Predicting organisational commitment : the role of line manager communication, employee trust and job satisfaction

Purpose: This study examines the influence of line manager communication (LMC) on affective organisational commitment through the mediating mechanisms of employee trust and job satisfaction. The study further investigates the moderation effect of line manager communication and employee trust to explain affective organisational commitment. Design/methodology/approach: Data for the study were collected from employees at different organisational levels in the financial services sector of South Africa through an online survey hosted on Qualtrics. A covariance-based structural equation modelling (SEM) was performed to assess the various hypotheses by using Mplus. The moderation analysis used the latent moderated structural (LMS) model approach, which utilises the unique capabilities of SEM. Findings/results: The results show that LMC does not independently influence organisational commitment. However, LMC indirectly influences affective organisational commitment through employee trust and job satisfaction. Moreover, the findings indicate that LMC positively influences affective organisational commitment under conditions of high employee trust. Practical implications: Firms should develop the communication skills of line managers to foster employee trust and job satisfaction to contribute to employee commitment. Line manager communication should be nurtured, especially in high-paced financial services firm environments, for employee trust and job satisfaction to be enhanced, and in turn, improve organisational commitment. Originality/value: The findings demonstrate that LMC does not independently influence organisational trust. Instead, line managers should focus their communications on improving employee trust and job satisfaction if they seek to foster strong employee identification with firm goals and vision.