Title: Organisational commitment of women working in leadership positions in Saudi Arabia

Authors: Zahiruddin Butt; Fauzia Khurshid; Amina Hafeez

Addresses: Saudi Aramco, P.O. Box 13988 Dhahran 31311, Saudi Arabia ' Department of Education, National University of Modern Languages, H-9 Islamabad, Pakistan ' P.O. Box 13988, Dhahran, 31311, Saudi Arabia

Abstract: This paper aims to examine the perception of organisational commitment of women working in leadership positions in Saudi Arabia. Three types of organisational commitment, including affective, continuance and normative commitment, were explored. The influence of demographic factors including age, experience, qualification, level of income and marital status on the organisational commitment was also examined. It was a descriptive correlational study in which an organisational commitment questionnaire (OCQ) was used to collect data. The study found that the level of respondents' organisational commitment was high with continuance commitment as the strongest among the three types of commitment. Demographic variables such as age, experience and income significantly influenced the organisational commitment of women in leadership roles. This study is significant as it provides insights into the nature of organisational commitment of women in leadership positions. It also develops an understanding of the commitment process in organisational contexts among women leaders in Saudi Arabia.

Keywords: organisational commitment; affective commitment; continuance commitment; normative commitment; women leaders; female leadership; Saudi Arabia; demographics; age; experience; qualifications; income levels; marital status; gender.

DOI: 10.1504/IJHRDM.2014.068074

International Journal of Human Resources Development and Management, 2014 Vol.14 No.1/2/3, pp.136 - 146

Published online: 26 Mar 2015 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article