Organizational commitment: A cross-national comparison of Arab and non-Arab employees in Saudi petrochemical companies

Individuals with different personal demographics and job-based factors have different attitudes and behaviors, which can influence their levels of commitment to their organizations. These differences in organizational commitment increase as their cultural backgrounds differ significantly. Personal demographics and job-related factors are reliable predictors of employees' commitment to their employing organizations. The researcher conducted a cross-national comparison of Arab and non-Arab employees in Saudi petrochemical companies in Jubail Industrial City in Saudi Arabia. The purpose of this study was to empirically investigate if there is a difference in the level of employees' commitment to Saudi petrochemical companies on the basis of differences in their personal demographics and job-related factors. Employees in this study comprise six nationalities, which represent Arab and non-Arab ethnicities.;A mail questionnaire was used to collect data from a random sample of 690 employees representing six nationalities and two ethnicities in Saudi petrochemical companies. The subjects that participated in this study returned 565 questionnaires, of which 520 were completed; thus, the effective response rate is 75.4 percent. Also, some data about employees' commitment were collected from participating companies' records. Some employees participated in a short interview pertaining to their personal demographics, job-based variables, commitment, and commitment-related issues. Cronbach's alpha, Spearman's coefficient, and Pearson's correlation were used to test the reliability of the pilot study. Also, Cronbach's alpha was used to test the reliability of the study itself.;The researcher examined the hypotheses using the factor score ranking with One-Way-ANOVA. All hypotheses pertaining to job-related factors were accepted. Personal demographics hypotheses, with the exception of those related to nationality, were accepted. Nationality did not predict significant differences in commitment among employees. Generally, the findings showed that employees' commitment to Saudi petrochemical companies differs as their demographics and job-based factors vary. Also, the results showed that one group of employees had a higher level of commitment than the other. Employees born in Saudi Arabia reported a higher level of commitment to Saudi petrochemical companies than employees born in other countries. Arab employees showed a higher level of commitment than non-Arab employees. Employees with low level of education, long tenure, managerial jobs, lifetime employment (non-contract), high pay, reported a higher level of commitment than those with high level of education, short tenure, non-managerial jobs, contract employment, and low pay, respectively. Older employees reported a higher level of commitment than younger employees.