Article | Operations Management area | Year 2017
 

Thai Culture and its Effects on Organizational Engagement in Thai Privately Held Companies

by Ratawon Chaisilwattana; Prattana Punnakitikasem
  
  UTCC International Journal of Business and Economics 9(2), p.117-136 December

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to understand how Thai culture, in accordance with Hofstede’s cultural dimension theory, affects job satisfaction and the relationship between job satisfaction and organizational engagement. Qualitative method is used with in-depth interviewing technique consisting of open-ended questions for the data collection method. Results revealed that seniority role plays both positively and negatively and the sense of Kreng-Jai is a crucial factor. Results suggested that the cultural dimensions of Collectivism, Uncertainty Avoidance, and Femininity were positively related to job satisfaction, whereas the dimension of Power Distance was negatively related to job satisfaction. The collectivistic culture of the Thai society results in the job satisfaction of the majority of the participants because of factors such as existence of teamwork, great relationship with coworkers, and abilities to adapt and fit within the workplace. Power distance and seniority had positive influence as having seniority allowing coworkers to work together as brothers and sisters. On the other hand, power distance may have a negative influence on job satisfaction. With uncertainty avoidance, respondents reported that tasks could be achieved with the clear goal and directions. The dimension of femininity of Thai culture noted the importance of a person’s contributions and recognitions had a positive impact on job satisfaction. Findings also show that job satisfaction has no direct relationship with organizational engagement.

Keywords: Thai culture, job satisfaction, organizational engagement, Hofstede's theory