Examining the impact of the various dimensions of employees’ engagement on commitment: Evidence from small and medium enterprises in Egypt

Abstract

Orientation: With the intense competition that many organisations are facing, they are looking for new ways to enhance employees’ engagement and commitment.Research purpose: This research examines the impact of emotional, cognitive, and behavioural dimensions of engagement on commitment.Motivation for the study: This study was conducted in response to several calls by academics and practitioners to better understand the relationship between employees’ engagement and commitment, specifically in the developing countries.Research approach/design and method: This article is quantitative, using a self-administered questionnaire developed based on an extensive literature review with a sample of 226 employees working in Egyptian small and medium enterprises (SMEs).Main findings: The findings showed that emotional engagement was the only dimension of employee engagement that had a positive influence on commitment. Also, there was an insignificant moderating impact of strategic implementation between engagement and commitment. Furthermore, in terms of gender differences, there was no difference regarding perceptions of engagement and commitment, but for work departments, the group of academics and sales had a different perception than other departments.Practical/managerial implications: The study recommended that it is essential for Egyptian companies to adapt their strategies by which their engagement level could be measured, and monitored which will directly affect commitment.Contribution/value-add: This article contributes in research that it is one of the few studies which examine the relationship between engagement and commitment inside a developing country like Egypt.