An empirical study on commitments of Japanese employees

This study explores the linkages among three forms of organisational commitments and occupational (professional) or career commitments of non-managers and managers in Japanese organisations. Is there any conflict between these two forms of employee commitment based on the new performance or result oriented management system that is adopted by Japanese organisations? We undertook interviews and surveyed 308 subjects, which constitute 227 respondents from non-managerial employees with the support of members from RENGO (Japanese Trade Union) and 81 mid-level managers from 18 Japanese companies located in the Kanto region of Japan between 2009 and 2010. Hierarchical OLS regressions indicate that there a 'no-conflict' relationship between occupational commitment and overall organisational commitment of the Japanese employees. The research findings contribute to the limited literature available on the study of both organisational and occupational commitments of employees in Asian workplace setting. Practical relevance of the study has also been discussed.