Workplace learning and foreign workers' commitment to host cultural organization: the effects of cross-cultural adjustment and supervisor trust

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between workplace learning and organizational commitment with the mediating role of cross-cultural adjustment and the moderating role of supervisor trust for the case of foreign workers in a new cultural setting.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses structural equation modeling to analyze a sample data of 367 Vietnamese and Philippine workers in Taiwan.

Findings

Results show that workplace learning enhances foreign workers' organizational commitment. Cross-cultural adjustment is found to have a mediating effect in the link between workplace learning and organizational commitment. Furthermore, supervisor trust moderates the link between cross-cultural adjustment and organizational commitment. In addition, supervisor trust moderates the indirect effect of workplace learning on organizational commitment through cross-cultural adjustment.

Originality/value

Prior literature often focuses on expatriates who are high-skilled employees. This study investigates low-skilled workers who come from less-developed country working in a more developed economy. This study is one of the first researches examining the issue of foreign workers' commitment in new cultural environment. Our findings shed a new light to the effect of workplace learning on organizational commitment. Our findings also help to clarify the roles of cross-cultural adjustment and supervisor trust into the workplace learning–organizational commitment relationship. This study provides implications for researchers and managers regarding to management and development of foreign workers for local organizations.

Citation

Dang, V.T., Vu, T.T. and Nguyen, P.-T. (2021), "Workplace learning and foreign workers' commitment to host cultural organization: the effects of cross-cultural adjustment and supervisor trust", Employee Relations, Vol. 43 No. 1, pp. 297-317. https://doi.org/10.1108/ER-02-2020-0039