Organisational citizenship behaviour and employee perception of equity on organisational commitment

Abstract

Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are regarded as engines of economic growth and major instruments of employment generation in Zimbabwe. However, they are hampered by a lack of resources, poor administration and the inadequate knowledge and training of employees. The primary objective of the research was to investigate the influence of organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB) and employee perception of equity (EPE) on organisational commitment (OC) in Zimbabwean SMEs. A survey design with a sample (n=464) was used. Research scales were operationalised mainly on the basis of previous work. Minor adaptations were made in order to fit the current research context and purpose. Seven-item Likert scales were used to measure OCB, EPE and OC through confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling. Through structural equation modelling and path analysis, the results indicated that there are positive relationships between the posited research variables (OCB, EPE and OC). Practical recommendations are made to the managers in the SME sector to adopt professional codes of conduct at their workplace to enhance OCBs, EPE and ultimately, OC.