Effects of equity, perceived organizational support and job satisfaction on organizational commitment in Macao's gaming industry

Purpose: This study explores the relationships between equity, perceived organizational support, job satisfaction, organizational commitment and counterproductive work behavior in Macao's gaming industry. Additionally, it investigates whether the Covid-19 outbreak has effects on employees' perceptions and behaviors. Design/methodology/approach: Data were collected from two surveys using convenience sampling, one involving 260 casino employees in 2019 and another involving 250 employees in 2020 after the outbreak of Covid-19. Findings: No significant difference was observed between mean scores from respondents in the first and second surveys on job equity, pay equity, perceived organizational support and job satisfaction (p > 0.05). However, significant changes were found in mean scores for three organizational commitment items (negative changes; p < 0.05) and three counterproductive work behavior items (positive changes; p < 0.05). Results of structural equation modeling indicated that job equity and pay equity affected perceived organizational support and job satisfaction while perceived organizational support impacted organizational commitment directly and indirectly through job satisfaction, all with R² values greater than 0.6. Organizational commitment negatively influenced counterproductive work behavior. Research limitations/implications: The Covid-19 impact on casino employees' perceptions and behaviors was contingent upon the duration of pandemic. Originality/value: The study is one of the first empirical studies to integrate social exchange theory and equity theory to organizational commitment in Macao's gaming industry. Job equity and pay equity were found to influence organizational commitment through perceived organizational support and job satisfaction. Additionally, the Covid-19 did not have significant effects on employees' equity, perceived organizational support and job satisfaction perceptions.