In the other hand, organizational commitment is one of the most
noteworthy issues in managerial researches. To do so this research will investigate the relation
between these two variables in Islamic Azad University. To answer the questions of the research,
we use questionnaires. The results of the research showed that both designed questionnaires
about organizational virtuousness and Organizational Commitment which were taken from Rego
and Alen Meyer's models got an acceptable supported confirm. The results of investigating
relation between variables of the research show that except normative commitment there is a
positive and meaningful correlation between other variables. Moreover, in the estimated
regression model only integrity variable coefficient was estimated meaningful.
Keyword: Organizational Commitment, Normative commitment, Ongoing commitment ,
Affective commitment, Organizational Virtuousness
Introduction
Organizational virtuousness has not received increasing attention in the organizational settings
and there is no growing literature on this topic (arminrgoet al 2011 ). However, some of the
researchers believe that the organizational virtuousness includes the dimensions of the
organizational structures, including the good habits, hopes and some operations such as
compassion, integrity, forgiveness and trust at both the individual and social levels (Cameron et
al, 2004; Bright et al, 2006). Due to the shocks resulted from the financial and ethical crisis at the
global level; the commercial media and the society propose that the organizational virtuousness
at the individual and organizational levels will improve the individual performance and will
increase the organizational efficiency. (Cameron, 2010, George, 2003, Wright and Gudastin,….)
argue that conducting studies about this topic is considered the same as revitalizing the tradition
of forgiveness and virtuousness of the management. Based on Cameron (2003), virtuousness is
tied to what is good to and for the human beings. Therefore, omitting virtuousness from
scientific investigation leaves a void in perceiving the full range of organizational phenomena.
According to Vey (2004), developing and employing organizational virtuousness represent the
hopeful results in the relationship between the performance and the organizational virtuousness.
Many studies about the social capital of the organizations are common in the literature. Knack
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and Keefer (1997) showed that reinforcing trust and social capital result in the improvement of
the job performance and economic growth of the organization. Leana and Van Buren (1999)
found that the social capital provides the chance to describe and legalize the common goals.
Senge (1999) believed that serious relationships within an organization lead to essential effects
on the virtue developments. He also argued that group learning is the process of increasing group
capacities to achieve those results which the members are seeking.
Mashayekhi (2005) suggested that learning is not a function reserved for the management group;
however, the behaviors which define the learning and those behaviors that identify the
productivity are found to be equal. Learning is the main part of the productivity operations.
Simply stated, learning is a new form of operations (Markvart, 2006).
Theoretical Background
Organizational Virtuousness
Virtuousness is a termed used to show the ability or excellence. The virtuous is the manifestation
of the habits, desires and affairs that produce social and personal good (Aristotle, 1999,Cameron,
2003 ،gori,2007). In addition, the moral philosopher and the religious thinkers evaluate the
virtuousness as the main specification (Peterson and Silgman, 2004). Recently, the virtuousness
has been known as the best human characteristic, honorable behavior, human excellence and the
best human aspirations. There are growing literatures about this topic in psychology settings
(viner1993). Based on Adam Smith and George Smile (1950), the virtuousness flourishes based
on the basics of the societies and economies, because the virtuousness is the synonym of the
nature of the ethical regulations which produce social coordination (okselan 1999(. The
virtuousness is associated with the correct element of good citizen (White, 1980), mutual
operation (simel,1950) and stability (Smith, 1976) which requires the life of the society
(Cameron et al, 2004).
The ethical issues might be either considered or ignored. The virtuousnessis one of the main
approaches of business ethics, but it is not a utilitarian approach. There are two specific
dimensions and characteristics in the virtuousness which make it differentce. These dimensions
are the ability in capturing the feelings and paying attention to the individual satisfaction. This
theory rejects those decisions that are made only based on the calculations and logics (Hartman,
1998; Stark, 1993).
The most important dimension of virtue used in the literature is the trust which includes the true
judgment such as reliability and honesty. The level of employees‟ awareness about trust might
impact their organizational trust (Maguir and &Phillips, 2008).
Until recently, the organizational
virtuousness has not been much considered by the organizations and the managers ignored its
significance when confronting with financial and competitive pressures (Manz et al, 2008). The
organizational virtuousness directs individuals to become better citizens, more responsible and
civilized and helps them in having better work ethics (Seligman, 2000).
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Virtuousness has at least five characteristics emerging in an organization (Cameron, 2003):
1. Virtuousness fosters the feeling of goodness and respect of the human.
2. Virtuousness is experienced in terms of emotional, cognitive and behavioral dimensions.
3. Virtuousness creates cooperation and balance in the communications.
4. Virtuousness positively reinforces the deviations.
5. Virtuousness provides mediating services and fosters the flexibility.
Organizational Commitment
Organizational commitment is a significant topic in terms of the job and organizational
dimensions which has been much debated by many of the scholars of organizational behavior
and psychology. This attitude has changed a lot over three decades ago and the most significant
change is associated with the multidimensional attitude to this concept.The organizational
learning is strongly associated with the innovative performance of the productions and includes
the achievement, dissemination and application of the knowledge (Fernandez Mesa, 2012). The
competitive advantage derives from the innovation, creativity and entrepreneur energies of the
individuals. The organizational learning is about the way an organization learns and adapts.
Through the organizational learning, the organizations learn how to improve or change the
existing technology so that the achievement of the competitive advantage facilitates. Failure in
learnings from the change might lead to an inability to remain (Mat CheRezak, 2011).
The existing knowledge about the human resource is a factor for the organizational success and
competitive advantage (Bhatnagar, 2006). Snell et al (1996) concluded that when the employees
possess the knowledge and the ability required by the organization and when they are motivated
to use them, then they might help in learning (Lopez et al, 2005). Job satisfaction is another
effective factor in the organizational success (Allameh et al, 2010). In addition, the individual‟s
success is closely associated with the organizational success (Stumpf, 2009). Working
compensation and job satisfaction increase the performance and productivity (Allameh et al,
2010). The prior studies have shown that the job satisfaction is determined through
organizational culture and structure.
Methodology
Most of the sciences seek to understand the whole dimensions and perceive the surrounding
globe. To become aware of the issues and problems of the social globe, the scientific methods
have changed significantly. These trends and movements caused the application of the scientific
methods for investigating different humanities disciplines. Using an appropriate research method
is one of the characteristics of a scientific study which aims to uncover the realities. Selecting the
appropriate methodology depends on the objectives, nature, subject and executive facilities. The
studies intend to find easy responds to the questions. The present study is an applied study using
descriptive surveys to collect the data.
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Research Model
The research model in chart 1 intends to examine the relationship between the dimensions of the
organizational virtuousness and job commitment of the employees of the Islamic Azad
University of Yazd. The present study investigates the following items:
1. Describing the organizational commitment model of the employees of the Islamic Azad
University of Yazd
2. Describing the organizational virtuousness model of the employees of the Islamic Azad
University of Yazd
3. Investigating the relationship between the dimensions of organizational virtuousness and working
commitment of the employees of the Islamic Azad University of Yazd.
Data Collection Method
DataCollection, Validity and Reliability
The research data are gathered by using the library method and field studies. To collect the data
about the goodness of the model, a questionnaire has been employed. To measure the
organizational commitment, the model of Allen and Meyer is used which is composed of 24
questions developed in terms of three dimensions of affective, continuance and normative
commitments. To measure the organizational virtuousness, the model of rego et al (2011) has
been used. This model is composed of five dimensions, including optimism, trust, compassion,
integrity and forgiveness. The items of the questionnaire are measured by five-point Likert
scale.
The questionnaire has been designed based on the feedbacks of the experts. Therefore, the
questionnaire is found to have an acceptable content validity. In addition to the content validity,
the confirmatory factor analysis has been also examined. The reliability of the questionnaire of
the organizational virtuousness and commitment is estimated by the coefficient of Chronbach‟s
alpha.
Organizational
Excellence
Optimism
Compassion
Trust
Integrity
Forgiveness
Organizational
Commitment
Emotional
commitment
Continuous commitment
Normative
commitment
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Population and Sample
The population of the study constitutes of the employees of the Islamic Azad University of Yazd.
The population composed of 280 employees and the sample is determined to be constituted of
162 individuals. As a result, 180 questionnaires were distributed among the employees and 158
of them were returned back.
Figure 2. Results of confirmatory factor analysis of organizational virtuousness (standard
coefficients and t statistics)
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Findings
The research questionnaire is designed based on the literature review and the standard
questionnaires. To ensure that the factor structure fits the collected data, it is necessary to
conduct confirmatory factor analysis by using LISREL software. The results of the confirmatory
factor analysis are represented in terms of the factor loadings of the indexes and t-values of both
models of organizational commitment and virtuousness.
Figure 3: Results of confirmatory factor analysis model of organizational commitment
(standardized coefficients and statistical )
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Table1: Standard deviation, andmeancross-correlationvariables
Integrity Compassion Trust Optimism Norm Continues Emotional SD M varible
- .706 3.5868 Emotional
- .290** .557 3.2079 Continues
- .355** .633** .765 3.3297 Norm
- .602** .158 .437** .812 3.4751 Optimism
- .378** .293** -.011 .224** 1.407 3.6045 Trust
- .454** .622** .466** .089 .418** .915 3.3669 Compassion
- .606** .432** .557** .556** .136 .476** .779 2.8709 Integrity
.562** .644** .361** .631** .452** .133 .452** .905 3.3722 Forgiveness
**. P < 0.01 The results of the confirmatory factor analysis confirm the fitness of the collected data in both of
the research models. The results of analyzing the conceptual model are provided. Table 1 shows
the standard deviation, mean and correlation of the variables.
The results shown in table1, confirm that the score of “integrity” is lower than the average level.
Generally, the average scores of the organizational commitment and virtuousness in the Islamic
Azad University of Yazd indicate that these variables are satisfactory.
On the other hand, the findings reveal that the affective and normative commitments are
significantly correlated with the total dimensions of the organizational virtuousness at the 99
percent level of significance. However, it is found that the continuance commitment is not
significantly correlated with any of the dimensions of the organizational virtuousness. By
examining the relationship between the dimensions of the organizational commitment, it is
interpreted that these three dimensions are significantly associated. This relationship holds for
the dimensions of the organizational virtuousness. The correlation coefficients indicate that the
highest correlation is attributed to the forgiveness and compassion.
Based on the findings of table 1 and the correlations between the research variables, the
conceptual model of the research is analyzed by LISREL software to identify the direct and
indirect effects. Figures 4 and 5 represent the final model which indicates the relationship
between the variables based on the theoretical framework.
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Figure 4: Standardized coefficients in the structural model.
Figure 5: t-statisticsand significant relationships in the structural model.
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The results (Figure 4 and 5 ) suggests that the model fitness indices were with in acceptable
ranges. Fitness parameters of the final model inTable 2 is presented.The results obtained can be
compared with the range of acceptable acknowledged all fitness parameters in the model were
acceptable range and therefore the model is confirmed.
Table 2: The parameters of the model fitness
FitIndex df
2 SRMR RMSEA GFI AGFI NFI NNFI CFI
Acceptable
range 5 05.0 1.0 9.0 9.0 9.0 9.0 9.0
results 0.404 0.000 0.000 1 0.99 0.99 0.99 1
Structural models of the relationship between organizational excellence and commitment
dimensions were determined.
Table 3: Results of hierarchical regression
Model
Unstandardized
Coefficients
Standardized
Coefficients
t Sig.
Collinearity
Statistics R
Square
Durbin
-
Watso
n B
Std.
Error Beta
Tolerance VIF
1 (Constant) 2.164 .175
12.33
8 .000
.275
2.207
Optimism .347 .049 .525 7.053 .000 1.000 1.000
2 (Constant) 1.934 .177
10.92
0 .000
.350 Optimism .226 .056 .341 4.010 .000 .690 1.450
Integrity .227 .059 .329 3.861 .000 .690 1.450
a. Dependent Variable:
Commitment
Conclusion
The present study aims to examine the relationship between the dimensions of the organizational
virtuousness and organizational commitment of the employees of the Islamic Azad University of
Yazd. The results of the confirmatory factor analysis of the models of organizational
commitment and virtuousness reveal that both of the models have acceptable confirmatory
validity. The averages of the variables showed that all variables, except for the integrity
dimension, have scores higher than average. Among the research variables, “integrity “
dimension of the organizational virtuousness and affective commitment has the highest score.
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This finding confirms that there is a good trust between the organizational personnel of the
higher education institutes in terms of the working environment. After investigating the position
of the research variables, their correlation has been analyzed. The results reveal that the
normative and the affective commitments and optimism, compassion, integrity and forgiveness
are positively correlated. The highest correlation is attributed to the normative commitment and
compassion. By investigating the relationship between the dimensions of the organizational
commitment, it is found that these three dimensions are significantly associated. This
relationship holds true for the dimensions of the organizational virtuousness. The correlation
coefficients of the organizational virtuousness indicate that the highest correlation is for the
forgiveness and compassion. The results represent that, except for the affective commitment, the
other variables have significant positive correlations. Finally, LISREL software is used to
respond to the questions. The results of the goodness of the fit indicate that the following
coefficients are significant.
Table4. Results of path analysis Path Path coefficient statisticT
Optimism-normative 0.37 5.02
Integrity -normative 0.34 4.38 Integrity - affective 0.32 3.61
Forgiveness -
normative 0.25 2.96
These findings reveal that the highest path coefficient is the path of optimism-normative. The
other proposed paths of the conceptual model are found to be insignificant. It shows that there
are positive correlations between the research variables which are resulted from the indirect
effects of the variables. Paying special attention to the religion, ethics and the dimensions of the
organizational virtuousness for appointing the responsibilities will reinforce the social
commitments.
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