Relationships between Supervisory Communication and Commitment to Workgroup: A Multilevel Analysis Approach

The aim of the present study is to establish and interpret the appropriate level of analysis for the correlation between supervisory communication and commitment to workgroup. We intend to examine whether specific forms of correlations between supervisory communication and commitment to workgroup could be distinguished from each other at the individual or higher level of analysis. We present results from an individual, dyadic and group sample taken from a Malaysian organization. We relate the measures of supervisory communication and commitment to workgroup from individuals embedded in a specific workgroup to reflect individual communication with their immediate supervisor as possible antecedents for commitment to their workgroup. To examine this relationship, we follow Within and Between Analysis (WABA) statistical procedures proposed by Dansereau, Alutto, and Yammarino (1984 Dansereau, F., Alutto, J. A. and Yammarino, F. J. 1984. Theory testing in organizational behavior: The varient approach, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall. [Google Scholar]). This procedure involves: (a) testing the total deviation scores for each variable presented within cell, or between cell scores known as WABA I; (b) testing the level of analysis that may underlie relationships among all variables taken two at a time, known as WABA II, and (c) testing the total correlation and component analysis through the combination of WABA I and WABA II. We find that the relationships between supervisory communication and commitment to workgroup are relevant for the whole group. The correlations between these two variables are interpreted as group differences where the individuals in a group are viewed as homogenized, and each workgroup is assigned one score on each variable. Implications of these findings are discussed.