Building Organizational Commitment in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises: Evidence from Cyprus

Organizational commitment constitutes a challenge for organizations. Despite the growing body of literature describing organizational commitment as a positive outcome of ideal job conditions, how organizational commitment develops has not been explored extensively. This study examines how organizational commitment develops in small and medium enterprises in Cyprus by modelling the roles of work–life balance, flexible work arrangements, employee remuneration, motivation, and job satisfaction. To test the hypothesized relationships among the variables, structural equation modelling was used to analyze survey data collected from 462 employees. The findings of this study show a strong effect of work–life balance and employee remuneration on organizational commitment. The results indicate a sequential pattern, in which work–life balance and employee remuneration showed stronger effects within the model, while motivation acted as a first-stage mediator and job satisfaction as a second-stage mediator linking these effects to organizational commitment. These findings suggest that organizational commitment develops primarily through earlier motivational and evaluative experiences, rather than resulting solely from favorable job conditions. The study offers theoretical insight into the process through which organizational commitment develops and provides practical implications for managers of small and medium enterprises seeking to strengthen employee commitment through everyday work conditions.