Employees of Small, Locally Owned Businesses Have More Company Loyalty than Other Workers Do, Baylor Study Finds
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WACO, Texas (Nov. 20, 2014) — Employees who work at small, locally owned businesses have the highest level of loyalty to their employers — and for rural workers, size and ownership of their company figure even more into their commitment than job satisfaction does, according to Baylor University researchers.
Higher levels of commitment are associated with less absenteeism, lower turnover and less seeking of jobs outside the company. The study — “Small, local and loyal: How firm attributes affect workers’ organizational commitment” — is published in the journal Local Economy.
“It’s an interesting time because of the shift toward big business and globalization, but there are still practical values of small and local businesses, including benefits to the community and to the individual, such as less income inequality, less population turnover, lower crime and more committed workers,” said lead author Katie Halbesleben, a doctoral student in Baylor’s department of sociology.
“When it comes to your job, it’s usually not just one thing that affects your commitment. You may say ‘I like my boss’ or ‘I am satisfied with what I do.’ Our study re-affirms that working for a small and local company is also an important factor that contributes to a worker’s commitment.”
Research findings are based on analysis of data from the Baylor Religion Survey, a nationally representative sample of 1,714 adults that includes information on workers’ attitudes, beliefs and practices. The survey was conducted by the Gallup Organization in fall 2010. Researchers analyzed data from 763 participants who had full- or part-time jobs, as well as a subset of 146 workers living in a rural area.
Small companies were defined as those with 1 to 49 employees, with all others categorized as large businesses. Among variables relating to work conditions were hours worked the week before and job satisfaction.
Respondents were asked to rate whether and how much they agreed with the following four statements:
The study showed that:
But “you can’t rule out other factors that may figure into that for rural workers,” she said. “It may be a matter of, ‘I have to be committed, because I don’t have many other job opportunities.’”
Study co-author was Charles M. Tolbert, Ph.D., chair of the department of sociology in Baylor’s College of Arts & Sciences.
Funding was provided by USDA National Institute for Food and Agriculture and USDA National Research Initiative.
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