Individual Competitiveness, Sense of Defeat, and Organizational Commitment: Comparisons Between Iranian and USA Employees

Abstract

Competition can result in improved productivity, but it can also result in feelings of defeat in those who lose the competition. According to Balconi and Vanutelli (2016), competition involving interpersonal interactions implies a process of social comparison. Competition may produce multiple effects directly related to self-perception and the social significance of the competition. The present study compared staff employees in universities in Iran and the USA (150 respondents in each country) to determine whether organizational commitment, competitiveness and feelings of defeat are associated. Iranian and American employees did not differ in their mean scores on organizational commitment, competitiveness or feelings of defeat. In both countries, those scoring higher for competitiveness had lower scores for feelings of defeat. However, while scores for organizational commitment and competitiveness were positively ass