THE EFFECT OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES AND SERVANT LEADERSHIP ON ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT: THE MEDIATING ROLE OF ORGANIZATIONAL LEARNING CAPABILITY IN A MALAYSIAN GOVERNMENT- LINKED COMPANY Azharuddin bin Hashim Thesis submitted in partial fulfilment for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT UNIVERSITI SAINS ISLAM MALAYSIA January 2021 ii AUTHOR DECLARATION I hereby declare that the work in this thesis is my own except for quotations and summaries which have been duly acknowledged. Date: 26 January 2021 Signature: Name: Azharuddin Bin Hashim Matric No: 4090101 Address: 16-08, Sunway Gandaria, Jalan Pusat Bandar 2, Seksyen 9, 43650 Bandar Baru Bangi, Selangor iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Alhamdulillah, all praises to Allah SWT for the strengths and His blessing in completing this thesis. Firstly, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my main supervisor, Associate Professor Dr. Mahazan bin Abd. Mutalib@Taib for continuous support. His encouragement and persistence helped me during this research. My heartfelt gratitude goes to my former main supervisor, Associate Professor Dr. Saedah binti Abdul Ghani, for her compassion and support and my former co-supervisor, Dr. Salhah Abdullah her insightful ideas. My deepest gratitude goes to my examiners, Associate Professor Dr. Ummi Salwa Binti Ahmad Bustamam, Associate Professor Dr. Hj. Hasan Al-Banna bin Mohamed, and Associate Professor Ts. Dr. Zuraimi bin Abdul Aziz for invaluable comments. Indeed, special thanks to my beloved family members; my parents Haji Hashim Yaakub & Hajjah Roba’ayah Kamaruddin, my wife Balkis Hussain, my son and daughter, Muhammad Aiman Thaqif and Auni Nabihah, my brothers and sisters, lecturers, colleagues, and students for supporting me throughout this study and my journey. Last but not least, my sincere appreciation goes to the Management and staff of Malaysia Airport Holdings Berhad for allowing me to conduct this study at your esteemed organization, as well as to Kolej Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Selangor (KUIS) for supporting my research. iv ABSTRAK Ketidaktentuan ekonomi dengan cabaran yang semakin meningkat mendorong kepentingan komitmen organisasi dalam sesebuah organisasi. Syarikat Berkaitan Kerajaan di Malaysia yang merupakan sebahagian dari pemacu utama ekonomi dan badan yang memainkan peranan besar dalam menyumbang kepada kemajuan ekonomi negara harus menangani cabaran ini. Berdasarkan cabaran menangani komitmen organisasi dalam kalangan tenaga kerja dan mengekalkan keberadaannya, kajian yang berkaitan dengan isu ini adalah sangat diperlukan. Secara kajian empirikal, amalan pengurusan sumber manusia dan gaya kepimpinan servant yang semakin berkembang adalah antara faktor peramal atau penyebab kepada komitmen organisasi. Para pengkaji turut berminat untuk mengkaji kemampuan pembelajaran organisasi sebagai peranan perantara antara penyebab yang dinyatakan terhadap komitmen organisasi. Walau bagaimanapun, kajian kemampuan pembelajaran organisasi sebagai peranan perantara yang dilihat satu pendekatan strategik adalah terhad, justeru kajian yang lebih mendalam perlu dilakukan. Dengan mengambil kira jurang kajian hubungan antara amalan pengurusan sumber manusia, kepimpinan servant terhadap komitmen organisasi, dan kemampuan pembelajaran organisasi sebagai perantara, kajian ini dijalankan untuk mengkaji dalam konteks komitmen organisasi di sebuah syarikat berkaitan kerajaan di Malaysia. Kajian ini menggunakan pendekatan kualitatif dan kuantitatif. Pengumpulan data dilakukan menggunakan kaedah persampelan rawak. Seramai 270 sampel dianalisis menggunakan pendekatan kuantitatif, manakala 4 sampel dianalisis menggunakan pendekatan kualitatif di kalangan kakitangan di Malaysia Airport Holdings Berhad. Perisian PLS-SEM (Partial Least Square-Structures Equation Modelling) digunakan untuk mengkaji hipotesis dan disusuli dengan penggunaan perisian ATLAS-ti7 untuk mengkaji data kualitatif. Dapatan kajian menyokong keseluruhan hipotesis hubungan peramal terhadap komitmen organisasi kecuali amalan pengurusan sumber manusia. Hubungan secara tidak langsung berlaku antara amalan pengurusan sumber manusia dan komitmen organisasi, di mana kemampuan pembelajaran organisasi bertindak sebagai perantara terhadap kedua- duanya. Dapatan kualitatif turut menyokong dapatan dari kajian kuantitatif. Hasil kajian ini memberi sumbangan teoritikal dan pengisian tentang penyebab komitmen organisasi. Implikasi praktikal dibincangkan dan ruang potensi untuk kajian pada masa hadapan dikenal pasti dan dicadangkan. Kesimpulannya, kajian ini memberikan gambaran yang lebih menyeluruh tentang penyebab-penyebab dalam konteks komitmen organisasi. v ABSTRACT Uncertainties and increasing challenges in economics have led to the importance of organizational commitment in an organization. Government-linked companies in Malaysia, the leading economic players that play a substantial role in contributing to the country's economic growth, are responsible for overcoming these challenges. Given the complexity in predicting employee commitment and the difficulties faced by today’s organizations in maintaining the workforce, there is a need to conduct further organizational commitment studies. Empirically, human resource management practices and the evolving servant leadership style are exemplary factors found to be the antecedents for organizational commitment. Researchers are also interested in examining the role of organizational learning capability between the antecedents mentioned above and organizational commitment. However, there are minimal studies on the mediation role of organizational learning capability , thereby necessitating a further investigation to examine such association. Recognizing the gap in linking or incorporating human resource management practices, servant leadership, organizational learning capability, and organizational commitment, this research was conducted to explore the context of organizational commitment specifically in a selected government-linked company in Malaysia. Adopting quantitative and qualitative methods, data collection was conducted on a sample of 270 (for quantitative analysis), and 4 samples (for qualitative analysis) of employees in Malaysia Airport Holdings Berhad. The quantitative data were analyzed using Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) software while the qualitative data was analyzed using ATLAS-ti7. The findings indicated support for all hypothesized relationships between organizational commitment antecedents, except for human resource management practices. An indirect effect was found between human resource management practices and organizational commitment with organizational learning capability acting as mediator. This is further supported by the qualitative findings in this study. Theoretically, this study provides additional insights into the context of organizational commitment, particularly in Malaysia. Furthermore, a detailed discussion of the research's practical implications is also provided, including identification and suggestions for potential approaches in future endeavours. Finally, this study also contributed to further augmenting the vast landscape of organizational commitment. iv الملخص داخل التنظيمي الالتزام أهمية يدفع المتزايدة التحديات مع الاقتصادي اليقين عدم الرئيسية المحركات من واحدة ماليزيا في بالحكومة المرتبطة اتالشرك وتعد. المنظمة ويجب للبلاد، الاقتصادي التقدم في المساهمة في رئيسيًا دوًرا تلعب حيث للاقتصاد، العاملة القوى بين التنظيمي الالتزام معالجة تحديات إلى وبالنظر. التحدي هذا تواجه أن وفي. المسألة بهذه تتعلق دراسة إجراء الضروري من وجودها، على والحفاظ للقيادة المتنامي والأسلوب البشرية الموارد إدارة ممارسات تعد التجريبية، الدراسات بدراسة أيًضا الباحث ويهتم .التنظيمي الالتزام أسباب أو التنبؤ عوامل بين من الخادمة الالتزام في يهالع المنصوص السببية العوامل بين وسيط كدور التعلم على المنظمة قدرة أنها على إليها ينظر وسيط كدور التنظيمي التعلم قدرة دراسة فإن ذلك، ومع. التنظيمي في الأخذ ومع .تعمقًا أكثر دراسة إلى حاجة هناك ولذلك،. محدود استراتيجي نهج على الخادمة والقيادة ، البشرية الموارد إدارة ممارسات بين الدراسة فجوة الاعتبار سياق لفحص الدراسة هذه أجريت كوسيط، التنظيمي التعلم وقدرة ، التنظيمي امالالتز ونوعا كميا البيانات جمع وتم .ماليزيا في بالحكومة مرتبطة شركة في التنظيمي الالتزام من نوعية عينات 4 و كمية عينة 072 مجموعه ما ،العشوائية العينات أخذ طريق عن برنامج استخدام وتم. dahreB sgnidloH tropriA aisyalaM في الموظفين بين وتبعه الفرضية لدراسة) الجزئية بالمربعات الهيكلية المعادلات نمذجة( MES-SLP الدراسة نتائج وتدعم .النوعية البيانات لدراسة 7it-SALTA برنامج استخدام مواردلا إدارة ممارسات باستثناء التنظيمي بالالتزام التنبؤ لعلاقة العامة الفرضية والالتزام البشرية الموارد إدارة ممارسات بين مباشرة غير علاقة وهناك. البشرية أيًضا النوعية النتائج وتدعم. بينهما كوسيط التنظيمي التعلم قدرة تعمل حيث التنظيمي، ثاقبة نظرة وتقدم النظرية الناحية من الدراسة هذه وتساهم. الكمية الدراسات نتائج المساحة واقتراح تحديد ويتم العملية الآثار مناقشة وتتم .التنظيمي امالالتز لأسباب أكثر صورة تقديم في الدراسة هذه تساهم باختصار،. المستقبل في للبحث المحتملة .التنظيمي الالتزام لأسباب شمولية vii TABLE OF CONTENTS AUTHOR DECLARATION ..................................................................................ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS...................................................................................iii ABSTRAK.............................................................................................................iv ABSTRACT ...........................................................................................................v صخلملا ......................................................................................................................vi TABLE OF CONTENTS .....................................................................................vii LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................xi LIST OF FIGURES.............................................................................................xiii LIST OF APPENDICES .....................................................................................xiv CHAPTER 1...........................................................................................................1 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................1 1.1 Introduction ........................................................................................... 1 1.2 Problem Statement ................................................................................. 3 1.3 Research Question.................................................................................. 3 1.4 Research Objective................................................................................. 6 1.5 Scope of the Study ................................................................................. 7 1.6 Significance of the Study ........................................................................ 7 1.7 Operational Definitions of Research Variables ........................................ 9 1.7.1 Human Resource Management Practices ................................... 9 1.7.2 Servant Leadership ................................................................. 10 1.7.3 Organizational Learning Capability......................................... 10 1.7.4 Organizational Commitment ................................................... 11 1.7.5 Government-linked Company ................................................. 12 1.7.6 Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad ........................................ 12 1.8 Structure of the Thesis .......................................................................... 12 1.9 Chapter Summary ................................................................................ 13 CHAPTER 2.........................................................................................................14 LITERATURE REVIEW.....................................................................................14 2.1 Introduction ......................................................................................... 14 2.2 Background of Organization ................................................................. 15 2.3 Theoretical Framework......................................................................... 18 2.4 Organizational Commitment Concept ................................................... 22 2.5 Human Resource Management Practices Concept.................................. 28 2.6 Servant Leadership Concept ................................................................. 32 2.7 Organizational Learning Capability Concept ......................................... 39 2.8 Relationship between Variables and Formation of Hypotheses ............... 44 2.8.1 Human Resource Management Practices and Organizational Commitment .......................................................................... 44 2.8.2 Servant Leadership and Organizational Commitment............... 47 viii 2.8.3 Human Resource Management Practices and Organizational Learning Capability ................................................................ 50 2.8.4 Servant Leadership and Organizational Learning Capability .... 53 2.8.5 Organizational Learning Capability and Organizational Commitment .......................................................................... 56 2.8.6 Mediating Effect of Organizational Learning Capability between Human Resource Management Practices and Organizational Commitment .......................................................................... 59 2.8.7 Mediating Effect of Organizational Learning Capability between Servant Leadership and Organizational commitment ............... 62 2.9 List of Hypothesis ................................................................................ 63 2.10 Chapter Summary ................................................................................ 65 CHAPTER 3.........................................................................................................66 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY .........................................................................66 3.1 Introduction ......................................................................................... 66 3.2 Research Paradigms ............................................................................. 67 3.3 Research Design................................................................................... 67 3.4 Mixed Methods Approach .................................................................... 69 3.5 The Mixed Methods Designs ................................................................ 71 3.6 First Phase: The Quantitative Research ................................................. 74 3.7 Sampling Design .................................................................................. 75 3.7.1 Population Sampling .............................................................. 75 3.7.2 Sampling Size ........................................................................ 76 3.7.3 Sampling ............................................................................... 77 3.8 Survey Research Design ....................................................................... 78 3.8.1 Survey Questionnaire Development ........................................ 79 3.8.2 Operationalization of the Constructs ....................................... 80 3.9 Research Variables and Measurement ................................................... 81 3.9.1 Human Resource Management Practices ................................. 83 3.9.2 Servant leadership .................................................................. 85 3.9.3 Organizational Learning Capability......................................... 87 3.9.4 Organizational Commitment ................................................... 89 3.10 Demographic Variables ........................................................................ 90 3.11 Content Validity ................................................................................... 91 3.12 Pilot study............................................................................................ 94 3.13 Data Collection .................................................................................... 95 3.14 Data Analysis....................................................................................... 96 3.14.1 Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) ............................................................................ 97 3.14.2 Measurement Model............................................................... 99 3.14.3 Indicator Reliability (Outer Loadings)................................... 100 3.14.4 Internal Consistency ............................................................. 100 3.14.5 Convergent Validity ............................................................. 101 3.14.6 Discriminant Validity ........................................................... 102 3.15 Structural Model ................................................................................ 103 3.15.1 Lateral Collinearity Issue ...................................................... 104 3.15.2 Significance and Relevance of Structural Model Relationships104 ix 3.15.3 Coefficient of Determination (R2) ......................................... 104 3.15.4 Effect Size (f2) ..................................................................... 105 3.15.5 Predictive Relevance (Q2)..................................................... 105 3.15.6 Mediation Analysis .............................................................. 107 3.16 Second Phase: The Qualitative research .............................................. 107 3.17 Sampling Design ................................................................................ 109 3.17.1 Purposeful Sampling ............................................................ 109 3.17.2 Sampling Size ...................................................................... 110 3.17.3 Interview Method ................................................................. 110 3.18 Data Collection .................................................................................. 112 3.19 Data Analysis..................................................................................... 113 3.19.1 Steps in Data Analysis .......................................................... 113 3.20 Interpretive Data Analysis .................................................................. 115 3.21 Validity.............................................................................................. 115 3.22 Chapter Summary .............................................................................. 116 CHAPTER 4.......................................................................................................117 DATA ANALYSIS AND RESULT ....................................................................117 4.1 Introduction ....................................................................................... 117 4.2 Quantitative Data Analysis ................................................................. 118 4.2.1 Data Cleaning ...................................................................... 118 4.2.2 Common Method Variance ................................................... 119 4.2.3 Profile of Respondents.......................................................... 120 4.2.4 Measurement Model............................................................. 123 4.2.5 Structural Model .................................................................. 133 4.2.6 Mediation Analysis .............................................................. 140 4.3 Qualitative Data Analysis ................................................................... 140 4.3.1 Data Coding ......................................................................... 141 4.3.2 Human Resource Management Practices and Organizational Commitment ........................................................................ 142 4.3.3 Servant Leadership and Organizational Commitment............. 146 4.3.4 Organizational Learning Capability....................................... 150 4.3.5 Organizational Commitment ................................................. 156 4.3.6 Human Resource Management Practices and Organizational Learning Capability .............................................................. 157 4.3.7 Servant Leadership and Organizational Learning Capability .. 158 4.3.8 Organizational Learning Capability and Organizational Commitment ........................................................................ 159 4.4 Chapter Summary .............................................................................. 161 CHAPTER 5.......................................................................................................163 DISCUSSIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS, AND CONCLUSIONS ..................163 5.1 Introduction ....................................................................................... 163 5.2 Overview of the Research ................................................................... 163 5.2.1 Human Resource Management Practices And Organizational Learning Capability .............................................................. 168 5.2.2 Servant Leadership And Organizational Learning Capability . 170 x 5.2.3 Human Resource Management Practices and Organizational Learning Capability .............................................................. 172 5.2.4 Servant Leadership and Organizational Learning Capability .. 175 5.2.5 Organizational Learning Capability and Organizational Commitment ........................................................................ 176 5.2.6 Organizational Learning Capability Mediates Human Resource Management Practices and Organizational Commitment........ 179 5.2.7 Organizational Learning Capability Mediates Servant Leadership and Organizational Commitment........................................... 181 5.3 Theoretical Implications ..................................................................... 183 5.4 Practical Implications ......................................................................... 186 5.5 Limitations of Research ...................................................................... 189 5.6 Recommendation for Future Research................................................. 191 5.7 Conclusion ......................................................................................... 192 REFERENCES...................................................................................................195 APPENDICES ....................................................................................................195 xi LIST OF TABLES Table Page Table 3.1: Minimum Sample Size Determination using G*Power ........................... 77 Table 3.2: Overall Scaled Items Used..................................................................... 80 Table 3.3: The 14 Items Used to Measure Human Resource Management Practices. 84 Table 3.4: The 14 Items Used to Measure Servant Leadership................................. 86 Table 3.5: 14 Items Used to Measure Organizational Learning Capability ............... 88 Table 3.6: The 14 Items Used to Measure Organizational Commitment................... 90 Table 3.7: The 9 Items Used to Measure Servant Leadership .................................. 93 Table 3.8: Reliability Test for Pilot Study .............................................................. 95 Table 3.9: Summary of Validity Guidelines to Assess Measurement Model and Structural Model ................................................................................ 106 Table 3.10: The Details of the Interview Informants ............................................. 110 Table 4.1: Profile of Respondents ........................................................................ 122 Table 4.2: Deleted Items and Description ............................................................. 125 Table 4.3: Convergent Validity ............................................................................ 128 Table 4.4 : Heterotrait-Monotrait (HTMT) Criterion ............................................. 132 Table 4.5: Inner VIF Value .................................................................................. 134 Table 4.6: Effect Size .......................................................................................... 138 Table 4.7: Predictive Relevance ........................................................................... 139 Table 4.8: Hypothesis Testing.............................................................................. 139 Table 4.9: Hypothesis Testing on Mediation......................................................... 140 Table 4.10: Data Coding of Informants ................................................................ 141 Table 4.11: Data Coding of Selected Items ........................................................... 141 Table 4.12: Human Resource Management Practices ............................................ 142 Table 4.13: Recognition....................................................................................... 143 xii Table 4.14: Empowerment ................................................................................... 143 Table 4.15: Competency Development ................................................................. 144 Table 4.16: Performance Management ................................................................. 145 Table 4.17: Fair Rewards ..................................................................................... 145 Table 4.18: Staffing and Selection........................................................................ 146 Table 4.19: Servant Leadership ............................................................................ 147 Table 4.20: Empowerment ................................................................................... 149 Table 4.21: Forgiveness....................................................................................... 149 Table 4.22: Humility ........................................................................................... 150 Table 4.23: Organizational Learning Capability.................................................... 150 Table 4.24: Experimentation ................................................................................ 151 Table 4.25: Risk-Taking ...................................................................................... 152 Table 4.26: Interaction with the External Environment ......................................... 153 Table 4.27: Dialogue ........................................................................................... 154 Table 4.28: Participative Decision Making ........................................................... 155 Table 4.29: Organizational Commitment .............................................................. 156 Table 4.30: Human Resource Management Practices and Organizational Learning Capability ......................................................................................... 158 Table 4.31: Servant Leadership and Organizational Learning Capability ............... 159 Table 4.32: Organizational Learning Capability and Organizational Commitment . 159 Table 5.1: Hypotheses and Summary of Results ................................................... 167 xiii LIST OF FIGURES Figures Page Figure 2.1: Research Framework............................................................................ 64 Figure 3.1: Diagram of Mixed Methods Design Framework.................................... 70 Figure 3.2: Sequential Mixed Methods Designs ...................................................... 72 Figure 3.3: Explanatory Design.............................................................................. 73 Figure 3.4: PLS-SEM Systematic Procedure........................................................... 99 Figure 4.1: Research Model ................................................................................. 124 Figure 4.2: Finalized Research Model .................................................................. 127 Figure 4.3: Path Coefficient Model ...................................................................... 135 Figure 4.4: Coefficient of Determination .............................................................. 137 xiv LIST OF APPENDICES Appendices Page Appendix 1: Application for Permission to Conduct a Survey Research Letter 218 Appendix 2: Permission to Conduct a Survey Research Letter ............................. 219 Appendix 3: List of Target Population................................................................. 220 Appendix 4: Expert Review Form ....................................................................... 221 Appendix 5: Distribution of Pilot Study Questionnaire ........................................ 224 Appendix 6: Reliability Analysis Result .............................................................. 225 Appendix 7: Validated Questionnaire .................................................................. 227 Appendix 8: Distribution of Questionnaire .......................................................... 232 Appendix 9: Identification of Informant for Interview.......................................... 233 Appendix 10: Interview Protocol ........................................................................ 234 Appendix 11: Endorsement and Consent Interview Letter .................................... 236 Appendix 12: Common Method Variance Result ................................................. 240 Appendix 13: Profile of Respondents .................................................................. 242