The effects of organisational commitment and employee perceptions of equity on organisational citizenship behaviour in Zimbabwean SMEs

Abstract

Organisational commitment and organisational citizenship behaviour have been extensively researched from the perspective of antecedents and outcomes. Literature shows that employee perceptions of equity relationships in organsations have been less extensively chronicled in research, especially in respect of organisational commitment and organisational citizenship behaviour, within a Zimbabwean context. The objective of the study was to explore the relationship between organisational commitment, employee perceptions of equity and organisational citizenship behaviours among employees of small and medium enterprises in Zimbabwe. The research design is located within a quantitative research paradigm, undertaken through a cross-sectional, non-probabilty covenience sample (n=464). Descriptive statistics, correlations and hierarchical multiple regression analysis were used to evaluate the data. The results showed that perceptions of equity, organisational commitment and organisational citizenship behaviour are low among employees in the Zimbabwean small and medium enterprise sector. The correlation analysis exhibits strong positive linear relationship between the constructs. Further, the results of the multiple regression analysis show that employee perceptions of equity and organisational commitment are strong predictors of organisational citizenship behaviour. The findings of the study will benefit owners/managers of SMEs and government entities in improving their understanding of the issues of equity and organisational commitment effects on organisational citizenship behaviour within the Zimbabwean context.