The association between training and organizational commitment among white‐collar workers in Malaysia

Abstract

The exploration of the relationship between organizational commitment and training is still in its early stages. Although there have been several studies reported on training and organizational commitment in Western countries, very little has been done in respect of the local professionals in Malaysia. This research investigates the association between five training variables (availability of training, support for training, motivation to learn, training environment and perceived benefits of training), and various aspects of organizational commitment (affective commitment, normative commitment, continuance commitment and overall organizational commitment). The availability of training, support for training, motivation to learn, training environment, perceived benefits of training were all significantly correlated with affective commitment, normative commitment and overall organizational commitment. The training environment and perceived benefits were also significantly correlated with continuance commitment. However the availability of training, support for training and motivation to learn were not significantly correlated with continuance commitment. This suggests that despite other forms of commitment, Malaysian workers do not feel that they need to remain in an organization that has made available the training, given support for the training and were motivated to learn. Otherwise, results suggest that on the whole, training does seem to have an influence on organizational commitment. The practical implication of this is that managers, who are so desirous of enhancing organizational commitment among their subordinates, should pay more attention to training.Annual income was found to correlate positively with affective commitment and overall commitment. Age and tenure were not significant predictors of overall organizational commitment contradicting studies in the West. This demonstrated that Malaysians might have different attitudes towards organizational commitment. The older they are and the longer they stay within an organization do not imply that they will be committed towards their organization. This phenomenon can be attributed to the uncertain business environment in Malaysia.