Organizational Commitment and

Intention to Leave:
Special Reference to Technical Officers in the
Construction Industry - Colombo ,Sri Lanka

M S M Uzair
215444387
The Open University of Sri Lanka
Commonwealth Executive MBA / MPA Programme

Supervised by Dr. H D D Champika

Senior Lecturer,OUSL
1. Introduction
2. Research Question
3. Research Objectives
4. Significance of the Study
5. Literature Review
6. Conceptual Framework
7. Hypothesis
8. Methodology
9. Data Collection, Analysis & Presentation etc.
10. Key Conclusions, Recommendations, Areas of
further research and limitation encountered
 Background

 Recent behavior of the construction Industry

experiences serious problem due to the frequent
Employee Turnover in Sri Lanka.

 One of the major challenges faced by the Human

Resource Managers in the Sri Lankan
Construction Industry to attach the Technical
Officers for their significant period of retention in
the Industry.
 To understand the behavior of the Technical
officers in the area of Human Resource
Management practices,Organisational Commitment
factors against the Intention to leave
considerations have been tested.
Whether there is a significant relationship
between organizational commitment and
turnover intention among technical officers in
the Construction Companies based in
Colombo, Sri Lanka?
 To find out the association between affective
commitment and turnover intention and to what
extend the relationship exist between those variable
among technical officers of Construction Companies
in Colombo.

 To find out the association between continuance

commitment and turnover intention and to what
extend the relationship exist between those variable
among technical officers of Construction Companies
in Colombo.
 To find out the association between normative
commitment and turnover intention and to what
extend the relationship exist between those variable
among technical officers of Construction Companies
in Colombo.

 To find out the levels of organizational commitment

against the turn over intention with the personality
traits among technical officers of Construction
Companies in Colombo.
 The growing competition in the Construction industry, the
development, and retention of talents has become a critical
issue for the industry (Wang, Lee and Chih Ho, 2012).
 The attraction and retention of expanded talent pools or the
appointment of the most suitable candidate with most
appropriate set of skill, knowledge, attitude and competence
is a major issue for the competitive environment in terms of
organizational performance.
 Considerable attention has been given for examining the
relationships between employee commitment to the
organization and turnover intention in this study.
 Turnover and related variables such as turnover
intention, intention to leave, and intention to search
for alternative jobs have been the stimulating factor of
organisational commitment research (Allen & Meyer).
 Motivation and commitment also have a bearing on
turnover. If there is a positive exchange in the
organization, employees should be experience it.
Then only they tend to be committed and motivated;
work force is negatively related to turnover (Meyer
and Allen)……Etc.
 Dependent Variable
Independent Variables
 H1a: Affective commitment negatively impact
on employee turnover intention.
 H1b:Continuance commitment is negatively
impact on turnover intention.
 H1c: Normative commitment negatively
impact on turnover intention.
 H1d: Organizational commitment negatively
impact on turnover intention
Primary Data
 Target population in the study is direct
employees which includes nearly about 500
technical officers of the organizations.

 From the population, employees have been

selected by using simple random sampling
method as the sample for the research.

 Therefore the target population selected

convenience for the researcher comprised
technical officers of Construction Companies in
which Selected employees are from the sites in
Colombo and Suburbs.
 Specific Technical Officers were solicited to
participate in the study. Thus, one hundred
and fifty (150) questionnaires were
administered of which one hundred and
fourteen (114) questionnaires were returned,
yielding a 76% response rate.
 The questionnaire consists with three parts.

 Part one is to collect the data about respondents’

demographic information including age category,
Tenure, Gender and the Educational level etc.

 Second part of the questionnaire is to measure the

Turnover intention with Organizational Commitment
questions. Each commitment has eight questions and
all three consisted twenty four questions.

 The last part of the questionnaire is to measure the

Organizational Commitment with four questions.
A self-developed close ended questionnaire was used to
collect the data, consists of 28 questions with the
following variables :
Respondents were asked to mark their responses on each
item using five point Likert scales rating from strongly
disagree to strongly agree. (1-5)

Variables Variable Type Questions

Affective Independent
08
Commitment Variable
Continuance Independent
08
Commitment Variable
Normative Independent
08
Commitment Variable
Intention to Dependent
04
Leave Variable
Variables Alpha Questions

Affective Commitment 0.698 08

Continuance Commitment 0.709 08
Normative Commitment 0.768 08

Intention to Leave 0.714 04

Cronbach’s coefficients of reliability in our

investigation were acceptable and
ranged from 0.62 to 0.85, reported reliability in
Stallworth’s (2004) investigation (USA)
Sample Characteristics
The distribution of gender
Frequency Percent Cumulative
Percent

Male 99 86.8 86.8

Female 15 13.2 100

Valid Total 114 100

The distribution of marital status

Frequency Percent Cumulative
Percent

Single 83 72.8 72.8

Married 31 27.2 100

Valid Total 114 100

The distribution of age

Cumulative
Frequency Percent
Percent

20-29 86 75.4 75.4

30-39 17 14.9 90.4
40-49 11 9.6 100
Valid Total 114 100

The distribution of job status

Cumulative
Frequency Percent
Percent

Permanent 40 35.1 35.1

Contract 51 44.7 79.8

Other 23 20.2 100

Valid Total 114 100

The distribution of years of service -Working Experiences in years

Cumulative
Frequency Percent Percent

3 AND BELOW 69 60.5 60.5

4-8 32 28.1 88.6
9-15 10 8.8 97.4
Valid 16-20 2 1.8 99.1
21-ABOVE 1 0.9 100.0
Total 114 100.0

The distribution of years attached with Current Organization

Cumulative
Frequency Percent Percent
3 and below 95 83.3 83.3
4-8 14 12.3 95.6
9-15 2 1.8 97.4
Valid
16-20 2 1.8 99.1
21-above 1 0.9 100.0
Total 114 100.0
The distribution of highest Educational Qualification

Frequency Percent Cumulative Percent

Higher School 9 7.9 7.9

Certificate 20 17.5 25.4

Diploma 30 26.3 51.8

Valid
Higher National
36 31.6 83.3
Diploma

OTHER 19 16.7 100.0

Correlation Analysis
Affective Continuance Normative Organizational
Commitment Commitment Commitment Commitment

Correlation
Coefficient 0.267** 0.043 0.107 0.172
Age
Sig. (2-tailed) 0.004 0.648 0.259 0.067
N 114 114 114 114
Correlation
Coefficient 0.136 0.051 0.136 0.13
Working
Experiences in
Sig. (2-tailed) 0.149 0.594 0.15 0.167
years
N 114 114 114 114
Correlation
Coefficient 0.07 -0.043 0.031 0.015
Years attached with
Current Sig. (2-tailed) 0.456 0.648 0.746 0.874
Organization
N 114 114 114 114
**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).
*. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).
Correlation Analysis…
Affective Continuance Normative Organizational
Commitment Commitment Commitment Commitment

Correlation
Coefficient -0.032 0.067 -0.036 -0.037
Educational
Qualification
Sig. (2-tailed) 0.734 0.478 0.706 0.693
N 114 114 114 114

Correlation
Coefficient -0.222* -0.057 -0.09 -0.155
Job status
Sig. (2-tailed) 0.018 0.547 0.341 0.101
N 114 114 114 114

Correlation
Coefficient 0.197* 0.024 0.108 0.134
Marital Status
Sig. (2-tailed) 0.036 0.802 0.255 0.156
N 114 114 114 114
**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).
*. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).
The results revealed that Job Status is not significantly
correlated with general organizational commitment,
continuance and normative commitment ( p>0.01) .

Only Affective Commitment was significantly

negatively related to the Job Status ( p< 0.05)
(r=-0.22) which indicates that Permanent Employees
are committed than the Casual Workers.

Affective Commitment was significantly positively

related to the Age and Marital Status which shows
Married and elder Officers have more Organizational
Commitment.
Influence on Gender Differences in
organizational commitment
Men Women
F p
Mean SD Mean SD
Organizational
3.19 0.43 3.21 0.35 1.82 0.18
Commitment
Affective
3.34 0.53 3.25 0.43 0.66 0.42
Commitment
Continuance
3.04 0.54 3.19 0.55 0.06 0.81
Commitment
Normative
3.18 0.49 3.19 0.43 0.1 0.75
Commitment
Intention to Leave 3.12 0.54 3.05 0.6 0 0.95

One-way ANOVA has showed NO

main effects in gender differences.
 Std.
Educational Qualification N Mean
Deviation
Higher 9 3.49 0.28
School
Certificate 20 3.09 0.46
Organizational Commitment /NVQ
Diploma 30 3.14 0.40

HND 36 3.19 0.43

OTHER 19 3.23 0.37
Total 114
Those who committed were those subjects who
had Higher School educational Qualification
(mean=3.49, SD=0.28), lowest organizational
commitment had employees with basic NVQ
Certificate level education
Organizational Commitment with the respondent’s Educational Background
INFERENTIAL ANALYSIS Correlation between Independent and
Dependent Variable

Affective Continuance Normative Intention to Organizational

Commitment Commitment Commitment Leave Commitment

Pearson
Affective Correlation 1 0.413** 0.598** -0.419 0.830**
Commitment Sig.
(2-tailed) 0 0 0 0
N 114 114 114 114 114

Pearson
Continuance Correlation 0.413** 1 0.378** -0.349 0.769**
Commitment Sig.
(2-tailed) 0 0 0 0
N 114 114 114 114 114

Pearson
Normative
Commitment Correlation 0.598** 0.378** 1 -0.299 0.802**
Sig.
(2-tailed) 0 0 0.001 0
INFERENTIAL ANALYSIS Correlation between Independent and
Dependent Variable

Affective Continuance Normative Intention to Organizational

Commitment Commitment Commitment Leave Commitment

Pearson
Correlation
Intention to -0.419 -0.349 -0.299 1 -0.447
Leave Sig.
(2-tailed) 0 0 0.001 0
N 114 114 114 114 114
Pearson
Correlation
Organizational 0.830** 0.769** 0.802** -0.447 1
Commitment Sig.
(2-tailed) 0 0 0 0
N 114 114 114 114 114

**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

Model R R Adjusted Std. Error of Durbin-
Square R Square the Watson
Estimate
1 0.463a 0.214 0.193 0.48923 1.631

The table indicates the value of R-square for the

model is 0.193 This means that 19.3 % of the
variation in Intention to Leave (dependent
variable) can be explained from the three
Independent Variables.
Model Sum of
Squares Df Mean Square F Sig.

Regression 7.168 3 2.389 9.982 .000b

Residual 26.328 110 0.239
Total 33.496 113

F- Value = 9.982 at P<0.001, significance.

This indicates that the regression model fits the data
and its use in the analysis is appropriate.
Coefficient of determination was significant
(R2 = 0.193, F= 9.982, P<0.001) implying that 19.3% of
the variance in Intention to Leave is explained by other
three variables. The remaining 80.7% is due to factors not
included in the study. Furthermore, the model fit is
confirmed. This means that the regression model was
appropriate for the analysis.
Model Unstandardized Standardized t Sig.
Coefficients Coefficients

B Std. Beta
Error
(Constant) 4.939 .359 13.767 .000
Continuance 0.132 .163 0.137 .808 .421
Commitment
Normative 0.294 .207 0.258 1.420 .158
Commitment
Affective -0.994 .345 -0.759 -2.885 .005
Commitment
Y= (4.939)+ 0.132 X1 + 0.294 X2 +(–0.994) X3
 From the regression results in the Table the regression
equation is specified as follows:

Y= (4.939)+ 0.132 X1 + 0.294 X2 +(–0.994) X3

 The regression equation above has established that holding
all independent variables (Affective,Continuance,Normative
Commitment) constant, other variables influencing Intention
to Leave will increase by 49.39% at p < 0.001, this value is
significant at 1% level of significance.
 From the above regression model, a unit change in
Continuance Commitment while holding the other factors
constant would lead to 13.2% increase in Intention to Leave,
is not significant at any conventional level of significance, p >
0.05
H1a: Affective commitment negatively impact on employee turnover intention.

The Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient between affective

commitment and turnover intention was r = 0.419 with a p-value of 0.00*,
indicating negative and significant correlation.
Therefore As a result null hypothesis is rejected and the alternative hypothesis
is accepted.

H1b:Continuance commitment is negatively impact on turnover intention.

The Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient between organisational

commitment and turnover intention was r = 0.349 with a p-value of 0.00*,
indicating negative and significant correlation. Therefore As a result null
hypothesis is rejected and the alternative hypothesis is accepted.
H1c: Normative commitment negatively impact on turnover intention.

The Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient between

perceived alternative employment opportunities and turnover intention
was r = 0.299 with a p-value of 0.001*, indicating negative and
significant correlation. Therefore As a result null hypothesis is rejected
and the alternative hypothesis is accepted.

H1d: Organizational commitment negatively impact on turnover

intention

The Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient between

perceived alternative employment opportunities and turnover intention
was r = 0.447 with a p-value of 0.00*, indicating negative and
significant correlation. Therefore As a result null hypothesis is rejected
and the alternative hypothesis is accepted.
Assumption of the commitment-turnover linkage
is that the more committed an employee is, the
less likely he or she is to leave the organisation
(Porter & Steers, 2002: 71) is ensured in the
research.
In relation to this, it is logical to say that
employees are less likely to have the intention to
leave their organisation when they are
emotionally attached to the organisation.
The replicated study supports a considerable
number of authors who have suggested
organisational commitment as a main factor of
intention to leave (Porter & Steers)
The results revealed that intention to leave the
organization was significantly ( p <0.001)
negatively correlated to organizational
commitment (r=0.447).
All components (affective (r =0.419),
continuance (r=0.349) and normative (r=0.299)
are related to intention to leave as well. The
conclusion can be drawn that more committed
employees are less intended to leave the
organization than less committed employees.
It is recommended to the management of the construction
Industry to pursue a retention strategy highlighting
Organisational commitment to obtain a committed and
satisfied workforce through application of suitable human
resource policies.

e.g. training, career planning and advancement

opportunities, employee participation and compensation
plan to reduce employee turnover intention etc.
 Also, employees that are offered more
training opportunities are more likely to
exhibit higher levels of affective commitment
(Meyer & Allen,).
 Training can therefore be used to increase
commitment (Lang.)
 Specifically, commitment profiles reflect the relative levels of
the three components (i.e., affective, continuance,
normative). The combining of these components
provides an overall view of commitment.
 For example, an individual may demonstrate high
affective and normative commitment, but low continuance
commitment. Furthermore, an individual may demonstrate
low commitment on all three components.
 The comparative strength of each component together
forms an individual’s commitment profile, which has large
behavioural implications within the workplace
 Firstly, the small sample size raise concerns
and can result in a lack of statistical
representation
 sampling method used was convenience
sampling which can be used by almost
anyone and has been around for generations
 Dependent and Independent Variable
Considerations with the Basic Model
 Since the regression analysis has given 19.3%
relationship between the organizational
commitment and intention to leave
consideration of the Technical Officers of
Colombo,
 Sri Lanka the research shall be widen to the
areas of financial and non-financial operators
of the commitment factors. And also there
are more other social, economical and
cultural factors shall be taken into account
for focusing more on the study.
 For Further Research

There are areas including Job training, Job

satisfaction measures, financial motivators and
job status approaches also shall be studied to
understand the behavior of the Technical
officers in the construction Industry in each
and every area of the Country
Any Questions
Please
?