High-involvement work processes and organizational commitment of female faculty in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

ABSTRACTObjective—The purpose of the present paper is to examine the role of gender as a potential determinant of high-involvement work processes (HIWP) and organizational commitment (OC) in higher education institutions in Saudi Arabia. The study further examines the relationship between the female faculty’s involvement in work processes and organizational commitment. Although HIWP is associated with the employee’s attachment to the work activities, OC deals more with the employee’s identification with the whole organization. Design/methodology/approach—The present paper used a structured survey questionnaire approach developed by the researchers. The sample was randomly selected and consisted of 135 female faculty members with a response rate 100%. Results—The results indicate that nearly half the participants (48.6%) are reported to have a limited level of involvement in the overall high-involvement work processes. Of the four categories of involvement, power was the most wide-spread practice. The results also indicate that the majority of the participants (71.9%) are reported to have a high level of commitment in the overall organizational commitment. Overall, the results show that the overall high involvement work processes is highly correlated with the overall organizational commitment. Among the high-involvement work processes’ dimensions, the highest correlation was found in knowledge sharing. On the other hand, among the three major components of organizational commitment, the highest correlation was found in continuous commitment. Practical implications—Understanding female’s perceptions of high-involvement work processes and commitment can help university administration to work more efficiently to further support involvement policies and practices among female faculty members.