Affective commitment, loyalty to supervisor and guanxi: Chinese employees in joint ventures and reformed state-owned enterprises

Purpose This study aims to investigate and compare the relationships of affective commitment, loyalty to supervisor and guanxi among Chinese workers in joint ventures (JVs) and state-owned enterprises (SOEs). Design/methodology/approach In the proposed model, job security is considered as an antecedent of affective commitment, and subordinate–supervisor guanxi is viewed as an antecedent of loyalty to supervisor. The model further suggests that affective commitment will affect employees’ turnover intention and organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB) and that loyalty to supervisor will affect employees’ OCB. A data set consisting of 255 employees in three JVs and 253 employees in three SOEs in China is used to test the hypotheses empirically. Findings The LISREL results support the hypotheses and show the major differences of employees’ attitudes and behaviour in JVs and SOEs today. Research limitations/implications This study shows the differences of effects of commitment on OCB in JVs and SOEs and also clarifies the mixed and inconsistent findings of the effects of affective commitment and commitment to supervisor on OCB in the previous literature. Practical implications Given that the effects of affective commitment and loyalty to supervisor on OCB are different in JVs and SOEs, different policies should be adopted to enhance the OCB in these two types of organisations. Originality/value The research results show the major differences of employees’ attitudes and behaviour in JVs and SOEs today. The comparison of the results has implications to the extant literature.