Chapter One 1
Introduction 1
1.1 The research problem 1
1.2 Background 3
1.3 Rationale of the research 12
1.4 Significance of the research 16
1.5 Purpose of the research 18
1.6 Phases of the research 20
1.7 Structure of the book 21
Chapter Two 23
Literature Review 23
2.1 Work stress 24
2.2 Organizational commitment 34
2.3 Performance 44
2.4 Effectiveness 70
2.5 Theories on the relationships among key variables 77
2.6 Empirical studies on the relationships among key variables 96
2.7 Research gaps 136
2.8 Conceptual framework 145
2.9 Research questions and hypotheses 149
Chapter Three 156
Methodology 156
3.1 Research Design 156
3.2 The instruments 157
3.3 Data analysis 168
3.4 The rigor of data 172
Chapter Four 177
Pilot study 177
4.1 Aim 177
4.2 Methods 179
4.3 Results 181
4.4 Summary 204
Chapter Five 206
Main study 206
5.1 Aims 206
5.2 Methods 207
5.3 Results 211
5.4 Summary 303
Chapter Six 308
Follow-up study 308
6.1 Methods 309
6.2 Results 312
6.3 Summary 348
Chapter Seven 350
Discussion 350
7.1 What is the relationship of work stress to organizational commitment? 351
7.2 What are the relationships of work stress to performance and effectiveness? 356
7.3 What are the relationships of organizational commitment to performance and effectiveness? 363
7.4 Why do work stressors and commitment dimensions present diverse relationships to performance and effectiveness? 368
7.5 How do work stress and organizational commitment simultaneously predict performance and effectiveness? 382
7.6 What is the relationship of performance to effectiveness? 388
7.7 What is the role of performance in the relationships of work stress and organizational commitment to effectiveness respectively? 392
7.8 Summary 398
Chapter Eight 400
Conclusions 400
8.1 Conclusions 400
8.2 Implications 403
8.3 Limitations and possible solutions 410
References 413
Appendices 445