Behavioral commitment among the automobile workers in South Korea

The research reported in this article evaluates the extent to which the the oretical constructs established as determinants of behavioral commitment in the U.S. have cross-cultural validity in South Korea. A causal model devel oped and validated in the U.S. is estimated among automobile workers in Kor ea and the results indicate 18 prominent determinants: job satisfaction, or ganizational commitment, job search, met expectations, legitimacy, transfer costs, positive and negative affectivity, opportunity, role conflict and a mbiguity, spouse and supervisor support, routinization, autonomy, job hazar ds, involvement, and distributive justice. These are fundamental explanator y constructs that have long been affirmed in the U.S., and, as such, this s tudy suggests evidence to support their cross-cultural validity. In spite o f several Korean cultural characteristics that are relevant to employee beh avioral commitment, the theoretical constructs explaining behavioral commit ment are generally the same between the U.S. and Korea. The findings are in terpreted with discussions of the implications.