The Impacts of Empowerment on Organizational Commitment under a Changing Environment - Examining the Moderating Effects of Locus of Control and Perceived Psychological Contract Breach

Abstract

In a changing environment, employee commitment to any organization is easily disrupted. The major purpose of this research is to establish a framework that explains how to use empowerment to strengthen employee commitment to an organization and examine the moderating effects of locus of control and perceived psychological contract breach under changing conditions. A questionnaire survey of 213 employees at three of Taiwan's state-owned enterprises under privatization or reorganization was conducted. The hypotheses test results support the significant influence of empowerment has on employee organizational commitment. The results show that empowerment perceived by employees that have external locus of control has a more significant positive impact on organizational commitment. The results also reveal that empowerment perceived by employees who perceived higher psychological contract breach has a more significant positive impact on organizational commitment. The academy and management contribution and implications of this study are discussed and some suggestions for future research are recommended.