Analysis of organizational commitment in cooperatives in Ecuador

Abstract

Purpose – The objective of this research is to analyse the affective organizational commitment in cooperatives in Ecuador. This was done by adapting and testing a measurement scale based on the one-dimensional model proposed by Porter. Design/methodology/approach – Field work was carried out, with a structured questionnaire being given to a significant sample of workers in Ecuadorian cooperatives (2,499 employees and heads of department). The scale was adapted through a structural equation model. Findings – The results show that the adaptation of the measuring scale for affective organizational commitment using a one-dimensional vision is consistent for the cooperative sector. In addition, the analysis of the socio-demographic variables and the work position show that some of them have a statistically significant relationship with organizational commitment. Practical implications – The proposed scale can contribute to the management of human capital in cooperatives in Ecuador. It can also be used as a tool to support the national agency in charge of the cooperative sector in this country (Superintendencia de Economía Popular y Solidaria, “Superintendency of Popular and Solidarity Economy”). By applying this tool, social economy organizations in Ecuador can measure the level of their employees’ affective commitment with the institution they work in. Using the results, the people in charge and the leaders of the organization shall be able to introduce strategies to develop this organizational variable that is crucial for the proper management of human resources and, therefore, to help to obtain the institutional purposes. Originality/value – This research project presents a measuring tool that can discover the unique features of the cooperative sector in a developing country such as Ecuador as it provides a special framework for managing human resources in this sector. Additionally, in a cooperative organization many employees have different roles in the same company. This tool can be adapted for other kinds of cooperatives with different activities (financial and non-financial activities) in different sectors.