Does internal communication to generate trust always increase commitment? : A study at Micron Technology

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to investigate the relationship between employee trust towards the company and their commitment to it. For this reason, this study questioned if certain levels of trust presented in each department at Micron Technology Italy were interrelated with the levels of commitment. Design/methodology/approach – A survey at Micron Technology Italy was conducted. Of the 1,580 employees who received the questionnaire, 892 responses were collected, resulting in a 56.46 per cent response rate. Findings – The research findings show that for departments where trust values are below 6.8, the commitment level follows the trust value: there is a positive relation between these two factors. However, departments where employee trust reaches values higher than 6.8 are not reciprocated by a proportional commitment level that tends to reach a “satisfaction point”. Research limitations/implications – The results are only partially coherent with previous studies. Further research is needed to determine whether these reports hold true under different situations/companies. Practical implications – Since commitment does not seem to be continuously increasing, after a certain point it is not cost-effective for the company to implement communication strategies aimed at increasing employee trust in a non-targeted way. The need for customized communication strategies emerges as does the importance of understanding internal communication as integrated with other human resource management levers. Originality/value – This paper offers an original contribution to the ongoing discussion concerning employee engagement. Employees' trust does not always lead to employee commitment behaviors inside the organization.