ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT IN CROATIAN COMPANIES: PRIVATE vs. PUBLIC SECTOR

This paper focuses on the analysis of organizational commitment in the public vs. private sector. Empirical research was conducted in two companies – one from the private sector and one from the public sector. The results indicated that there were signifi cant differences in the overall organizational commitment among employees in the public and private sector. Furthermore, statistically signifi cant differences for each component of organizational commitment (affective, continuous and normative) also existed. In particular, it was found that public-sector employees had stronger organizational commitment compared to the employees in the private sector. Moreover, all the components of organizational commitment were more emphasized in the case of public sector employees. Thus, it could be stated that the employees in the public sector were more emotionally attached to the organization and believed more strongly in its abilities compared to the employees in the private sector. Also, public-sector employees perceived that staying in the organization was of higher economic value compared to leaving it. They also had a stronger sense of obligation compared to the employees in the private sector. Although the above conclusions should be taken with some reserve because of the objective limitations of this research, the value of this research, however, was to analyze an under-researched issue in the Croatian scenario. As such, this presents an relevant basis for future research.