Self-managing teams and employee attitudes: the moderating role of capital intensity

Abstract

This study investigates the moderating role of capital intensity in the relationships between self-managing teams and employee attitudes. This study also examines the mediating role of organizational commitment in the relationship between self-managing teams and turnover intention. The proposed hypotheses were tested by hierarchical linear modeling using data collected from 1293 employees of 50 companies in South Korea in 2008. The results revealed that organizational commitment mediated the relationship between self-managing teams and turnover intention. The findings also showed that capital intensity moderated the relationships between self-managing teams and employee attitudes. Specifically, self-managing teams were more effective in enhancing organizational commitment and in reducing turnover intention in capital-intensive companies than in labor-intensive companies. Implications for company policies and future research are discussed.

Keywords:

• capital intensity
• exchange theory
• need hierarchy theory
• organizational commitment
• self-managing team
• turnover intention

Acknowledgement

The present research has been conducted by the Research Grant of Kwangwoon University in 2010.