An Empirical Study of Training and Development, Psychological Capital, Employee Job Satisfaction and Organizational Commitment in a Public Organization: Evidence from The Gambia Revenue Authority

Abstract

A well-organised human resource development programme is a critical strategy for public organizations, as in the coming years human capital will increasingly play a significant role in organizational development. Notwithstanding, the human resource commitment and turnover is one of the biggest concerns of organizations especially in the 21st century. This study was conducted in The Gambia to explore strategies that public organizations could consider for increasing employees’ commitment behavior in order to achieve national development mandates. Thus, this study departing from the emphasis in prior behavioral research developed a framework of organizational commitment that incorporates training and development, employee job satisfaction and psychological capital. The analyses of the data collected from 257 employees of The Gambia Revenue Authority indicated that training and development and organizational commitment are associated positively, and that, employee job satisfaction and psychological capital partially mediates the relationship. This research used a quantitative research paradigm, and prior to the data collection, the study adopted validated measurement instruments from previous researchers who have conducted studies on these constructs. Thus, to confirm their suitability, the instruments have gone through the process of face validity, pilot study and construct reliability. The data was analyzed using SPSS 22 and Amos to compute descriptive statistics, confirmatory factor analysis, correlations, linear and multiple regressions. Thus, this study may lead to a better understanding as regards to how human resource development practitioners can design policies that may enhance organizational commitment behaviors in public enterprises. Based on the results of this study, practical and theoretical implications were discussed.

A well-organised human resource development programme is a critical strategy for public organizations, as in the coming years human capital will increasingly play a significant role in organizational development. Notwithstanding, the human resource commitment and turnover is one of the biggest concerns of organizations especially in the 21st century. This study was conducted in The Gambia to explore strategies that public organizations could consider for increasing employees’ commitment behavior in order to achieve national development mandates. Thus, this study departing from the emphasis in prior behavioral research developed a framework of organizational commitment that incorporates training and development, employee job satisfaction and psychological capital. The analyses of the data collected from 257 employees of The Gambia Revenue Authority indicated that training and development and organizational commitment are associated positively, and that, employee job satisfaction and psychological capital partially mediates the relationship. This research used a quantitative research paradigm, and prior to the data collection, the study adopted validated measurement instruments from previous researchers who have conducted studies on these constructs. Thus, to confirm their suitability, the instruments have gone through the process of face validity, pilot study and construct reliability. The data was analyzed using SPSS 22 and Amos to compute descriptive statistics, confirmatory factor analysis, correlations, linear and multiple regressions. Thus, this study may lead to a better understanding as regards to how human resource development practitioners can design policies that may enhance organizational commitment behaviors in public enterprises. Based on the results of this study, practical and theoretical implications were discussed.