Defense Date
4-20-2015
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Management
Committee Chair/First Advisor
Dr. Amy Henley
Committee Member or Co-Chair
Dr. Robin Cheramie
Committee Member
Dr. Juanne V. Greene
Abstract
Little empirical research is available that counters the viewpoint that both demographically dissimilar individuals and telecommuters have low-levels of commitment, in addition to the role of procedural justice in this context. Using a multi-company sample of 201 respondents employed by U.S. firms each with more than 100 employees; the results indicate significant support for high-levels of demographic dissimilarity associated with low-levels of affective commitment towards one’s organization. Contrary to the hypotheses, high-intensity telecommuting was found to be more strongly related to affective commitment, especially when procedural justice was high. Non-significant results were found for telecommuting intensity as a moderator of the negative relationship between perceived relational demography and affective commitment. Overall, these results indicate that the frequency of telecommuting does not minimize the negative effects of demographic dissimilarity on commitment; however, perceptions of fair processes to determine telecommuting are important.